RUG HOOKING BLOG

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I'm a mother of four grandmother of seven and great grandmother of three. I live with my husband in the house that we built with the help of my brothers and will have been married for 57 years this February.

Friday, October 1, 2021

OCTOBER CAME KNOCKING AT MY DOOR ALREADY

 Yes, October came knocking at my door and September got a little upset and whirled out of here, with leaves littering my front lawn. I went for a little trip uptown and the leaves are changing so fast. What a beautiful sight, the leaves are so colorful already. I was driving so I couldn't take any photos.


We are still harvesting nature's gifts. My son Vaughan and George are picking crab apples on the front lawn and almost filled a large box. George wants me to make some crabapple jelly again this year.



I got help digging and picking potatoes this year but they speared too many with the fork. This is the upper end of the rows. I was so busy digging that I forgot to take pictures of the helpers.


And this is the lower end. The center was picked a few weeks ago. We gave away a lot and sold some and put the rest in storage for the family.


I made another two large batches of salsa and in all made 35 jars. I'm sure some will go as gifts.


Here are some bottles of salsa in the boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Oh, yummy salsa.


My curiosity got the best of me and I dug up some sweet potatoes from my experiment. I was actually surprised to get some this size as our growing season is short and they need long season and lots of heat to grow.


I dug up the rest as it's been cold and they announced rain for the next three days. I got about 25 pounds.


A friend gave me a bag of apples and I made this apple pie and dehydrated the rest, then my sister-in-law, Pauline gave me 2 big bags of apples that she picked at a U-Pick and I'm still dehydrating some. They are so good, I eat them like candy in the winter. I would like to go pick apples to dehydrate more.




One of George's second crop of cabbage. He sold a lot but this one was starting to split. I put it next to the pie for perspective.



I deadheaded the Rudbeckia to prevent them from growing all over the lawn.



I dug up some daylilies and gave away a lot but I still need to dig up some more on the end of the rows.


I saved all the debris to make mulch to keep the weeds away. I still have so many plants to cut down.


These will need to be cut down as well and I have several other daylily beds to clean up.

That's it for this evening. I hope that you are all staying well and happy.

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. I appreciate your kindness.

Julia

20 comments:

  1. I am amazed by what all you do. You are an energized person for sure. May I ask, do you prep the jars specially for the dried apples? I store mine in the freezer in baggies and think yours look so nice in the jars. BTW, ever made Sweet Potato Pie? I make it instead of pumpkin. It's very good and those sweet taters look good and tender!

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    1. I've never tried sweet potato pie but I've made pumpkin and squash pie. We grow a lot of squash.

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    2. Oops, I forgot to mention that I only was my jars in hot soapy water, rinse them with hot water and dry them throughly. I reuse old clean covers and make sure they are good and tight. I've never lost any yet. This way, they keep dry and not rubbery. I wish I had a machine to suck the air out of the jars.

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  2. As always you have been busy - and productive.
    I have never grown sweet potatoes - and yours look great.

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  3. I love Rudbeckia and wish they would go wild in my yard. My daylilies need to be separated desperately, limbs of trees gone wild need to be cut back, forsythia bushes need trimming...oh so much to do. Wish I had your energy.

    So are you making spaghetti sauce or Mexican style salsa? I know you say salsa but just checking.

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    1. I make Mexican style salsa. A recipe that I got from Mennonite Girls can Cook on-line. This is the best recipe I've tried.

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  4. Wow, your potatoes (regular and sweet) did good. I always stab too many with the fork too. I tried growing in cat food bags, much easier to harvest, but didn't get many potatoes. I keep wondering if there isn't a way to line a trench with wire, then pull up the wire when it's time to harvest. Then I think of how heavy and difficult that would be unless the soil is super light and fluffy.

    Sweet potatoes - I usually cut them into thick spears or slabs, toss them with a bit of oil, salt, chili powder and bake them. Now I don't care for sweet potato casserole any more - way too sweet! I don't think I've ever had sweet potato pie.

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  5. You are such a busy woman, but I know all the work must leave you very satisfied at the end of a day. I really admire you.

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  6. Not sure if I commented here earlier, since I don't see one, I will just leave a note to let you know how much I admire you and how hard you work and how much satisfaction that must bring you. I can still get things done, but I must sit and rest after a few minutes, so it takes time to get it done.

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  7. WOW.. you did so well with the sweet potatoes. I just might have to make them my new plant for 2022.
    That cabbage is amazing. I like to grow cabbage too. :-)

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  8. You, my dear friend, are one gardener extraordinaire!! Wow...I am worn out just thinking about one of your days. It would take me half of forever to deadhead all those Rudbeckia!! I just cut mine back...They have not ventured into the lawn, but they certainly have proliferated and need thinning out...ummm, next year. ;-) And what a harvest of potatoes!!! I am not a fan of sweet potatoes in any shape or form, although I did make them into dog snacks for Snowdog when the vet thought he might have a food allergy. Although it's just me, I do think I am going to re-invest in some canning equipment (got rid of mine long time ago)....There just isn't anything that quite compares to home canned tomatoes for soup and chile. Of course, I will need to buy my tomatoes and veggies...no way I can do what you do even on a micro scale. ~Robin~ (PS...LOVED the intro to your post!!)

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  9. Wow! Looks like potato heaven! I did sweet potatoes one year and they came out great. I think I'll plant some next year. I love dried apples but haven't made any in years. We even have a drier so maybe that will be a good project next week! With food prices rising canning and freezing our own food is a good idea. You are such a wonder woman and a great gardener...You always inspire me!

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  10. You're so ambitious, Julia! You really do grow so much and you're so good at preserving it all!
    Happy October!

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  11. Your harvest is simply amazing! I don't know how you do it all.
    Your apple pie looks so yummy and those dried apples remind me of my mom. She dried them every fall.
    Like Robin, I am not a fan of sweet potatoes ;-(
    Vaughan's apple picking stance looks like an accident waiting to happen!!!
    What will you do with all your time when harvesting season is over?

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  12. Amazing harvest of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Apple pie looks yummy. Looks like a busy time for you.

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  13. Wow, what a harvest! The grass doesn't stand a chance under your feet Julia! You are so busy & I love reading your blog & I never thought of dehydrating apples! Hmmm, that is worth investigating as anything dehydrated usually has sulphites & I'm so allergic to it & hive out baddly. Your sweet potatoes look delicious. I laughed at your son in the tractor bucket, that is so familar with my guys. lol Your home must smell so good!! :-) Hugs, Cynthia

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    1. I use a mixture of half Real Lemon juice and half water and dip my apple slices in it and drip them on tea towels. I use a dehydrator but I also have a dehydrator function on my stove. It dehydrates at 150 degree F. I put cheesecloth under the the apples so they won't stick to the metal cooling racks.

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  14. How wonderful all of the home grown bounty looks. It is wonderful to see what you preserve with it all. We used to purchase dehydrated apples from a local orchard. They are so good!

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  15. You never fail to shock me at how much you get done each season! I always think I keep busy but you must not sleep!!
    I love sweet potatoes! a few minutes in the microwave with butter salt and pepper heaven.
    Cathy

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