Fig Preserves

The figs are really coming on hot and heavy. They are great just off the tree, but to make them last all year there are some things that can be done. Dried figs are wonderful. Fig preserves are wonderful too and maybe a little faster. They are also a little more expensive and not nearly as healthy.

Wash the figs well and cut the stems and any blemishes. Dump them in boiling water and remove from heat immediately. Let the figs sit for three minutes and drain them. Put them back on the stove and boil them in simple syrup for about two hours and 30 minutes. Can them in a hot water bath. The sources I’ve seen call for 10 minutes processing time. Longer doesn’t really hurt anything and probably more of the jars will make that little “pop” that every canner loves to hear. If the little pop doesn’t happen just reprocess.

Fig preserves with cat’s head biscuits makes an awesome breakfast. They are also wonderful on short cake, just like strawberry short cake. They can be stored the same as other canned goods but after opening they should be refrigerated.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Finally Figs

In spite of the recent rain, yesterday’s garden yield was poor. The okra was pretty good, but there were only about 7 or 8 tomatoes and 1 patty pan squash. The figs were fantastic though. A little grocery store bag got almost completely filled. The house is full of tomatoes already. They need to be canned again. The figs need to be made into fig preserves also. Tonight the kitchen and jars will be gotten ready. Tomorrow night we can.

Everyone who has eaten the sauerkraut says it is “kick-ass”. Our first jar was finished off last night. Cabbage will have to be planted really heavy this fall. Kraut can be made from other greens too. How would mustard or turnip kraut taste? It may get a trial. Maybe even kale kraut will be good.

It is time to start planning the fall garden. Except for things that will be harvested pretty early, row A will be left empty so that it can be reworked. It will be widened to 4” and the spaces between the beds will be eliminated; so there will just be one long bed.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Dead Cucumber Vines

None of the cucumbers are producing much of anything. One row finally died except for one plant. They were pulled off this weekend and disposed of in the trash can rather than the compost pile. A new row was planted in another bed. Cucumbers are a favorite vegetable from the garden. It is painful not to have any.

Every year new lessons are learned from experience. The raised beds were started several years ago. One of the mistakes that were made at that time was to make several beds in each row. The thirty inches between the beds is just wasted and things grow over the space so that it really is not good for navigation. Also some of the beds were 3’ wide and some are 4’. The 4’ wide beds hold more and will be more efficient. This winter’s project will be to start the reconstruction of the beds to make them the same length as the row and all of them will be 4’ wide.

The eggplants are finally producing. The potato bag was emptied. There were not a lot of potatoes, but for the space and effort invested the yield was acceptable. The dirt will be improved next year and hopefully the yield will increase.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Doing the Can Can

It is too hot to work outside in the garden. This is a good time to can. Tuesday 16 pints of sauerkraut and 11 pints of tomatoes were put up. It was fun because my wife and I did it together. Monday night we put the empty jars in the dishwasher before going to bed. Tuesday night I packed the sauerkraut into jars within a ½” of the rim and filled the jar to that level with kraut juice.

Ana wiped the tops and put the jars in the canner. The tomatoes cored and dropped into boiling water for a couple of minutes and then plopped into a bowl under a cold faucet. The skins were rubbed off and the tomatoes pushed into jars. The liquid from the tomatoes filled the jar to the level of the tomatoes. A tiny sprinkle of salt was added before the lids were placed.

Instructions said to cover the jars with about an inch and a half of water and boil for 8 minutes. Some of the kraut did not seal using this procedure. The time was increased to 12 minutes and every single jar sealed. 5 jars of kraut that were processed for only 8 minutes had to be redone.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Hornets

Despite a strong dislike of being stung, I normally welcome any pollinators to my environment. Sunday proved an exception. Rain has been promised almost every day for the last two weeks, but it has been rare and feeble. Sunday, it was necessary to water the garden and the blueberries. The blueberries are in the front yard. The water was turned on and off in the process.

Next the pansies beside the mailbox that are starting to get shabby and full of grass needed to be pulled. A claw was used to get almost everything out, but there were a few stubborn grass plants that had to be pulled by hand. Unnoticed by me, there were also fire ants. They got all over my hands. When the water was turned on to rinse them off and to get some water to wet the poison that would be put on the mound, something stung me in the back.

I also got stung on the arm as I ran like hell. The water was left on all day, secured by a good hose and a nozzle of course. The hornet’s nest was one of those big gray ones. The nest was in a bush beside the hose bib. They could easily have killed me. I easily killed them as the sun was going down.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

100+ Sucks

When the temperature goes over 100, everything stops growing, even the powdery mildew. Okra seems to be the only exception. It is a member of the same family as cotton and the heat seems to favor it’s growth. The tomatoes continue to ripen, but the new pollen is deformed and cannot set fruit.

The high temperature is also hard on the gardener. Turning compost or pulling weeds is just asking for a stroke or heart attack. The activities in our garden yesterday were limited to picking it. Tonight if it is still that hot, and it probably will be, the backlog of patty-pan squash that needs drying will get sliced, parboiled and started in the dryer.

The sauerkraut is ready to can and there may be enough tomatoes to fill a jar or two. If so canning will get started in our house. The tomatoes and sauerkraut can both be canned in a hot water bath, so we won’t have to use the pressure canner.


David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Peppers Galore

The last post moaned the small number of peppers coming in. That is over now. The cayenne and jalapeno peppers filled a plastic grocery bag. There are loads of cherry peppers too, but they have not been picked. We need a good recipe for pickling them. There are sadly no bell peppers, but there are quite a few small ones on the plants.

The tomatoes are finally producing in greater numbers and Sunday yielded enough lima beans to cook in a soup with okra and sweet corn and a few green tomatoes.

The squash plants are infested with stink bugs this year instead of the spotted cucumber beetles. Neem oil is supposed to provide a solution. It will be tried. The sulfur seems to be doing a good job on the powdery mildew. It hasn’t gone away, but it doesn’t seem to be spreading. One tomato and one pepper have displayed a little blossom end rot. It will have to get worse than that before it creates a worrisome situation.


David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com

Ramblin’ Squash

It is almost impossible to walk between the beds of squash. The beds are 4’ wide, but by looking at the pictures it is almost impossible to tell that they are even in beds. The hills were planted in the center of the beds, but the squash has “roamed” to fill the spaces between beds and in some places they have actually jumped into bed with other squash.

The cayenne peppers are growing some huge wrinkled monsters. Some of the would be over 10” long straightened out. The cherry peppers are producing well, but none have started to turn red yet. When they do they will be pickled and stuffed with prosciutto and cheese. The jalapeno peppers are making a few peppers, but not like they did last year.

The tomatoes are coming in a little stronger now. There are plenty to eat, but nothing to give away or can yet. The basil was planted between the tomatoes and the tomatoes are making so much shade that the basil isn’t growing much.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

It Worked

Yesterday the garden was sprayed with sulfur, water and soap. This morning there was a significant reduction in the white spots on the leaves. As a small side benefit, three ripe tomatoes and one cucumber were accidentally found while the garden was being sprayed. So far all of the tomatoes ripened are early girl.

As usually happens about this time of year, the grass growing between the beds and even in the beds is starting to become unmanageable. The leaves picked up by the road are being used for mulch. The fallow beds are being reworked and mulched. The bags are laid in the pathways and covered with mulch. The garden is about ½ done at this point. It is difficult to find bagged leaves this time of year.

Two days picking of okra yielded enough to furnish the okra for a large batch of jambalaya. Boy was it good. There should be enough to do something else tonight. The speckled limas are starting to fill out as well. They will probably start being ready in another week.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Powdery Mildew

This annual visitor has raised its ugly head in the garden. This is a problem in most intensely planted areas as it loves dense plant growth. If not treated, it will kill the infected plants. Powdery mildew starts as little white spots on the plants. While it enjoys high humidity, it does not particularly like rain. It is also fairly easy to treat with solutions of sulfur or baking soda. The baking soda solution tends to kill the leaves of the treated plant. The sulfur can affect the ph of the soil.

The soil in our garden has a relatively high PH. It is almost neutral in most places, so the sulfur is a more attractive alternative for us. 1 tablespoon of sulfur in a 1 gallon sprayer works well. Add the water after the sulfur and then put a squirt of dish soap. If the dish soap goes in first, it is hard to add the water. The water coming in from the garden hose helps to dissolve the sulfur. If the sulfur is not fully dissolved it will stop up the spray nozzle.

Spray the underside of the leaves as well as the top. The mildew is more visible on the top, but the spores like to hide on the bottom so that they won’t be washed off when it rains.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/