Jon recently brought us home more composted manure from my grandparent’s farm. 13 trailer loads (approx. 52 yards of manure)! 1/2 of the front-side yard is covered in manure and we couldn’t be happier!
The future base and location of our greenhouse:
Ok, so maybe it’s one of those “you had to be there” kind of things. It doesn’t look nearly as impressive in pictures, but really, it’s a whole lot of manure!
How are you fertilizing your garden this year?
This post is just to remind myself what time of year canning really picks up. I was on my feet canning for well over 15 hours, on Sunday alone and there is still so much to do.
Grocery bag full of green beans:
A box of peaches and nectarines (still looking good from 3 weeks ago!):
And more nectarines (this isn’t even all of them, just the most ripe ones):
2 bags of grocery tomatoes:
1/2 a bag of peppers:
A bag full of onions:
And an entire box of pickling cucumbers, well over 20lbs of cukes:
A peak into the canning process. We’ve got bowls, bins and boxes everywhere. I did manage to keep up on dishes through out the day though so we’ve got some decent open counterpace 
This really saves my sanity by midday.
Some results:
I ended the day with 14 quarts of dill pickles, 10 pints of corn salsa, 7 quarts of crushed tomatoes, 15 1/2 jelly jars of nectarine jam. I’ve still got all the greenbeans, a big bowl of cukes, a 1/2 bag of tomatoes and pretty much all of the nectarines left.
Oh and don’t forget about this project:
2 BUSHELS of potatoes waiting to be canned. Slowly but surely this will all make it’s way to our cabinets, but I sure hope nothing goes bag in the time being! Oh and the garden is in need of picking again.
It’s such a love-hate relationship. I love canning and I love eating the food but each time I burned myself yesterday (there were multiple occasions) I asked myself why I don’t just go to the grocery store like “normal” people do. Then I remember the pride I have for the food we grow and put up and how much better it is for us. I think about the connection I feel when I talk about canning with my great-grandmother. The work is hard, but it’s enjoyable (although exhausting) and I know it’s worthwhile especially come January and that’s what pushes me to wake up at 5 in the morning on my days off to get a jump start on the heat. It’s so worth it, even when you burn yourself with the jam… 
Sorry for the mini rant/ pep talk!
How was your weekend?
What we’ve panted in the vegetable garden for 2011
Avalanche Snow Peas (Gurney’s)- 225 Seeds, 40ft
Tendersweet carrot (Gurney’s)- 10ft
Sherwood Leeks (Seeds of Change)- 8ft
Potatoes (Barber’s, Shaul’s, Dad)- 165ft
(55ft blue potatoes)
Onions (Sunnycrest Orchard, Gurney’s)- 110ft
(55ft yellow, Sunnycrest & Gurney’s)
(20ft white, Gurney’s)
(35ft red, Sunnycrest)
Hybrid Gotta Have It White Corn (Gurney’s)- 20ft
Beefmaster Tomato (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Roma Tomatoes (Schuyler’s)- 30 plants
Green Zebra Heirloom Tomatoes (Barber’s)- 4 plants
Black Prince Heirloom Tomatoes (Barber’s)- 4 plants
Italian Large Leaf Basil (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Italian Large Leaf Basil (Barber’s)- 1 plant
Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (Sunnycrest)- 1 plant
Red Acre Cabbage (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Flash Green Cabbage (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Hybrid Stonehead Cabbage (Gurney’s)- 100 seeds
Ace Green Bell Peppers (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Big Bertha Green Bell Peppers (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Hungarian Wax Peppers (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Hot Cherry Peppers (Schuyler’s)- 6 plants
Pimento Peppers (Barber’s)- 4 plants
Annie Oakley Okra (Barber’s)- 4 plants
Pest Perfecto Basil (Schuyler’s)- 1 plant
Frijol Pinto Beans (Ferry Morse)- 20 ft
May 25, 2011
Salad Greens- 32 sq ft
(Spinach Hybrid Tyee, Gurney’s)
(Mesclum Mild Mix, Gurney’s)
(Paris White Cos Romaine, Gurney’s 2010)
(Arugula Italian Wild, NK Lawn and Garden 2010)
(Spinach Bloomsdale Longstanding, NK Lawn and Garden 2010)
Hybrid Gurney’s Pride II Summer Squash (Gurney’s)- 4 seeds
Hybrid Multipack Summer Squash (Gurney’s)- 4 seeds
Hybrid Bush Pickle Cucumber (Gurney’s)- 18 seeds
Hybrid Burpless II Cucumber(Gurney’s)- 12 seeds
Straight Eight Cucumber (Gurney’s)- 4 seeds
Dill (Gurney’s)-300 seeds
Sherwood Leeks (Seeds of Change)- 10ft
Tendersweet Carrots (Gurneys)- 18ft
Sugar Daddy Pea (Burpee 2010)- 12ft
Bush Beans Early Contender (Gurney’s)- 34ft
June 4, 2011
Hybrid Gotta Have It White Corn (Gurney’s)- 70ft
Frijol Pinto Beans (Ferry Morse)- 25 ft
What are your most reliable seed sources? What have you planted in 2011?
