Gardening Thread - Show me your gardens!

might have to get a jacket...

 

What's normal there for August?

 

90's...usually doesnt go over 100 for long.

 

One of the last bulk pickings (101 pounds) of tomatoes for us this year. We have canned all we wanted so i donated these to my neighbor to be canned. Definitely not going to waste. Garden is starting to slow down for the year but has given us all we need.

 

canned 13 quarts of beans today...got 5 quarts of corn for tomorrow.

 

Dug some potatoes yesterday after work. 2 plant's worth!



Also processed some corn from the local farm stand.





Ended up with some chicken snacks, too. The girls went nuts for these this morning

 

do you blanch your corn before you freeze or whats your process?

 

Yeah, I blanch it. Keeps it from turning starchy in the freezer.
Blanch for 4 minutes, dunk into a cooler of icewater for another 4 minutes or so, then cut it off the cob with a knife and bag it & freeze it. Usually 8-9 ears per gallon bag, to keep the bags thin & stackable in the freezer.

 

Im about to set this POS leafblower on fire. Replaced coil, spark plug, carb and it barely runs. Ive checked numerous things on it bout the only thing I havent checked is compression. wont start at idle, but starts full throttle and barely runs. Im bout to just go buy another one.

 

Does it have an air filter? Pull it and see if that makes a difference.

 

tried it with and without...Im leaning on the piston rings losing compression.

 

Its been running like crap for a couple years now. It finally didnt start and it didnt have any spark so I put a new coil. Then it was spitting gas out the exhaust, so I got a new carb put that in and it starts now just have to put the trigger all the way down. and it sounds like 1/4 throttle. Weird.

 

Pour a little gas (just a splash) directly down the carb throat/air intake port and try to start it. If it runs well like that, check your fuel lines for kinks or cracks (even if they're not leaking gas they could be sucking air)

 

I vaccume seal everything I freeze, it keeps a lot longer. Well worth the investment, especially considering I got a cheep one from Walmart.

 

dies out once you put any choke or starting fluid. I'll try straight gas though.

 

Shrug. Nothing in my freezer makes it past the 1 year mark; we eat pretty much everything out of it on a yearly cycle. Usually by June-July they're both nearly empty, so I combine both into 1 and let the other defrost (Switching off each year). By November they're both stuffed to the gills again. Ziplock bags and freezer paper work great for that sort of cycle; I've never had any problems with freezer burn. If I had a different lifestyle I'd definitely agree that it was worth the $ for a vacuum sealer, but where we draw so heavily from the two freezers it's really not a necessary expense for me at this point.

 

I've posted these before, but I like to brag a little now and then
This is a typical 'November' shot of the freezers and pantry:

Between the frozen veggies, broilers, the pig, and *usually* a deer & a few wild turkeys the freezers are stuffed.





And the 'home canned' section is usually full of stuff from the garden or the local farm stand.






And by July, pretty much all that's left is store-bought canned & dry goods.

 

I also have two freezers. My chest freezer is almost empty. Need to fix that in the next few months. Still have a fair bit in the upright.


I use the same shelves that you do.

 

the gas goes on the outside. Then add a lit match.

then go get one of these.

 

They're good for a lot of weight, but I found that I had to bolt mine to the home-made shelving unit to stabilize it. Had way too much flex back & forth for my liking, once I had it loaded up.

Edit- Out of curiosity, what is in the mason jars in the upper left of picture #2?