I wish my mother was here today. Last year my parents were here at this time of year and we harvested and canned and froze together. She did a lot of research for me finding recipes that could work with what I had and it was great. This year, luckily, I feel I did not get as much out of the garden as we did last year. So I do not have quite as much to do, but I still miss her and wish my parent could be here. Stupid COVID!!
My harvest:
Sunflowers: the birds got about a quarter of them and I do not think they were worth the time. Perhaps for the pretty, and they were easy to plant and grow, I may consider them again next year. But my goal had been to reduce the amount of sunflower seeds I would buy for the chickens in the winter. I do not even have the equivalent of one bag.
Squash: I planted two kinds. Georgia Candy Roaster which were huge and so delicious last year. I did not get as many nor were they as big (lack of rain is my guess) but I still love the taste and will definitely grow again next year. And buttercup squash. First time I have grown this and it was successful and delicious. So again...yes for next year.
Potatoes: I used seed potatoes saved from the potatoes I harvested last year. So the same three varieties. They look delicious but only about one third of the yield I got last year. But still...definitely planting at least the chieftain red and the la ratte fingerlings again next year.
Broccoli and cauliflower: no where near the yield that I had last year. Almost no cauliflower and only one bag of broccoli in the freezer. But again, I love them so I will try again next year.
Peppers: still not great, but better than last year. And I love the little mini red and orange sweet peppers!
Tomatoes: way, way, way better than last year. I had a lot ripen on the vines this year. (if you recall all the green tomatoes recipes my mom found for me because I had only window sill ripen red ones). I have made two batches of spaghetti sauce, two batches of tomato basil soup, one salsa, one failure of a ketchup, and I have a sink full to make something tonight, with a table full of orange-green ones. The ones that will ripen, I will be using the dehydrator and making "sun" dried tomatoes.
Cucumbers: I had to replant the cucumbers and did not get tons this year. I made about 5 jars of sweet pickles and am actually quite happy with that...since I don't actually like cucumbers!
Beans: as I have mentioned before...I got almost none last year, so I planted extra this year and wound up with about 15 pounds of them! Good thing I do like beans.
Peas: I had a good pea season and will grow them again next year. I have to be content with spending a ridiculous amount of time shelling to get a very small dinner portion, but there is nothing like the taste of fresh peas!
Onions: both the red and yellow onions were successful. The green onions, not so much. But the five green onions I did get, were wonderful. So worth a try again next year.
Garlic: I have always been successful with garlic and this year was no different. I have enough to get me through to spring with some to replant for next year as well.
Beets and carrots: both were tasty but neither grew well. I had two replanting and still only got 6 carrots, one meal of fresh beets and two jars of pickled beets. But, I love them both so I will keep trying. Now that I have the garden fence up and it has been tilled for two years. Hopefully I can get out earlier this year and plant them when it is still cooler. That may help?
Now to have a meal of broccoli, cauliflower and baby potatoes...YUM!
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