Wow -- I feel so inadequate after reading your post!! Congratulations on your husband's retirement. How special and how nice for you to be able to spend time in the garden on his first day. Because I am such a newbie and city born and raised (until the last few years), I am in awe of people with such big gardens. If I might ask, how many sugar snap peas to you put out to get that kind of output?

It IS hot! Early morning and evening until dark are all I can take. Isn't AC a wonderful thing???
Have a great weekend!

Dorothy,

It is remarkable how similar our week has been, both last week and this week. I put up the rest of the broccoli in the freezer (we ended up with 19 lbs., I think, which is plenty for the two of us,) and I also made sauerkraut and freezer slaw earlier this week. The extra cabbages are in the garage in the extra fridge....

We ended up with 34 pounds of sugar snaps, many eaten fresh and a lot put up in the freezer. I've picked green beans and squash all week, and we're eating them fresh and putting up the rest in the freezer. I've planted beans, southern peas and okra to fill the empty spaces left by the harvesting of all the cabbage, peas and broccoli. I hope to get a lot put into the freezer before the squash vine borers arrive and ruin my fun.

I picked a lot of tomatoes today and need to do green beans and squash sometime tomorrow, but have to work at the fire dept. garage sale for part of the day and suspect it will be too hot to harvest by the time we get home.

How hot is it? I'll tell you how hot....our fire dept. got paged out to a fire this evening about 2 or 3 miles from our house, and it was an ICE TRUCK that was on fire. I think maybe it overheated trying to keep the ice cold....the firefighters saved the structures near the truck but couldn't save the truck, which belonged to a local water/ice company.

I've asked the 'oldtimers' here how they survived without air conditioning, and you know, most of them say that they didn't miss it because they didn't know what it was. They do talk about sitting on the porch snapping or stringing beans or blackeyed peas in the evening and they talk about keeping milk and butter cold in a springhouse. Let's see, some of the earliest settlers here in our county lived in dugout homes dug into the banks of the Red River and they said those stayed fairly cool but the women were eager to get out of them and live in a wooden house. They also talked about buying a chunk of ice and trying to make it last in the ice box as long as possible. Water that was drinkable was a huge problem a few decades back, and everyone knew the locations of the various natural springs and could go haul good spring water home to drink. After listening to the tales of the old-timers, I think we're really spoiled. There's still a few here who remember when the county got electricity and they thought they'd hit the big time because they had an electic light or two, a stove and (eventually) a refrigerator.

I've been trying to catch up on weeding and mulching and have had to water some because we haven't had a good rain since about May 13th or 14th. I have picked potato beetles off the potatoes, and put out Semaspore for grasshoppers. I'm not seeing big ones, but we have oodles of the recently hatched ones that are about 1/4 to 3/4" long. Some of the bell peppers are at the stage where they're starting to turn from green to their ripe color...I planted orange, yellow, red, and purple bells. Some jalapenos are getting quite large and will be ready to pick about next week. The carrots, potatoes and onions are holding their own....just hanging in there and growing and enlarging. I'm a little worried about the corn. It is about 4' tall and I believe we're going to silk and tassel soon....and I hope it waits until the weather cools off so the heat won't impede the pollination.

I've been trying to do garden chores from 6 a.m. to about noon, with frequent breaks to come in and cool off, and then go back out around 5 p.m. and stay out until dark. I still can't get everything done, but I just keep plugging away. I thought I'd get a batch of cherry tomatoes dehydrated today, but had company stop by to visit three separate times...and I love seeing my friends...but it did throw my schedule out of whack, not that I mind. So, maybe I can get a batch in the dehydrator tomorrow early and it can dehydrate while I'm working at the fire dept. garage sale.

The plums are ripening perfectly so far...maybe 8 or 10 or 12 a day, so we can eat them as fast as we can pick them. I think of them as a natural Gatorade and eat one every time I walk by the tree. At some point, though, the rest are likely to ripen all at once and usually they do that by the first weekend in June, but they're a little late this year. When a lot ripen at once, I'll probably make plum jelly or jam. Only 1 plum tree has ripe fruit, but the other two have plums just starting to turn, so I bet we'll suddenly have a million plums to pick. The peaches are usually ripe a couple of weeks after the plums, but they're coloring up really well and I think they may be early. We're still eating blackberries and strawberries as fast as we harvest them, so I don't think any will make it into the freezer, but they are yummy fresh.

I think the harvest was more compressed this spring with all the cool season stuff late and overlapping the warm-season harvest. It's been kind of hectic, but I'm caught up now until the fruit all hits at once. I have six crookneck squash plants and 3 zucchini plants, so we have squash coming out of our ears. I love this time of year, but I'd like to have one day...just one single day where I don't have to pick, blanch, chop, freeze or dehydrate anything!

Oh, and congratulations on DH's retirement! Think how wonderful it will be to have an extra pair of hands. I hope you have a long 'honey-do' list to keep him busy.

Dawn

Traci, I plant a fifty foot row, which takes 300 plants started in peat pots. It was the peas that got planted late this year. Half of them went in after the Mar 20 snow storm and that is 10 days later than I like to get them in.

Dawn, you are a couple weeks ahead of us, I think. Our few plums are still small and green as are tomatoes. I picked the side shoots off the broccoli this morn, got another 5 lbs and tomorrow DH will take the plants to the compost. Then we will plant the Mesquakie corn George gave me.

Our Kandy Korn is starting to tassel and I too wish it were cooler for it--and we probably are a few degrees cooler than you are. Only got to 85 today.

Also picked another 3 lbs of peas. There are still blooms on them but I don't think they will make. The vines are starting to look pretty limp.

Yeah, a day to rest in between would be nice, but I have help now and that's almost like a rest.

Dorothy,

I just know my corn isn't going to make it...we were 97 today and this was supposed to be our 'cool' day during this heat spell. If it is terribly hot when the corn tassels and I'm sure pollination has been adversely affected, I'll likely rip out the corn and feed it to the compost pile and plant something else in that space. The raccoons are already visiting every night to check for ears of corn. Grrrr! My worst pests aren't the little ones...it is the big ones.

You've had such a great broccoli year!

Somehow I missed a broccoli plant in Maddie's garden, and there it sits with its little head. It isn't enlarging, but it isn't bolting either, so we're just going to leave it there and see how long it lasts before it bolts in this heat. She'l enjoy the pretty yellow flowers anyway.

I'm envious of your 'help' but glad you have it. If I wear myself out when the harvest is hot and heavy, it is my own fault for planting too much of everything. Still, when I go 'grocery shopping' in the freezer, pantry and root cellar during the non-harvest months, I'm always so grateful I spent all that time putting up the harvest.

We seem to have two kinds of gardens here locally this year...those that are growing like mad and producing like gangbusters, and those that are doing nothing. I'm sure not going to complain about my garden producing too much when some folks gardens just aren't producing.

Our granddaughter is here for a couple of days and today we did her favorite garden chore...we watered plants in containers with watering cans. What this really means is I watered plants and she choose one or two plants and attempted to kill them by drenching them endlessly with water, ignoring our suggestion that some other plants would like to have a drink as well. She also informed me that our garden is no longer a garden....it is a farm. I asked her why and she said because we have a red barn and crops and animals. So, I'm not a gardener, I'm a farmer and so is she. She calls us 'the farmgirls' and calls the potting shed the farmgirl's playhouse or farmgirl's clubhouse. Three is such an adorable age.

Dawn

Our weather was totally different today. About 9 while we were in the garden a storm passed by, leaving only .10 inch but cooling things off all day, so we were able to be back out by 10 and worked most of the day out. Ripped out the broccoli plants and planted the Mesquakie Indian Corn I got from George. Hope it makes.

Then I put up the last of the broccoli--six qts--and peas--4 pints and when I got to the freezer went looking for the peas I'd already put up and found all of 2 bags. I sent all the rest home with daughters and granddaughters. Darn. There may be three or four pints still in the garden and then the vines are coming out.

So plenty of broccoli in the freezer this year but not enough peas.

I don't have enough basil to make all the pesto I want either. I bought some plants and put them out and they all look diseased. I also raised some from seed and picked enough for a cup or so today. I'm the only one who likes it so I freeze it in small batches.

Dawn,
I found this thread because I did a search for jalapenos, looking for information on how to know when they are ready to pick. You mentioned yours are getting large and should be getting ready to pick. Could you tell me about how large they should be when you pick them? I've never grown them before, and I realized that I don't know how to tell when they're ripe, since they don't change colors. I love your description of your granddaughter and her ideas about what makes a farmer versus a gardener. She is too cute! Three is such a fun age because they are communicating so well and they are so imaginative and naive. I love it!

Suzie

Harvest is happening here too.

The apricot tree has kept me busy. I am not complaining because this is the first year I have had a good crop because of our notorious late frosts. I have picked up 24 pounds so far, 10 quarts in the freezer plus 4 quarts of crushed for jam (waiting for cooler weather to make), l cobbler. There will be a few more before they are all done.

I had to neglect the strawberries somewhat but did get 25 quarts in the freezer and one batch of jam (I wanted some!).

Blackberries will be next....if the JB don't find us this year.

I have scapes on the garlic but am waiting for browning of the leaves. Should I just clip off the scapes before they drop seeds? This is the second year to grow garlic so I am a little unsure about methods.

We are finally eating new potatoes.

The plums are looking iffy. Some are changing color but aren't very big. They may be the faulty ones. I will check today.

I don't think I will pick any more sour cherries. I have 16 quarts in the freezer. The tree was loaded. Lost a huge limb that we will cut out later. DH helped pick....a little, sitting in a lawn chair. I told him now the brush hogging was done, I was going to teach him about lawn mowing and gardening.........and I am! We hired the bh'ing done this year. He isn't supposed to be out in the heat very much. I feel sure he can handle mulching.

glenda

Oh, Glenda, you've mentioned three of my favorite fruits .... apricots, blackberries, and sour cherries. My grandmother had a cherry tree and made the best cherry pies and also froze them in quart jars. Remembering the flavor of her pies and eating the partially thawed cherries right out of the jar brings back some of the best memories!

Suzie

Suzie,

Actually, jalapenos do change colors and will turn red, yellow or purple if left on the plant to full maturity. Most turn red but a couple turn yellow and I know of at least one that turns purple. We just tend to harvest and use them when they are dark green.

It can be difficult to tell when jalapenos are ready to harvest when you're new to growing them, but the following 'clues' should help:

1. DTM OF THE VARIETY: Go by the DTM stated on their seed packet. If you don't still have the seed packets, you can Google the variety name to find its standard DTM. Most jalapenos have a DTM of between about 70 or 75 days and 90 days. In our very intense summer heat and sunlight, I believe they tend to mature a little more quickly than their DTM would have you believe.

2. MATURE SIZE OF THE VARIETY. Mature size can be quite different for different varieties. Some jalapenos get barely 3" long and others can reach almost 5" long in very good conditions. There again, check your seed packet or catalog description or Google to find out the mature size of your variety or varieties that you're growing. Once they get to the full length you expect, you still need to leave them on the vine long enough that they get fat or wide. You don't want skinny jalapenos. You want nice fat ones.

3. COLOR. It takes a while to learn to learn to distinguish between the medium-dark green of a young jalapeno and the very dark green (almost greenish-black) of a mature jalapeno that is still green and not yet turning red. Learning to spot that color change comes with practice. If you watch carefully over a period of weeks, you'll see the jalapenos getting darker and darker. Once they are very dark green and have reached about the size you'd expect for that variety, harvest one and taste it. If it tastes normal, you've found the right stage for harvesting. If it has an off taste, you've likely harvested too soon. Wait several days to a week and try another one. You'll get the hang of it that way. The color changes jalapenos go through are from light green to dark green to dark greenish-black or brownish-black to reddish-black to red.

4. CORKING. At the mature green stage, you'll sometimes see corking with your jalapenos in which tiny, fine tan lines that look almost like stitches will appear. Corking indicates peppers are mature and are experiencing a little stress. (Probably heat stress.) If your peppers are extremely well-watered and well-fed, you'll likely see less corking. Some varieties cork more than others. I don't go overboard on watering, so mine almost always cork.

5. INTENDED USE OF THE PEPPER: For fresh eating, either green or red is fine. If you want them for canning, it is better to harvest at the mature green stage because they are crisp and will remain more crisp. (To make really crisp canned jalapenos, you need to do a lime soak and that is reflected in approved recipes.) If you want to smoke them and make them into chipotles, green or red is fine. I prefer red. If you want to use them red, use them shortly after picking because they'll go bad quickly. Some people let a few turn red and can them with the rest of the jalapenos to add some color to the otherwise all-green contents of the jars.

Harvesting in a timely manner is very important. A jalapeno plant that is carrying a fairly heavy fruit load will not produce a lot more peppers until you harvest the ones nearing maturity, so harvest regularly. Leaving all the peppers on until they turn red will interfere in the number of peppers you get over the course of the season. I tend to harvest at the mature green stage earlier in the season, and then let some go red later in the seasons.

With regards to the corking, I've linked an old thread from the Pepper Forum because it has a nice photo of some peppers showing corking in the last post on that thread.

Hope this helps.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: See Peppers With Corking in Photo Here

Suzie,

I got so wrapped up in peppers, I forgot to tell you about our granddaughter.

Our son met her mom and started dating her when Maddie was about 15 months old. They got married when Maddie was 27 months old and we became instant grandparents, although we'd treated her as if she was our grandchild from the very first time we met her. It has been almost a year now since they got married, and we are having the time of our lives being "instant" grandparents. Sometimes we don't get to see her as often as we'd like because she has tons of relatives on her mom's side, and because she spends every other weekend and half the holidays in Texas with her dad and his family, as (of course) she should. Lately she's been here a lot because our daughter-in-law has a job with crazy hours.

Maddie is a real outdoor girl and a real garden girl, loving all the plants, flowers, bees, butterflies, frogs, birds, bunnies, etc. She has her own garden tools and gloves and such and her own garden...the Peter Rabbit Garden. It amazes me how quickly she learns and how much she remembers. It also amazes me how much keeping up with her just completely wipes me out.

We are in the process of decorating "her" room together, and so far we've painted it, moved in furniture (our son's childhood furniture, repainted pink and purple for her) and have Tinkerbell bed linens and such. We have a long way to go because I'm big on getting all the tiny details right, but on Friday evening she spun around in a circle in her roon, her eyes shining, and said "I have everything I've ever wanted". It was, perhaps, just about the most perfect moment of our lives together. She is just so much fun!

Dawn

Dawn,
First, thank you so much for all your helpful information (again!!!) on determining when jalapenos are ripe. I'm going to show this to my husband and get him involved in this since I planted them mostly for him, as he loves them.

Second, reading the story of how you became instant grandparents to Maddie just put the biggest smile on my face. She is without a doubt one of the luckiest little three year olds around to have you and Tim as grandparents. It is just as clear as day how much you adore her! It sounds like you may be having even more fun than she is fixing up her new room :). We have 5 grandchildren (all five are our son's) and the middle one, who is 8 years old, became our instant grandson when our son married his mom 4 years ago. My son and daughter-in-law are one of those fortunate couples who were able to blend his two children and her child into one loving family without major upheaval. I still marvel at how well they did it because his were 15 and 12 and hers was 4 when they got married. Those kids all love each other. And one of the really great benefits to all 3 kids is that they now have another set of grandparents who also love them. Isn't it wonderful how much joy grandkids bring to our lives? We enjoy ours so much and feel so fortunate that they live right here nearby so that we can be a part of their lives. And I totally relate to what you said about how keeping up with her wipes you out. Our #4 grandson is the one who is three years old and it takes both my husband and me to keep up with that one. He is a handful, but he's so much fun.

Thanks again for your help!
Suzie

Suzie,

I loved hearing about your grandchildren. The blended family sounds like a perfect dream....because we all know folks where the stepchildren didn't get along with the step-parents or the step-parent's children and it can be such a mess. I expect that your DS and DDIL get the credit for the smooth blending of the families, and I bet it was hard work to make it all work out so smoothly.

Tonight Maddie and I picked a bucketful of plums. We'll pick more tomorrow, and then we'll make jam in a day or two. I've been tiring her out pretty well and she takes a long nap every afternoon. I probably ought to take a nap at the same time she does so I'll be able to keep up with her.

Dawn

Awwwww - you guys are such great grandparents! Brings a teary smile to my face.

I did NOT want to become a grandparent at the time I did. I had a career I loved, had owned my home for 3 years and just started gardening - something I had waited far too many years for. I explained to my daughter my misgivings and how she should NOT expect me to "babysit" or do any of those grandparenty things as I just wasn't ready.

Well, as I watched her being delivered and saw her face for the first time, my heart just exploded, literally, with love - love at first sight - and it has continued to grow since that first moment. As soon as she could walk, she became my gardening buddy, like Maddy is yours, Dawn, and we have raised many butterfly caterpillars together. She was 3 years old and I still hear her protesting to her pawpaw, "...the butterfly lays eggs, the eggs hatch and the caterpillar grows, and it makes a CHRYSALIS, Pawpaw, not a Cocoon...." And she was right, of course. Butterflies do not make cocoons, moths do. I'm just crazy about her, in case you can't tell.

Susan

Susan,
Your description of your heart exploding with love brought tears to my eyes and gave me goosebumps because that is exactly how I've felt about each one, most especially the first just because of the newness (is that a word?) of the experience. I wasn't expecting to be a grandparent either because I was young when my son was born and he was a young dad, so I became a grandparent at the age of 39! I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Dawn,
Yes, taking a nap when Maddie does would be a very good idea. LOL!

Suzie

We grannies sure are getting sappy and sentimental over those grandkids aren't we?

I got a lot of my love of gardening from my grandparents so, of course, I've tried to pass on that love of gardening to our son when he was little and now to Maddie.

Suzie, My sister became a grandma pretty young in life too and she's loving every minute of it....one grandchild about to turn three and now he has a sibling on the way.

The other day a very sweet woman here in Love County passed away from cancer and I noticed in her obituary that she was a great-grandmother at the age of 55. Wow!

Dawn

I think my babies will be coming home from the hospital today. Yesterday, the nursery staff told Jess that they could not keep Charlotte in the nursery anymore due to insurance reasons. Charlotte is healthy and thriving. So, they brought her to Jess's room last night to stay with her. No problem. But, then they told her Charlotte could not use any of the hospital's supplies, provisions, including milk, diapers, binky, clothing, hat, and get this, the bassinet. When Jess asked them what they expected the baby to sleep in, they pointed to the chair in the corner of the room. Jess said she would just hold her and let her sleep with momma. They said, no, she couldn't do that either.

So, after a rather heated argument, and a call to the nursing supervisor, they finally allowed her to keep the bassinet to sleep in overnight. Everybody was scattering to get formula to the hospital and Charlotte's diapers and clothes to tide her over the remainder of her stay. So, Jess is pretty adament about going home today, probably later this afternoon.

I have to admit, I was appalled at their treatment. I know all will be fine, but I don't think hospital's should just jerk the rug out from under the feet of new parents like that.

Susan