On 7/26/2017 9:59 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/26/2017 9:14 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 7/26/2017 8:59 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/23/2017 7:31 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/22/2017 8:46 PM, Pavel314 wrote:
On Saturday, July 22, 2017 at 10:25:58 AM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
I picked 3 cucumbers this morning , peppers are starting to produce ,
and there are several small okra pods out there . I think we're
going to
get a pretty good harvest this year , I've had more time to work out
there . Last year construction was the top priority , this year
not so
much though it's close to the top of the list .

--

Snag
My wife has started harvesting and processing tomatoes this week;
we'll have enough spaghetti sauce for the next year. Too many
cucumbers; fortunately, the sheep haven't tired of them yet. This
morning, we picked the first white cucumber. More onions and garlic
than one knows what to do with. And the cantaloupes are really huge
but not quite ripe yet. The pumpkins are putting forth fruit, but
won't be ripe for several months. We've been eating beets, lettuce,
cabbage, and Brussels sprouts for some time now. Strawberry season
is over; I have a batch of strawberry wine fermenting down in the
cellar.

Paul
Maryland, North of Baltimore

I got a late start this year , but fortunately the growing season
here (N. central Arkansas) is pretty long . I usually have til late
September to harvest stuff unless we get an early freeze .

--

Snag

I should have checked yesterday . Picked 7 cucumbers and the first
zucchini just a few minutes ago , there are LOTS more cukes and at
least 3-4 more zukes out there not quite big enough . Also got a
handful of okra , but not enough for 2 servings - by Friday there
will be .Tomato plants are producing nicely though none are ripe yet
, peppers are still behind - but the jalapenos have a few pods now .
It's supposed to rain here on Thursday evening and Friday , followed
by more sun - and another explosion of growth in the garden . The
wife was "hoping the garden will do better this year" , looks like
she gets her wish . Sure glad we picked up that 4 dozen canning jars
(yard sale @ $2/doz) last week because it looks like we're gonna need
them .

--

Snag

Wife came home from her church garden with a bucket of okra, seems the
folks that visit the Poor Pantry don't like okra. Washed, air dried,
cut into rounds, put on a bun tray and frozen. Then they went into
vacuum bags, we like gumbo with okra, fried okra, baked okra, etc. So
does the majority of our large family. I remember the days when my Dad
was out on strike that we ate whatever we could get our hands on. Of
course, I grew up on ten acres with lots of critters and veggie's so
never went hungry. Somewhere around here I have a lot of okra recipes,
will try to find them among the 100+ recipe books.

George

We like it fried , I might try it in some gumbo , that's new
territory for me . I'm takin' a page from your book when we start
getting more okra that we can eat - slice , freeze , try out my vacuum
sealer . Probably shred some zucchini and vac bag/freeze it too . I
read somewhere that GV (WM's brand) ziplocks make good vacuum bags . Cut
off the lock strip , use the top row of ridges - cut into short pieces
and laid across the opening - to let the air out (discard the lock strip
itself) and they're a lot cheaper than the purpose-made bags/roll bags .

--

Snagilicious

That's what we do with zukes too, that and cut rounds, to later cook in
casseroles or roll in flour and spices and deep fry.

We use rolls of plastic bags both the six inch wide and the twelve inch
wide. Depth of bag depends on what we're putting in the bags. Got a deal
on several beef roast a while back. Cut them into the proper size to fit
a bag (there's just two of us), cooked the roasts, let cool, vacuum
bagged and into the big freezer. We do much the same when we find
chicken breasts in big bags and ready to go out the door but are still
good. Sort them out, vacuum bag, label, toss into the freezer. Lots of
greens get done that way as do leftovers from making to much whatever.
Stay's good up to three years without getting bad or otherwise. Been
doing this for about thirty years now. Now on our fourth or fifth vacuum
sealer, always get a good brand, the cheap ones don't last long.

Used to have to go on line for bag material but nowadays they are in
most stupor markets at reasonable prices. I found some online several
years ago at half price and bought a case, still using them but getting
low. We also dish wash the empty bags and keep using them until they
only hold a couple of weiners, then they go to recycle. Waste not want not.

George