I'm not quite sure what came over me yesterday. I really have to seed some fall vegetables, but did I do that? No. Instead I was looking for zucchini in the patch and decided it needed to be cleaned out. Not pulled, but Costata Romanesca likes to put out side shoots. And it runs. The old leaves die off, the new ones look nice. So the patch was mostly a mass of foliage that wasn't producing. There was lots of yellow leaves that were trying to find light but were getting cut off by their neighbors branch.
So I found where each of the three plants came out of the ground and followed them along. I cut off all the side branches and the old leaves. It looks so much better now. And I can find the zucchini when and if it produces.
I found the main reason it wasn't producing too. Once all that old struggling foliage was off I could see the ground. That morning I watered and not a drop touched the ground. The wall of cucumbers had gotten so tall that it blocked the sprinkler from hitting it. I'm going to have to hand water from now on. Or at least until the cucumbers die off.
Once I got inside something again came over me. Usually I would eat and walk the dog. But I just had to use up some of my mass of cucumbers. So I made more pickles. I definitely don't need to make any more this year. I'll have to find homes for all the rest of the cucumbers. I did have one friend that took a pound and Donna has said she wants some for pickles. I hope she takes them all as every day I pick more and more. I need to rethink giving cucumbers 8 sqft in the garden. It doesn't seem like a lot of space. But they have given me 38 pounds already and there are tons of little cukes on the vine just waiting to size up.
The dog and I finally went for our walk about an hour and a half late. He was not very happy with that. He kept giving me this look telling me I was neglecting him all because of some weird need to do something now that could have been done later. It isn't like the cucumbers were going to walk off or anything. Though I can always hope.
And even though I hadn't been posting about it, I've been doing other preserving like making flavored vinegar with my herbs. Above are tarragon and basil. I also made an Italian flavored one, but I thought the oregano was a bit too strong in it. I might have to dilute it with more basil and thyme.
I've been freezing things too. Last week I froze some celery. And Then some chard, zucchini, and corn. Everyday now I freeze more corn. I pick what is ready and we eat what we want for dinner. I offer some to my townhouse mates, and anything not eaten is frozen. So not too much has been frozen yet, but I think over time it will add up.
I LOVE your wall of cucumbers! I have few on the trellis but they just don't want to go vertical no matter how I try to steer them along.
ReplyDeleteYour canned pickles look so pretty even if you didn't need them! What kind of vinegar would you use if you made chive blossom or dill vinegar? I just used Heinz white vinegar but wondered if I should have used another kind? Nancy
ReplyDeleteI tend to use apple cider vinegar as it isn't as sharp as the white vinegar, but still not really costly like some other ones.
DeleteThanks. I need to try a little with the cider vinegar to see if I like it better. Nancy
DeleteSince Costata Romanesca is a runner, does that mean it has a better chance against vine borers? If so, I've got to add that to my seed list!
ReplyDeleteIt does root along the stem, but the roots are never as good as the starting roots.
Delete8 square feet is a lot of cucumbers. I would be tempted to take out most of the cukes and put something else in their place. I have plenty of days like you had, I go out to the garden and note all the things that need my attention and then go do something else.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't your dog like to eat cucumbers? That would alleviate the glut somewhat..!
ReplyDeleteNo there is an idea. I've never tried feeding them to the dog. Though this one won"t even eat carrots consistently. My last dog would have eaten them.
DeleteThat's an interesting way of training squash planys - ours are all over the place!
ReplyDeleteI have to get more pickles done too although I have nowhere near as many as you. I too have been so busy lately that the garden has taken a bit of a hit. I finally got my fall carrots in the ground yesterday & am hoping that they have time to mature. One is supposed to be 42 days so we shall see. And that comment about the dog waiting around for you just made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteThe pickles look delicious, I'm growing a vining type of summer squash for the first time, don't know what to expect yet, it doesn't take up much space which I like except the male and female flowers are not blooming at the same time, hopefully the situation improves soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your method for storing the vinegar? Do you remove the herbs after some time has passed? Is that a one piece lid for processing or do you just pour boiling vinegar over the herbs in sterilized jars?
ReplyDeleteI wash my herbs and put them in the vinegar. I don't boil it (though the US gov tells us to). I let them steep in the fridge for a few weeks. Then I strain them out and filter though a coffee filter. I store in the fridge (though I know most just leave them on the counter).. I don't process them for shelf storage or anything like that. Though I've thought of heating it up and doing that, I haven't in the past.
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