Learning on the Job Digging Dahlias and Gladiolus

The warm days of autumn have faded into the chilly days of early winter, and I've been busy helping Kevin and Katie wrap up the growing season. My flower growing knowledge is rather limited, but bless their hearts, they agreed to let me help out, and I'm really enjoying it. And I'm learning a lot! 

Annie has taken it up herself to keep an eye on me as I work. 
Not a bad idea, someone needs to make sure I do it right. 

A couple weeks ago, I volunteered to dig the dahlias. These were from their specialty patch at their house that Katie uses in the flower arrangements she sells in season. At first, I dug them and laid them in the grass nearby. But it was a windy day, and I was having trouble keeping their nametags in place. 

So, I abandoned that idea, and as I dug them, I just carried them 2 at a time to the greenhouse to dry for a couple days. Let's just say that helped get my steps in. Ha. 

A couple days later, George helped me dig the dahlias from the U-Pick patch, which was less stressful, since those ones weren't tagged, meaning I didn't have to worry about making sure I didn't lose said tags. After they dried a bit, Kevin got them all tucked into barrels with a blanket of peat moss to keep them cozy for their long winters nap in their basement. 

Today, it was the gladiolus' turn. Because of the wet spring, they got planted late and then bloomed beautifully as long as they could. Kevin and Katie decided to leave the glads in the ground for a while despite frosty nights, so the glads could go through their winding down process. But with the possibility of snow next week, it was time to get them out of the ground. 

This was my first time digging glads, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out I could just pull them out of the ground by hand, using a garden fork occasionally if one broke off from the stem. I filled 2 crates by myself, then George helped me fill 2 more. The kids helped with the last 2, and let me tell you, they had the pulling process down! I was the stem cutter, and I could barely keep up with them. 

Hopefully the fact that the glads had some frosty nights won't be an issue. Last year, Kevin accidentally skipped a row when he dug them up, and that row made a surprise appearance in the summer, with no damage. 

Now the glads are taking their turn in the greenhouse to dry before they too get put to bed for the winter. 

 

A Surprise Under the Dahlias

Our daughter Jessica gave me some of her dahlia tubers last spring, and I planted them by the porch, outside the kitchen window. Such a unique, and beautiful star shaped bloom! I think this variety is called Verrone's Obsidian.

For a week or so during the late summer, a hummingbird would hover around them, drinking in their sweet nectar. I was never quick enough with the camera to get a photo, but I sure enjoyed watching.

We've had a few hard frosts by now, so a couple days ago, I decided to dig up the tubers. I was surprised that I didn't have to get out the shovel or spade. I was able to pull out the whole clump by hand.

But that wasn't the only surprise. When I pulled them up, I noticed the slightest movement in the dirt.

At first, I thought it was a snake's tail. 

But snakes slither away quickly, and this didn't make a move other than the slightest twitching of its tail. I was feeling brave and used a long screwdriver to flip away more dirt.

A yellow spotted salamander! 

Even with the dirt removed, it didn't make a move. I gently covered it back up with the loose dirt and left it in peace in its hidden home. 

Bees, hummingbirds and even salamanders. Those dahlias sure did put out the welcome mat!

Trying our Hands at Drying Flowers

Just a few weeks ago, the U-Pick Patch at our son's farm was in full glory. Howard Family Farms in Salisbury, PA was the place to go to pick and arrange your own bouquet. 

Unfortunately, the end of the season comes when Jack Frost makes his annual debut.

The night before the predicted frost, George & I cut a row of flowers Katie wanted to dry from the U-Pick Patch, while Kevin did the same in their private patch at their house. 

It was getting close to dark, and we were hustling. And to be completely honest, we really didn't know what we were doing. But we managed to completely fill the truck bed with just one row of flowers.

The next day, George & I tied them together into bundles, while the kids & Kevin hung them to dry. Once again, we really didn't know what we were doing, but we gave it the ole college try. We were almost done when Katie got home from work, and told Kevin that technically, we were supposed to strip the leaves. Oops! But she was fine with how we did it, (or maybe she is just a good actor?) Hopefully the drying leaves won't be too much of an issue. 

Ah, well, this may be a live and learn situation. Isn't that most of life? 

They sure look pretty hanging there! Katie has plans for them. It will be interesting to see what all she comes up with! 

 

Strange Dandelions

Last spring, we found a few of the oddest dandelions on our son's farm in PA. It seemed that 3 or 4 of them fused into one, making a wide stem with multiple flower heads coming out of it. 

I have no idea if that is common or rare, but it was a new sight for me personally.

The grandkids found the first one, then we found a few more, all within the same general area. 

I'll have to keep an eye out for them again next spring! 

Frost is Coming Soon for our Flowers. Boo.

Chances for frost are increasing, so I wanted to get a final photo of our garden doors before the end of the season. The zinnias looked much better a month or so ago, but that's ok. 

George and I made all the decorations. All had been in our shop at one point. The butterflies we made from old tin corrugated roofing were a great seller, as were the various chair planters we had through the years. We had fun making birdhouses and decorating them with old junk. As for the garden angel, we did sell several of them, but we kind of got in on that trend a little late. They were starting to fade in popularity by the time we started making them. Ah, always a dollar late and a dollar short. We ended up keeping a few of them, and I sort of rotate them in and out of use. 

This is the view we see of them from our house.

And this is the view our neighbors see:

We want to make it look nice on their side too. Although I do have trouble remembering to water the flowers in the little wagon. They aren't looking so hot at this point. Actually, I thought they were dead once, but I went ahead and gave them a BIG drink, and they came back. Then we got a little rain, and dewy nights, and they managed to stay alive despite me neglecting them. 

We had bought the wagon to sell in the shop, but it never made it there. I rarely kept things without even trying to sell it, but the wagon spoke to me. "Keep me, keep me!". So I did. 

Same with this red one:

I can't remember for sure if I ever had this wagon in the shop, but I'm thinking it also told me to keep it. When a wagon speaks, you have to listen. Hee hee. 

Look at those plants! This is a first for me! That coleus... I can't believe it got so big. The sweet potato vine just kept going and going. The impatiens did pretty well, and the sweet alyssum... Wow! This is the first time I even kept it alive. Honest! 

I watered frequently, and fertilized with Miracle Gro a few times, and by golly, I got rewarded big time. I hate to lose them to the cold, but I guess that day is coming.  

I may fool around and learn how to be a flower gardener yet! 

Canning Applesauce and Preserving Memories

This was my day yesterday - canning applesauce.

To be honest, I don't like working up apples. I enjoy canning, but I find apples to be very tiresome. Cutting them up, cooking them to make them soft, running them through the strainer, and finally reaching the canning stage......... lots of work! But totally worth it.

Anytime I can, memories come flooding back. Mostly of me and my mom canning together, which we did every summer. She has been gone for several years, but every single time I can, I hear her voice guiding me in the steps. I am so glad I paid attention! I treasure those memories more than I can express. We shared many happy times as we "put up" food for winter. 

With apples though, the memories also include my dad. They had several apple trees, so I can see him picking them, and bringing them into the kitchen in one bushel basket after another. If they didn't have a good crop, they would buy apples from a local orchard. When my kids were small, the orchard owner would sometimes drop off their order at their house. She was a story teller, and I can still see my kids sitting there, soaking up every word she said.

Dad didn't usually help with the canning, but he did with the apples, because they would put up several bushels. So every fall, he and mom would turn their kitchen into an applesauce factory. Mom knew which varieties to cook together to make the best sauce. I remember one year when the sauce came out pink from the red peelings. It was delicious!

There was much more preserved in that kitchen than food. I miss them both terribly, but am so very thankful for the lessons... and the memories.

Oreo Cows

Oh, how cool are these cows? Not just any cows...

 

OREO COWS!

 

Well, technically they are Belted Galloways. But look at them! Black on both ends with a white belt down the middle.

 

OREO COWS!

 

 

They belong to Kevin & Katie who traveled most of the way across PA yesterday to buy them and bring them home. They will be going back in a couple months to pick up the heifers they also bought who are getting bred soon.

 

The 4 they brought home yesterday had never been off their farm before. They were just leading a peaceful life of eating grass and hay. Then Kevin & Katie showed up with a trailer, and the cows went from going about their daily business to riding on the highway for several hours.

 

They were not impressed.

 

So, understandably, they are also not impressed with Kevin & Katie right now. Or me & George. How did I get close to them to take their picture? I didn't. Camera zooms are lovely little devices are they not?

 

Most of the day, this is what we saw if we got remotely close to the beautiful Belties:

 

 

There were lots of opportunities to get shots of their backsides. With the zoom.

 

But by the end of the day, they were getting somewhat used to us. Somewhat being the operative word. But there was progress.

 

And that's a good thing.



 

Shop harvest and Home harvest

It's harvest time! Both at my craft shop and at home. Late summer/early fall is always a very busy time of year for me.

 

Turning this.........

 

into this.......

 

 

And this.........

   

 

into this..........

 

 

*And this.......

 

 

 into this.......

 

 

There's not much I can do about the timing of the garden. You plant in the spring & harvest in late summer/early fall. That's just the way it is.

 

There is certainly something I can do about the crafting harvest though. I can sew and paint pumpkins in the heat of summer. Or the harsh cold of winter.

 

But somehow, I always end up crafting pumpkins at the same time as I'm harvesting the garden. I never learn........

 

I had planned to sew some Indian Corn for the craft harvest, but when one of my handmade suppliers beat me to it, I happily placed a wholesale order with her......

 

 

Why? Because the green beans may be pulled up, the corn may be cut down and the stalks fed to the cows, the cucumbers and cabbage are long gone...but the tomatos are still going strong. There's more juice and salsa and tomato pieces for chili etc. to can.

 

In case you're wondering what we do with all that tomato juice, I'll tell you. It's the main ingredient in the best Tomato Soup you will ever taste.

 

Sorry, no photo, but I'll tell you how we do it.

 

Stir together:

3 TBSP sugar

4 TBSP flour

 

Stir this into 1 quart tomato juice. Heat to just boiling, stirring often.

 

SOOOOO much better than condensed soup! Once you've eaten this homemade tomato soup, you'll never be able to eat condensed tomato soup from a store again. Well...that's been our experience anyway.

 

You can use store bought tomato juice, but I'll warn you, it's not the same. Years ago, we ran out of juice and bought some brand that tasted pretty good when made into soup. But I don't remember what brand it was, and we've tried again from time to time if we ran out of our own juice. We've never found a good substitute for our own juice again. It may be out there, but we haven't found it again.

 

This soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is a winter classic in our house, especially when we come home on a cold winter's day after church and want something hot in a hurry. Ahhh, good stuff.

 

*Keepin' em honest - I did not take this green bean picture. I don't have a picture of our green beans, and we have already pulled the plants up since they are done producing. Google brings up just about any picture you want, and that is where I found this one that looks like the green bean plants did in our own garden.

 

The rest of the pics are mine. All mine. Honest.

    

Juicy Peaches

Our war with the raccoon, the deer, and the opossums is over.

Well, at least as far as the peach tree is concerned.

Look at that luciousness! They're ready!

And they're juicy.

 As in pick it right off the tree, take a bite, & feel the juice run down your hand.

Heavenly.

We picked these 3 bowls...

Kevin & Katie picked another huge bowl...

We ate some...

The deer ate some...

The opossum probably ate some...

The chickens ate the fallen ones...

The birds & the bees nibbled on some...

The raccoons ate MOST of them...

Grr.

Well, at least we got this many.

These are going in the freezer for pies.

Also heavenly.

Pesky Nighttime Visitors

We've been in battle all summer.

It's us vs. the raccoons. The prize? There's two.

The chicken's feed, and the even more coveted peach tree.

George put some metal flashing around the bottom of the peach tree.

The thinking was that the raccoons couldn't climb it.

The thinking was good in theory, but not quite accurate.

Maybe they can't climb it, but they sure can jump it!

See that blur jumping right over the flashing?

This one must be mama, she doesn't look like she would even need to jump.

By the time she stretches to her full length, she could just lazily pull herself up & over.

"Thanks for the lift guys. You made my job much easier."

Our game camera caught another night time prowler too....

Yep, that would be a deer.

Ahhh, life in the country.

Edited to add: When George looked at my blog, thus looking at the photos more closely, he noticed that in the second photo (the one where the raccoon is jumping), there is an opossum there as well. We're being bombarded by wildlife!

Weekend harvest

Last weekend we played.

Too bad we can't do that every weekend....

You might say this weekend was a harvest, of sorts.

Well, it was on the tomatos......

Yesterday, they turned into salsa, with enough left to make more salsa.

Or maybe spaghetti sauce.

Or pizza sauce.

As for the rest of the weekend harvest, well, you wouldn't want to bite into any of it. This is just a smidgeon of the fall crafts I was working on last week...

Hey, want to see some fun special effects?



Ok, ok, back to work I go.

Cabbage Revelation

I've discovered something about cabbage. I'm sure the curiosity is killing you, so I'll get right to it.

During the winter, I buy the bagged cabbage that is already shredded. I mix it with slaw dressing in the morning if we want to have it for supper in the evening. But if I'm cutting up my own cabbage from what we grew in our garden, it's better not to add the dressing till just before we eat. If I add it in the morning, it gets a bit runny by evening.

We were wondering why the difference, then it occurred to us:

The bagged cabbage is older and somewhat dried out. It needs all day to "soak up" the dressing.

Our fresh cabbage still retains its moisture, so if it sits in the dressing all day, it gathers too much moisture and gets runny.

Another reason to grow your own or support your local farmer's market if you have one!

We had a lot of cabbage this year and we are still eating some of it. We left it in the garden as long as possible, then picked it and put it in the fridge. It will keep quite a while if you cut off the outer leaves, then just put the head in a plastic grocery bag or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. When you're ready to eat it, just remove a couple layers and the inside is still fine.

We all like coleslaw, but George LOVES coleslaw. He could eat it every day. Most of the summer, we've been having it a couple times a week, but we're getting close to running out. I think we only have a couple heads left, Is there such a thing as coleslaw withdrawal? We may soon find out.

Bean Season

At our house in the country, July means it's time to start canning green beans. If you've never had home-canned green beans, you're missing out. They taste soooo much better than the ones you buy in the store.

The Presto canner on the right is mine - I guess I've had it for 20 years or so. The Maid of Honor canner on the left is my mom's. I was born in 1962, and it's the only pressure canner I remember her ever using. I suspect she was using it well before that. Still works great!

I love using her old canner, because it takes me back to her kitchen, and the many summers when I helped her can. I see her snapping beans, hear her laughter and instructions (make sure your jar rims are clean! don't let the pressure get too high!)

When she could no longer can, I took her canner home with me, and now I use it every summer. I know without looking at the manual how to use it, but I get it out anyway, because in mom's handwriting are extra notes that I love to skim over. She may be gone now physically, but she is very much beside me in spirit as I use that canner!

  

Jars ready to process in canner

From another woman who had canned many, many years, I learned this tip: when you are canning green beans, if you don't have enough to completely fill a canner, finish the canner off with dried beans from the grocery store. You can use the white soup beans, or the brown ones, which I show in this photo. Just put a cup of dried beans in a quart jar, add 1/2 tsp. salt, and fill with hot water. Process with the green beans as usual.

Edited in 2025 to add: I have canned dry beans like this for years with no problems but have since learned that they should actually be canned for 75 minutes for pints, or 90 minutes for quarts. Wow! What a difference! I was shocked to see this in the Ball Canning Book and online.



Jars after processing

My two canning tips would be this:

Use 2 pressure canners if you have much produce. It speeds up the process so much! As you know if you are a canner, you can't open the canner till the pressure goes down, so if you have a second batch to do, you have to wait. Now that I have mine and mom's, I have the second one on the stove processing while the first one is still cooling down.

The other tip is to use jar lifter tongs like the ones in the photo. Mom never had any, and neither did I. We just used hot pads and got burned a few times. Last summer, George got me the tongs. So much safer!!! And easier!!!

One of my favorite sounds is the Ping! as the jars seal. A very satisfying sound!

And finally, an aside to Jessica........can you smell them? I know how you looove the smell of green beans being canned! Ha!