Projects

I know its been a while and I promised to post the very next day...... But life keeps getting in the way!
Not being at the homestead for 5 days in a row doesn't leave me much time to post.
Anyway, I worked on two projects yesterday...One for me and one for the worms.
This past week-end I got 52 ears of Silver Queen corn and we roasted 15 ears and had them with dinner the last few nights. Terri said that they were so sweet that they could be desert! Yesterday I cut the corn from the remaining ears and blanched it. I used one of my favorite tools to get it ready for the freezer. Vacuum sealer! I made up 11 bags (Two cups of corn per) and placed the bags into the freezer to freeze over night. There was to much water in the corn and the bags would not seal. So the first thing this morning I sealed the bags and put them away for later use this winter.
And other project was a Worm Smoothie! All the garden produce that get past ripe (you know all those tomato's, cucumbers that hide deep in the bed!) get run through the food processor and the worms love it! Nothing go's to waste!
The next post will be a Melon update! Lots to show you!
Until then , be good (and if you can't be good, have fun!)
Tom

Garden Preaitors

Hello everyone,
With the fadt that I spend 5 days away from the Homestead, working in the garden and trying to keep the Garden Predators away from the beds is a challenge! And the main culprit's are of the four legged and winged type.
Deer are eating the sweet potatoes plants and the Crows are into the melons!

As you can see from the two photos, they do not wait until the melons are ripe before they break them open and eat the insides.

The particular melons are a few of the volunteer plants I transplanted from the worm beds and are doing quit well. And today I built a hoop frame work over the rest of the bed and covered it with bird netting.

This is one of the cantaloupe's that looked pretty good, but......

As you can see they got to it too! I weighted in at 1 and 3/4 lbs and was not ready for harvest. But did they care.......H--- NO! So now I will run the ruined fruit the food processor and turn it into a Worm Smoothiee and add it to the Worn beds tomrrow.

And the Bean Bettles have been hard at work turnung the leaves of the bean plants into lace. But at least they do not bother the gree beans and I was able to harvest 1 1/2 lbs today.

Here are todays harvest

Purple top Turnups and greens. About 1 1/2 lbs total.

Beets and greens. About 12 oz. I love thies roosted with the turnups and new potatoes. A little oilive oil and 350 degree oven for about 45 mins. YUM!!

Summer squash is comming on strong. Got about 6 lbs here. And the plants have lots of flowers and small fruits ear marked for fried squash and onions.

And 13 lbs of cucumbers! Some of thies have gone over to the smoothie catagory. But I see pickles and salids in my future!

Tomorrow I will be working in the garden , weeding and cutting grass. Also I need to get a hoop frame set up over the Moon and Stars water melons befor the crows see them! I found several melons starting and thies I planted from seed (a little late) and they look real good too.

The tomatoes and potatoes are not looking so good and this years harvest does not look very promencing.

I'll have photoes of the Moon and Stars melon bed tomorrow. Come see the hoop frame I will make and how I use 1/2" PVC (makes a very good building material and is pretty cheep too!). This one I will cover with chicken wire and I will be able to remove it when I have too get into the bed to weed and harvset

So I will talk to you tomorrow.

TOM

Wordless Wensday