Re: 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga

**sanderson** 6/23/2017, 1:07 am

Yolos, I didn't check if there is a baby food thread, but this should definitely be posted. One of the best ideas I have seen recently.

yolos 6/28/2017, 12:11 pm

Last couple of days harvest. Yikes, I let some of the cucumbers get tooooo big. I am skinning and coring the tomatoes and then freezing them. At the end of the season I will make different types of sauce and freeze it. Using the squash and zucchini for baby food. Not sure about the cucs. Freeze some for smoothies and then maybe try some refrigerator pickles.
brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Harves10

brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Harves10

CapeCoddess 6/28/2017, 12:45 pm

yolos wrote: Not sure about the cucs...

Mail them to ME!!! Wink

Beautiful harvest. Do you dehydrate? I was eating last years dehydrated cherry toms in my salad last night. Superb!!!

yolos 6/28/2017, 1:37 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:
yolos wrote: Not sure about the cucs...

Mail them to ME!!!
Beautiful harvest. Do you dehydrate? I was eating last years dehydrated cherry toms in my salad last night. Superb!!!

Next year I am going to mail you some of the seeds. These things produce prolifically. Baby Persian Cucumber.

CapeCoddess 6/28/2017, 3:52 pm

They look much bigger than babies in your photo. Do you pickle? I was reading a book called "The Healthy Probiotic Diet : more than 50 recipes for improved digestion, immunity, and skin health" and they said that you can start with some other pickles brine as a starter to pickle a new batch. But it has to be REAL pickles, not the ones with vinegar. Like you could use the juice from a jar of Clausens.

yolos 6/28/2017, 10:48 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:

They look much bigger than babies in your photo. Do you pickle? I was reading a book called "The Healthy Probiotic Diet : more than 50 recipes for improved digestion, immunity, and skin health" and they said that you can start with some other pickles brine as a starter to pickle a new batch. But it has to be REAL pickles, not the ones with vinegar. Like you could use the juice from a jar of Clausens.

You are right CC, about 75% of them are too big. Oops. Raining for a few days and I got behind in my harvest. I am going to try a refrigerator pickle. Also, I have been saving my empty jars and pickle juice from store bought pickles so along with some refrigerator pickles I may just stick some slicked cucs in the remaining pickle juice from some store bought pickles.

**sanderson** 6/29/2017, 2:01 pm

Yolos, Nice haul!

yolos 7/1/2017, 12:53 pm

I think I better get busy processing some of these tomatoes.
brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Tomato10

**trolleydriver** 7/1/2017, 2:08 pm

yolos wrote:I think I better get busy processing some of these tomatoes.

Wow yolos, what a fantastic haul ! ! !

yolos 7/1/2017, 3:01 pm

Thanks TD. Just to be clear, these were not all harvested on the same day. Maybe within the last two weeks. I harvest before fully ripe and let them ripen inside. Because of the heat, variety of tomato, and lots of rain, the big ones (Brandy Boy) will start cracking when they start getting ripe if I leave them on the vine.

BeetlesPerSqFt 7/1/2017, 6:41 pm

It's still an impressive, delicious looking haul! brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 3170584802

I can hardly wait for my northerly tomato plants to start yielding!

yolos 7/2/2017, 4:48 pm

Harvested my first bunch of Rattlesnake Pole Beans. 1/2 Bushel. A 2 x 8 bed with cattle panel on each side of the bed. Planted 5/7.

brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Rattle10

brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Rattle10

brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Rattle11

**sanderson** 7/3/2017, 8:05 pm

Yolos, again another banner harvest. Are you going to can any of the tomatoes?

yolos 7/3/2017, 9:34 pm

sanderson wrote:Yolos, again another banner harvest. Are you going to can any of the tomatoes?

No I won't be canning. I will be freezing. Right now I am skinning and decoring the tomatoes. Some tomatoes I have just quartered and then sealed in food saver bags and then froze. Other tomatoes I have skinned, decored, put them in the blender and then into large plastic containers and then into the freezer. After the end of the season, I will cook it all down and make spaghetti sauce, marinara sauce, etc and then refreeze in dinner size portions.

**llama momma** 7/3/2017, 9:45 pm

Excellent Harvest !

yolos 7/4/2017, 10:51 am

yolos wrote:I harvested one Coke flat of potatoes last weekend. I have approximately one Coke flat left to harvest. Yesterday, I harvested 4 Coke flats. All Russet Norkotah. All different sizes.

I harvested two more flats of potatoes yesterday. Total number of flats harvested this year is 7. I planted them all at different times in differing type beds. The largest potatoes and the ones that died down last were the potatoes planted earliest and they were also planted in deeper beds with top hat. I believe the success of this bed was due to the depth of soil that kept the soil cooler than a shallower bed..
brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Potato10

brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Potato10

yolos 7/6/2017, 8:17 pm

Harvested my second batch of Rattlesnake Beans this evening. Last harvest on 7/2 was approx 9-1/2 lbs (converted to 8 side dishes of beans fully cooked and then frozen) and tonights harvest was 11-1/2 lbs (yet to be processed and frozen). The total so far is about 2/3 Bushel. This years Rattlesnake Bean harvest has been good so far.

I picked some very young and tender beans to make some baby food for the soon to be second grandson.
brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Rattle12

brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Rattle12

**AtlantaMarie** 7/7/2017, 8:18 am

WOW, Yolos! This looks terrific!

What are you going to do with all those potatoes?

yolos 7/7/2017, 9:40 am

AtlantaMarie wrote:WOW, Yolos! This looks terrific!

What are you going to do with all those potatoes?

Any suggestions.

Baked potatoes for the larger ones. I can blanch and freeze some smaller ones to use in stews and soups this winter or cut up into smaller pieces for hash browns or home fries, etc. I have read that I can store them in a refrigerator (I have two spare refrigerators that I could use. One refrig is in the garage holding drinks and the other one is upstairs in my dad's old apartment). But someone said it changes the taste if put in the refrig. But I think I could raise the temp on one of the refrigerators so it would be just the ideal temperature.

How about making mashed potatoes and freezing the potatoes. Or maybe some baby food for the soon to be grandson.

No canning.

**AtlantaMarie** 7/7/2017, 3:40 pm

How about dehydrating? That's what I do...

CapeCoddess 7/7/2017, 4:06 pm

Oh yeah! Chippies!!!

**sanderson** 7/7/2017, 10:41 pm

AtlantaMarie wrote:WOW, Yolos! This looks terrific!

What are you going to do with all those potatoes?

+1

Your garden is beautiful, and your harvest is bountiful. happy dance

yolos 7/21/2017, 5:01 pm

Sun of a gun - I guess I forgot to hit send. I typed out a nice little post but must have forgotten to hit the send button. So here is a short version.

Harvested my first batch of Contender Bush beans today. Boy do I hate harvesting bush beans. I have been planting pole beans the last few years and forgot how much I hate harvesting the bush beans. These appear to have spider mites but they don't appear to have affected production.
brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Beans_12

brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Beans_12

Harvested a boat load of tomatoes. Skinned and cored them and put in a large bowl. Then divided them into 5 different Tupperware containers that hold 4 cups each. Then froze the containers and then will remove the frozen tomato blocks and seal it in food saver bags. I will use these for stews and vegetable soups.
brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Tomato12

brooks, GA - 2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga - Page 6 Tomato12

**sanderson** 7/22/2017, 2:10 pm

Yolos, I may have asked this before Embarassed

but do you can any tomatoes?

yolos 7/22/2017, 6:37 pm

sanderson wrote:Yolos, I may have asked this before but do you can any tomatoes?

Yes you did ask this before, but I do not mind answering it again. Way back a few years ago, I canned some tomatoes. But I have been afraid to eat them so they have been sitting on the kitchen counter for at least 4 years. I found I prefer to freeze them. No worrying about all the little things needed to can. Also, I just skin and core them and freeze them. Then later after the season, I unfreeze them, then cook them down and make various sauces and then refreeze the prepared sauces.

Sometimes I will puree the tomatoes and sometimes I will freeze them whole. This particular batch I froze after slightly breaking up each tomato. I have already frozen about 2 gallons of tomatoes that have been pureed but not cooked down to eliminate some of the water/juice.

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