Lynn, I tighten mine--don't leave them loose. But, I don't tighten them hard, if that makes sense. Rick was the same. We had a few here and there that didn't seal, but good outcomes overall especially considering the large amounts that we canned.

Kim, inversion canning makes me nervous for a lot of reasons. lol

I'm at work so can't chat long. Happy with my progress last night. Got a lot of weeding done and found cucumbers in all the weeds and grass! I'm about half way there with the weeding now. Even pruned up some of those sad tomatoes. Picked several good sized Marconi and bell peppers and a few of the Sugar Rush Peach. Picked another little bucket of green beans and a few tomatoes. Overall, despite the neglect, the garden looks pretty good. It's enjoyed the days in the 80's. Looks like that will soon end.

I desperately need to pull grass, but I have been slammed getting ready for these markets and processing fruits that I have been given. My neighbor mowed too close to my line and I think she took out some of my okra.

Had to Google water bath canning green beans. First recipe used a hefty amount of salt and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Not enough to pickle though. And inversion canning is just irresponsible. I'm sure it tastes good, it hasn't been cooked as much as truly canned foods. Yikes!

I remember Dawn saying the grandmothers that didn't pressure can boiled the food to almost mush when they cooked it because they knew it could be bad.

Pretty sure my "finger tight" is not the same as my husband's. I wouldn't worry too much about the canned goods as long as you heard them seal. Even the one you didn't hear. Just test them when you take the rings off, by pushing down in the middle of the lid. It shouldn't move.

Mom caned green beans when I was a kid, we did not have a pressure canner, and I was a grown man before I learned that green beans did not normally have a pickle taste to them.

The kids were over yesterday, and I had them to pick the tomatoes and peppers, the tomatoes may not load up again, but the peppers will. I think the kids took 3 of 4 sacks of vegged with them. I am happy that I have been trying to get the kids to grow a few plants. I started enough plants this year to be able to give a bunch away, and as far as I know, all the people that got some of my plants are getting produce now. it may not be a lot, but you can see the pride when they start talking about their plants, and the pictures that I have seen of their plants, they have a reason to be proud.

I am also proud of Matt. Matt told me that he was 49 years old and has never planted a sweet potato slip, but was willing to try if I would show him what to do. I showed Matt how to pull the runners, and lay them into the ground, he planted another row for me, and 2 for himself. I kept the slips watered everyday for a week while he worked in the hay. I did feel like getting up early this morning, but Madge told me that Matt was down early, working his garden, and doing a good job. I have never planted sweet potatoes this late, but if we can hide from the gophers, and deer, we may be able to get a crop.

Our AC unit has been repaired, It cost $273.00 to get a $20.00 capacitor replaced, but it does not matter, I felt so bad I was not able to replace the capacitor anyway, even if it had been through the week when the parts houses were open.

My heart is so heavy from the floods here in Texas I can’t even think. What a tragedy.

Yes Kim, that's unimaginable. Can't fathom the amount of pain that caused.

Kim, I feel the same way, and I am not sure that mankind is not involved more deeply than they should be in some of these events than they should be.

We are getting rain now, and I am enjoying the rest it is giving me, but I am still behind on my weeding. On the good side, I need the rain to soften the ground so I can pull the weeds, and my garden needs rain anyway, but some folks have had more than their share of rain, and it is costing lives and destroying property.

I finally got a good stand of okra, but It is later than I have ever planted okra. I have not been out to check on my zipper cream peas the last time I checked they had not come up.

I want to work in the garden. It always makes me feel better but I have to get these peaches done today. Then I can go plant all my slips and some herb seeds.

Larry, that part of Texas is known as " flash flood alley " . Its not an unprecedented event. Happened last in 1987. There's a long history there. Somehow, the severity of the rain was underestimated and the warnings they received weren't taken seriously, for whatever reasons.

As most disasters of all kinds today, its a cascade of error. Not any one thing or any one person.

Here in Oklahoma, I worry about the " cry wolf " syndrome. When it seems the local TV stations are trying to outdo each other for ratings. And even the NWS are constantly giving some dire warning about weather events days ahead of time, and not much ever happens. It puts people to sleep.

That is a huge, beautiful tomato

Wow--what a tomato, Lynn. I've read and enjoyed everyone's comments. And in truth, I just lost my post. AGGH. I'll comment later, after dinner.

Nancy, I've learned to copy my post before I hit the submit button. Took a while to get used to doing that, however.

Mrs Dollar and I just talking about that huge tomato, and we vaguely recall weighing it, and it was over 3 pounds. I've not gotten another one like that since.

Here's two more from that year ..............

Lynn, those are all nice tomatoes. Do you feed your plants?

I am feeling so much better today. I think the rainy weather has had something to do with me feeling better, I have not done anything but sit and rest. I have a Dr. appointment tomorrow, I don't know what to tell him other than, " I feel pretty good, I just came in to see how you are doing". I am always telling my wife that by the time your Dr. appointment comes around, that you are either well of dead.

Larry, no I don't feed them. I just get a soil test from OSU every year to find out where my nitrogen level is at.

And this is from 2 years ago, me doing what I do this time of year, every year. I help with the blanching and then I run the tomato press. Mrs Dollar does the rest, which IDK really, what that is, something about getting the salsa ready to cook.

We're up to 25 pints of salsa this year. In 2023, when this pic was taken, we canned 80 pints of salsa and gave most of it away.

I'm real serious about running that press, it takes an expert hand , hahaha.

What a nice treat to have all these posts to read now that I'm finally sitting down for the day. Nancy, good to see you post.

Very sad about the situation in Texas.

I worked at my new part-time job today. It was in western Oklahoma organizing stuff in a large un-airconditioned warehouse. I'm so tired. But, didn't hate the work.

I've offered to work tomorrow at a different location, but don't know if they'll have anything for me as I have to work alongside someone until I know the work better. I'm good either way. But, could use a day at home.

Tom fixed dinner tonight and that was a blessing. I was able to rest for a bit before heading out to the garden. Finished weeding another bed. I need about a week's worth of evenings to finish it all. But it is looking so much better.

It was pretty hot and humid. Enough so that I put fans on the chickens.

If I'm home tomorrow, I'll work on elderberries.

That's about it for me. It's time for a shower.

I too love it when I’ve been busy and the posts all build up.

Lynn, it looks like you are a really good press operator.

Our soil test cost extra for the nitrogen reading. Most of the free test will give you P & K readings, plus other elements, along with PH. As a side note the test will say add 1 -2 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft. I normally try to stay light on the fertilizer because it is easier to add it later than it is to take it away, but my tomatoes are never as large as yours. I do try to keep lime. N, P. and K on hand, and I need to feed and mulch now, and yes, I am running way behind on that also. I have bit off more than I can chew this year.

Larry, I've been getting soil tests for around 15 years. They always tell me the same thing, " in four months add 1 or 2 pound nitrogen to 1000 ft " . I never did that, until this past year. All past years, I just grew a winter cover and tilled that back in. It kept my nitrogen pretty steady. In fact, for a lot of years, it was probably a bit too high.

But this last year my nitrogen count dropped to below 100. It had never been anywhere near that low. And I side dressed the plants with 46-0-0. When I plant winter cover this fall, I'm gonna apply nitrogen again. I really need to learn how to measure the nitrogen, DIY .

The size of those tomatoes is largely due to variety, Big Beef. They've crossed an heirloom known for its large size, the Beefsteak, with a well known, long standing hybrid Big Boy. Both are known for producing big slicers, which is what I prefer. Big Boy has been around since 1950. Its gotta be highly refined.

I also think I get really good seed from Johnny's. I've not compared more than one other source, but I've been buying from them for a long time. Very happy. Sometimes I pay more shipping than the cost, but I put too much work into this to worry about a few bucks.

And the first fruits these plants produce make the largest. The giants are always on the lower part of the plant. Fruit set higher in the plant, and thus later in the season, don't get nearly as big. There's been quite a few set this past week but I don't expect them to get larger than golf ball size. Its a race for them to mature and ripen before blight takes the plant

Although, that said, I've got a couple of Big Beef Plus plants making some good size tomato right now, and they're about midway up the plant. That's kinda raised my eyebrows. The blight has started on them, but its not moving up the plant very fast.

While I'm running that press, Mrs Dollar is over there, back behind me. And I don't really know what she doing back there. She just keeps me busy pressing out pulp. She does run the water bath though, I know that much.

I saw where Fort Smith had flooded streets. Check in Larry!

Madge said they are fine. Rain but no flooding

Lynn, I have grown Big Beef, but never as large as yours. I feel that the seed did not come from Johnny's, I don't order many seeds because I don't like to pay shipping, plus the bulk seeds I get at the co-op do fair. We do almost no canning or salsa making.

I don't do cover crops anymore either, it is just too much work tilling them. I could use the tractor, but the ground is always wet that time of the year, and I am afraid of packing the soil.

I really don't know " below a 100" means on a soil test. our test does not list nitrogen. My last test was in 2020, and it showed Phosphorus at 158 and 176 ppm for the north and south garden, optimum should be 36 to 50 ppm. The Potassium is too high also, it checked in at 223 and 224, the opt. should be 131 to 175. My Zinc 21.9 and 24.7, opt. should be 4.1 to 8.0. As you can see my mineral count is too high, and the only thing that I have done to help lower it is to grow corn, and harvest the stalks to feed to the live stock. I am just not man enough to do that anymore.

My soil test shows to be on the Mehlich lll Nutrient scale or machine, I have no idea what that means, it is just listed on the test.

When the kids were over Sunday, I ask them to pick the peppers because the plants were too loaded, this is the first morning I have felt like walking to the garden, and the plants were still too loaded. I pick another bag of peppers, I have a dr. appointment today, I will take the peppers to the ladies at the clinic.

Madge just washed the bag of peppers that I am taking to the clinic. I am a pretty good pepper picker, but I am not worth a hoot at operating a faucet. I though that if the ladies at the clinic could not operate a faucet, they don't need to be working in a clinic, Madge is a lot nicer than I am.

I ended up not working today and it was nice to sleep in until 7. I got a full 8 hours and feel great.

Went out and picked the ripe elderberries and removed them from the stems. Ended up with a half-gallon jar and a quart jar. Called around and asked a couple of people if they wanted them and finally found one who does. Seriously, Y'all, I've done the hard work of removing them from the stems....and have the stained fingers to prove it!

Larry, you asked about birds and berries. We do have birds and I see them in the elder bushes often, so I know they're nibbling out there.

We have lots of birds out here of all kinds. There's some cat hater groups who are convinced that the domestic cat is the reason for the reduction in birds. I don't think so. I have one cat who is outside full time and one who is inside/outside. Our cat that we had when we moved here was inside/outside. I've seen maybe 4 dead birds in the 11 years we've been here. My neighbors have barn cats. We have a lot of birds. We also have a lot of native plants and insects to feed the birds. If there is a reduction in birds, it must be from some other reason....not that cats never kill birds. And not that people can't hate cats....they can, but need to put the majority of the blame on some other reasons.

I'm a weird cat person. Like, I want all the cats. There's a couple of feralish kittens and a teen mom cat in the neighborhood. They've started coming up to me and I just love them so much. Luckily, I think our neighbor is going to care for them. Tom was nervous I would bring them home. LOL I could see it on his face.

I'm doing just fine, tho. Not bringing home any more animals.

I got distracted from the elderberry talk.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. There's so many more berries out there. Maybe I'll try drying them. We've used up all the syrup I made last year--between us, my daughter, and my mom.

I'm super grateful that the elders have produced so well for the past two years. It took awhile to get them established out here. Next year, I'll do something with the flowers.

Did you know the elder is also called the Witches Tree?

I'm going to order the Big Beef from Johnny's next year. Hope my outcome is as good as Lynn's. The name "Big Beef" isn't attractive to me. LOL That's probably why I've never chosen that variety. Which is hilarious if you think about it.

I don't test my soil. Probably should. Things seem to grow well. My issue is the stinkin' pests. An assassin bug accidentally rode in with the elderberries this morning. I put him on the Honeynut squash. Then, thought that was a dumb move. I've always got my hands in the squash, looking for pests. I'll have to wear gloves now. So far, I've avoided being bitten by an assassin bug. Now, I just got the feeling I should have looked more closely to make sure it was a leaf-footed bug. Hmmm....Either way, dumb move.

I should get back to my tasks. It will be dinner time before I know it. We'll just grill some chicken. I need to remember to use the golden beets and carrots so might roast those. Seems like a fall/winter thing, tho. Maybe I'll make mashed potatoes too. That sounds good and I haven't had any in a long time.

I'm about to start a round of Whole 30 to reset a bit. It's not a difficult way to eat, but it's hard to eat out, which we like to do a couple of times a week.

Hope you're all having a good morning.

It is a gorgeous morning here. Watered and did a quick harvest. I was going to make jelly but…….i have no half pint jars. I ordered some from wm. They were $7 for 12 jars. I ordered 6 cases. They will be here Monday. So with gears and make herb blends today. That will leave tomorrow open to work in the garden most of the day. I need to clean out the green stock, finish planting sweet potatoes seed more herbs, and move some herbs around, up pot, elderberry, and fig trees. That sounds like a full day.

Here is picture of my peas

Those look good, Kim. Do you think it's too late to plant pea seed? I have that long bed where the onions were. I need to put something there.

I don’t think so. Black Eyed Peas would be good because they would restore some of the nitrogen the onions took.

Thanks, Kim. I just looked at the OSU fall planting guide. The dates it lists for cowpeas is July 15 to Aug 1.

Bush beans are Aug 10 to Aug 20....and I do want to do another round of those.

Pole beans are July 15 to July 30. I also want to do some of those.

I'm not even sure I have cowpea seed. I might have insisted Rick take it home with him. I'll have to check. I found a place where he sneakily hid some seed in the shop.

Which tomato press do you have, Lynn? I have the Weston with a hand crank.

A few days ago when we were cleaning out the shop freezer, I found 4 quart jars of tomato juice that I had pressed over a year ago. Thawed it in the refrigerator and made the soup today. A bit warm for soup, but it's fine. I used onions, garlic, basil, and parsley from the garden. Tastes pretty good. I cooked it for a long time to thicken it a bit. Then used an immersion blender to fully blend in the herbs and aromatics.

Jen, Same .......... Weston hand crank.

Just had another delicious BLT. Used Wrights Thick Sliced bacon, Texas toast, Dukes Mayo, and a huge Cherokee purple. Oh man, I'm gonna miss the end of tomato season.

Dukes is the only mayo Tom will buy now.

I'm back at work now--regular job.

Quick post.

Got about 30 feet of PEPH peas planted. I found a unopened packet I purchased 3 years ago. Hoping the seed is still good. Didn't find any pea seed that Rick had in his stash.

Did a bit more watering. Picked more green beans.

Tonight, hoping to continue weeding. As soon as fruit breaks color on some tomato plants, I want to pull those plants. Some are very unhealthy. BUT, I need to fill the spots with something.

Any ideas?

Melon pumpkin winter squash sweet potato peas or cardboard and wait a couple weeks for fall planting.

I don't know if I will be able to plant anything else or not, but Matt, and Josh, Matt's handicapped brother were down here to plant a few more sweet potatoes, and get ground ready for for peas or okra. The sweet potato slips that were planted 9 or 10 days ago look pretty good. I did go out and water then, with the temps being over 90 degrees, its a little rough on getting cutting to root.

Lynn we had BLT for lunch also. Mine was Bodacious tomato. Sure going to be hard to do without homegrown tomatoes. I’ve been making refrigerator pickles-the kids all love those and they are easy. My tomato vines are getting spider mites and the PEPH have too many aphids for the ladybugs to keep up -just going to enjoy as long as they last. I bought some new yellow squash seed-Burpee Butter Dish, looks a lot like the Rise & Shine that I love. Anyone know anything about it? Kim what did you think of the muscadines?

Larry, I’m sorry you are feeling bad but happy to hear about Matt & Josh. It’s so nice to find someone who enjoys gardening as much as we do. I have a sweet potato question. My sweet potatoes are planted in a big tank, the vines were trailing out about 6’ in every direction. Because it looked very snaky and my garden is right next to some woods and a big railroad ditch I trimmed the vines to about 3’ over the edge of the tank - will they still make good potatoes? I realize I’ll miss all where the runners were, but not as concerned about loss as snakes. Jennifer, 30 years ago I canned, a LOT. I always hot packed (water bath) green beans because the quality was superior to pressured. I would put up 50-75 qts a summer and never had an issue once. No, I did not add vinegar, wasnt way I learned. Today, after reading all the new stuff I wouldn’t recommend it. My husband doesn’t like green beans so now I just raise and freeze enough for myself. It’s simpler and I like them. I’m replanting some cow peas too. PEPH and crowders. I picked up some pansy seeds today too, although I’m thinking I already have viola seeds in the freezer from Wild Seeds. My garden is dry, needs a rain, but our hay fields are almost shoulder high (on me) and we need to get them cut and baled. I caught some teenage boys trying to set fire to some dumped trash beside the road over the 4th. Thank God for green fields and the trash was wet- on a usual July we would have gone up in smoke.

Stay hydrated friends, it can catch up with you quickly when you are working.

That looks so good, Glenda!

Anything "pea" is a magnet for aphids at my house. But, I went ahead and planted the PEPH.

Once I pull out a couple of tomatoes, I'll have a small spot for something else. It has a trellis so it could be something that vines. Maybe I could find some butterfly pea seed and do something like that. Or a melon variety that is quicker to produce.

I have way too many winter squashes in the Vego beds. Honeynut and Butter Baby. I didn't plan that well because I want to put fall carrots and golden beets in one of the beds in a couple of weeks. But, I don't want the carrots or beets in the soon-to-be empty bed. I've messed that up.

Glenda, I think Amy mentioned this---when people used to water bath beans, once the jars were opened to use, the beans were cooked to mush practically to kill anything that could make a person sick. Honestly, I don't love canned green beans. I really love fresh green beans.

I'm trying to figure out my pantry area. I have two pantries that are side-by-side in the utility room. They are about 6 ft tall and 2.5 ft wide. Rick liked to can lots of everything and both sides were completely full at one time. I think one of those pantries would be good enough, tho....after taking mental notes about what we like to eat/use that is canned. And what we don't.

Anyway...need to wrap things up at work and head home soon.

Jennifer what about red noodle beans. They grow straight through the heat until frost. They are very good producers and I like them better than the green long noodle beans because they don’t hide from me as much.

That's a great looking BLT , Glenda . I like pepper on my tomato also, and that tomato is close to covering the whole slice of bread.

Glenda, I think you and your potatoes will do fine. I have never grown potatoes in a tank, but I think it would be better than growing potatoes in the ground.

I think that your concern is much the same as mine. Along that brush line in the top of the picture is a wet weather creek. I don't bend well, so I crawl on my hands and knees to weed my sweet potatoes. When I see a frog jump, or a rat run it is hard for me to keep mu undies dry. I try to spray my lawn with glyphosate before the vines grow out over the grass, then keep the runners trimmed with the lawn mower to try to keep my potato bed somewhat neat. The bed need some TLC now, but I will get there.

Has anyone grown Fordhook lima bean?

George told me to keep the runners of sweet potatoes from rooting (pull up off the ground periodically) so it put all energy in the crop under the original slip. You will have bigger potatoes in your tank by keeping them trimmed. You know those trimmings are edible, right?

I feel that I get my better potatoes from the runners. I do agree that you get larger potatoes by keeping the runners pulled loose, but I like to have a large number of smaller potatoes. The small ones, about a serving size, and about the right size to place in a flat to grow slips for the next year work well for me. The larger potatoes under the original slip serve well for decoy potatoes for the gophers, they start eating them first. Matter of fact, I already have gophers after my potatoes, and I am really losing my touch at trapping gophers.

First little honey nut squash!

So cute. Happy birthday

I am out of practice shelling peas. I shelled for one hour and didn’t even get halfway done.

That's hard work, Kim. Rick and I spent hours doing that.

Kim, I would visit my parents this time of year, and they would be sitting in the living room, shelling purple hulled peas from Dad's garden. They sure were good eating. dad loved growing and eating them. That was the best time of year to visit mom and dad, peas, sweet corn, tomato ............... yum .

And oh yeah, about BLT's, the best bites are the last ones, after the tomato juice has married with the mayo and soaked the bread. Those final bites keep me coming back for more.

Talking about these things, I'm gettin hungry.

Lynn, do your tomato plants last until the first freeze? If not, maybe try some fall tomatoes next year. Picking them still green isn't ideal, but they'll ripen up and you'll have fresh tomatoes at Christmas. And, they're still much tastier than store-bought.

My favorite breakfast is a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with good butter, a fried egg, and tomato slices with plenty of quality salt.

My neighbor is about to pick me up to go wild blackberry picking. My little bushes are finished for the year.

I'm out of blackberry jelly and it's everyone's favorite. I neglected to make any last year. Only made peach/sugar rush peach pepper jelly last year. I did find a bag of blackberries in the freezer that I had picked last year, but gave them to the chickens last week.

Rick's nephew is coming to Norman, so I'm going to meet him over at Rick's house after he picks up boxes from the professor. That will be early afternoon.

Probably should spray down with some insect repellent now, although the chiggers aren't as active in the morning while the dew is still on the ground and bushes.

Have a good weekend, Friends.

My tomato plants won't last to the end of this month. I'm already pulled out a couple.

I've tried planting for the fall before. It takes a long time for them to mature and ripen and then they're very small. A couple years, I planted some Jet Star. I would rather plant a winter cover and get it going strong before the first freeze slows it down.

I fertilized my lawn this morning, yeah, like an idiot. That's gonna cause me more work on hot summer days. But my front lawn is weed infested and I can't get the bermuda to thicken up enough to shade out the weed seed. I got a problem there. I'm afraid the only solution is to resod with a different variety of bermuda. And I'm too old for that job.

Now I'm counting on rain. Depending on the NWS forecast that I will get it watered in today. If they forecast no rain, and I put a brisket on the smoker, I'm sure to get rain. So maybe I need to fire up the smoker.

We got a little rain a bit ago.

I got about 4 lbs of blackberries which should be good enough for jelly. Threw the clothes in the washer and took a shower. Hopefully won't get chiggers.

Met Rick's nephew and his wife at the house. They were overwhelmed, which is understandable. Took the nails out of the one bedroom door and went in. I was expecting a shrine or something. It was shelves of jars that he canned. And many other things. He has canned food from the 90's.

In the same room, I found a box of his 2025 seed, which means he's been in that room fairly recently. Vermont Bean. I brought them home with me. Several 1/2 lb. packets of Black Turtle, one of Black Coco, one of Quickpick Pinkeyes, one of Contender, and a few of Black Crowder Cowpeas.

I would be happy to share any of these with anyone.

The cool season things are missing from the box. Either he's stashed them away in the shop somewhere OR they are in one of his trucks/cars.

Still didn't find the soaker hoses. Or his wallet (or glasses).

I feel for his family. They've got some hard decisions to make since they can't find a will.

Anyway....glad to get blackberries to make jelly. We have dinner plans tonight, so will probably make it tomorrow night.