Today's harvest

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You're so lucky to have all that! How do you save the cider - freeze it?

Yeah, freezing it works well. Tastes exactly the same when thawed out.
Ill probably bring some to my daughter this week and to my parents ( since it is their press ). I wanted to kinda do a family apple harvest/ cider making event, but trying to coordinate 20 people is close to impossible. My parents literally just moved and are extremely busy with that. and they are not as mobile as they once were.

Im also drinking it at an alarmingly fast rate ( I absolutely love fresh apple cider).

We'll also defrost a bunch for Thanksgiving.
 
You grow cranberries? That is WAY cool!

About 20 years ago, I was traveling in Massachusetts during the Autumn months, and while driving, saw a sunken field with a burgundy hue to it. Didnt think much of it, then it hit me. I was looking a cranberry bog. I had read about them and saw them in pictures, but never live. I stopped the car, got out an looked around. I was so excited that I made a note to myself to add growing cranberries to my bucket list. ( Same exact thing happened to me when I was in Alabama and passed a cotton field. I have grown cotton since then, which was really cool too).

When I got home, I researched where to get them and how to grow them. Initially thinking that I needed a water bog to grow them, I have since learned that that is only needed during the harvesting process, to flood the fields so the berries float to the top, the easily harvested ( Its not actually mandatory, just makes harvesting more efficient). I bought 15 plants and made myself a nice cranberry bed in a raised garden. All was going well until I asked my son to mow the backyard. He somehow managed to get the lawnmower up and into the raised cranberry bed, and mowed all 15 plants down to a nub. needless to say I wasn't very happy. I never let him mow the grass again ( which was likely his motive ).

Fast forward a few years ago we visited and toured 2 cranberry farms in Massachusetts ( kinda near the Cape Cod region). One farm was small privately owned farm. They went through the process, but the main perk of this tour was the photo op. You got to put on waders, grab a rake, get into the bog, and get an 'action shot' . We then headed over to the next farm which was a more major production. Many of the farms are affiliated with, sub contracted by ... Ocean Spray. This one was a bus tour. Went to multiple sites to see the whole process. We got to get out at many of the stops ( wasn't like we just looked out the window). The last stop, we got out, were handed a few berry scoops and a few gallon + sized bags and were were able to pick the berries ourselves, fill the bags and take them home. cranberries freeze very well, so we froze them in portions and used them when needed ( took like 3 years to used up, even after giving many away).

So, once again, I was inspired to grow cranberries . My sons in China so he cant get to them, should be safe. Earlier in the season, I went to this garden nursery and spotted a bunch of plants ( I got 4). I put them in pots, and they are doing real well. I noticed the berries starting to rot the past week or so, so I picked them all. I tasted some of the less burgundy colored ones and they tasted just like the fully ripe. Id rather have enough to do something with, then just one good ripe berry, so we harvest them all. Ill wash them, freeze them and use for thanks giving. The 4 plants gave me 4 cups, just enough . they're in pots so take up no room in the garden. Not worth the money, but still cool. I figured Ill break even in about 75 years if the plants keep producing at a this rate :LOL:

Im pretty sure there is an old thread ( probably in 2018) about my cranberry tour/ picking experience, but ill include a few photos here.

The pics with the trucks in it are the pros. The pics of the berry scoop and the two idiots standing with rakes in the middle of a bog full of cranberries ) are me and my wife for th photo op.
 

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Finally got enough ripe tomatoes to can. I had to work up three batches and freeze them before I could can 10 pints. The first time I canned spaghetti sauce with meat.
 

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The garden, and life, has gotten away from me. Dh had rotator cuff and bicep tendon surgery a week ago and recovery has been rough for him. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and realized I still had all my storage onions in the ground and hadn't done a thing with the Big Jim green chiles. So this morning I knocked over the tops of the onions and gathered some green chiles to dehydrate. And we may have our first frost/freeze this coming Tuesday. I'd better get moving.
 

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Beth, awesome on the peppers. We still have some on the plants. I cut up 3 2-gallon buckets, so 6 gallons of red peppers day before yesterday with my son. Then we put them through the slapper chopper fine dice, and filled 9 dehydrator trays with them, plus 1 gallon zip lock bag of them for the freezer.


The green beans we planted after garlic came out, are now producing and we're eating them as fast as we can, and giving them to the neighbors as we have enough on the shelves from previous years.



We might dehydrate beans if we must. First though, apple slices for snacking and baking.
 
Last of the zuchinni. Going to make a ton of zuchini bread. Tomorrow is all day zuchinni bread day. Regular and gluten free.

Also, the self perpetuating arugala bed is doing it's thing after the last big rain.

Will do a last tomato harvest this qeekend as well, if I get the chance.20210925_185617.jpg20210925_185733.jpg
 
Just harvested some apples and grapes yestedray, I only planted the apple trees last year so I'm pretty surprised they are already giving such nice apples :)

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Shittake log is on its 3rd round of mushrooms. Picked another 10, which now brings it down to about $2 per mushroom, but I love doing it.

Also first two ( of hopefully many) chestnuts dropped from the tree. Now it will be Larry vs The squirrels .
 

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I harvested a lot of capsaicin today! :ohmy:

I harvested my four chinense peppers today, the gold bullet and chocolate habaneros, that are determinate types, and I got a large amount of all at once, earlier in the season, then they flowered again, and are just now ripe. The death spiral and paper lantern are indeterminate types, and have been growing, and producing more all summer, the death spiral the latest to start ripening, but the most of any! You can see in the photos of the branches, showing just a few on each plant, not even ripe yet -many of the smallest won't ripen, before frost.
Chocolate Habaneros, Gold Bullets, and Paper Lanterns, all one plant each, 10-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Death Spirals, all from one plant, 10-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Just one of many branches on the Death Spiral, showing the unripe peppers on it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Not as visible on the Paper Lantern, but another closeup showing many of the unripe peppers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
 
Chestnuts keep dropping from the tree.
Don't thing the squirrel are aware of this yet.


lol, that is so funny.
We kept up with picking up apples and pears under the trees and instead of having fawns under the trees everyday, we don't have deer in the yard. The only animal issues we had were chipmunks and squirrels and sandhill cranes. And we're on top of those as best we can.
 
Usually the squirrels gnaw the pods off the trees before they are ripe, so no one wins. This year, they haven't figured it out yet.

Also found this shiitake that I must have missed cause it was growing under the log.
 

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