The Vegtable Garden Thread (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter rusty_tlc
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I am new to the garlic scene, We had a good crop of 'elephante' this last year. IMO, makes a cool porch decoration, no flavor.. Time for the real garlic, any recommends on varieties? Just the regular Safeway stuff? Last time I was in Trader Joes brought on the
I planted 6 different varieties from gourmetgarlicgardens last year and planted them in separate rows with nice Sharpie Marker labels so I could tell one from another. My labels didn't hold up to the weather so I have no idea which is which, but I promise you some of them will hurt you they are so hot. We mostly eat them as refrigerator pickles in red wine vinegar. It's a gamble when you reach into one of those jars and grab a clove.
This year I planted 40 cloves of a variety called Burgundy, which is supposed to be very desirable. These are planted separate from all of the others and they look so unique they won't get mixed up.
I planted 6 different varieties from gourmetgarlicgardens last year and planted them in separate rows with nice Sharpie Marker labels so I could tell one from another. My labels didn't hold up to the weather so I have no idea which is which, but I promise you some of them will hurt you they are so hot. We mostly eat them as refrigerator pickles in red wine vinegar. It's a gamble when you reach into one of those jars and grab a clove.
This year I planted 40 cloves of a variety called Burgundy, which is supposed to be very desirable. These are planted separate from all of the others and they look so unique they won't get mixed up.
Pickled garlic is the bomb. Do you just soak them in vinegar or do they need to be cooked and canned?
I've seen some of those garlic sites, some day I want to try some of the selections. I've had great luck with planting grocery store garlic. IMO, the biggest benefit is snipping greens for 8-9 months. They are the s*** in eggs, potato salad, stir fries and sautes. If I get a good garlic bulb at maturity, it's a bonus.
I just use this easy recipe that I found online and it's pretty good:
Ingredients: Whole, peeled garlic cloves Red wine vinegar
Salt (about 1 Tbs. per cup of vinegar)
Place the cloves of garlic in a jar with an air-tight lid. Add enough vinegar to cover, and add salt. Place lid on jar and shake to dissolve salt. Store in the refrigerator for two weeks before using to "cure". These should keep almost indefinitely, covered and refrigerated.
Easy to Make Refrigerator Garlic Pickles
Ingredients: Whole, peeled garlic cloves Red wine vinegar
Salt (about 1 Tbs. per cup of vinegar)
Place the cloves of garlic in a jar with an air-tight lid. Add enough vinegar to cover, and add salt. Place lid on jar and shake to dissolve salt. Store in the refrigerator for two weeks before using to "cure". These should keep almost indefinitely, covered and refrigerated.
rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
- Thread starter
- #166
I've been canning and pickling stuff like a man on a mission. Just did 5 pints and two quarts of peppers from my sons garden last night.
For a basic brine I use this;
2 quarts vinegar
1 quart water
3-3/4 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
(Thanks to spressomon for sharing his sisters recipe.)
You can store this for use anytime.
My basic procedure for pickling;
pack jars as tight as possible leaving about 1/4" headroom
add any spices or other seasonings.
Cover contents with boiling brine, add lids and rings.
From there you can refrigerate or can.
There is a ton of info on the web about the next part, I suggest you read up on it before attempting it yourself. I use a pressure canner for everything because the processing times are much shorter than water bath canning. You will need to experiment with processing times for different vegetables but at 5000' I process at least 15 minutes at 13psi for a good seal.
Allow two to three weeks for curing then enjoy.
For a basic brine I use this;
2 quarts vinegar
1 quart water
3-3/4 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
(Thanks to spressomon for sharing his sisters recipe.)
You can store this for use anytime.
My basic procedure for pickling;
pack jars as tight as possible leaving about 1/4" headroom
add any spices or other seasonings.
Cover contents with boiling brine, add lids and rings.
From there you can refrigerate or can.
There is a ton of info on the web about the next part, I suggest you read up on it before attempting it yourself. I use a pressure canner for everything because the processing times are much shorter than water bath canning. You will need to experiment with processing times for different vegetables but at 5000' I process at least 15 minutes at 13psi for a good seal.
Allow two to three weeks for curing then enjoy.
rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
- Thread starter
- #167
Did my fall clean up yesterday. Pulled almost everything except the chard and a few carrots. The onions are still in the ground, I'll pull them as soon as the tops die back. We'll harvest chard until they get a hard frost, so far the temps have been pretty mild just barely dipping below 32°F, enough to kill tomatoes and vine crops but not enough to affect cold weather stuff like chard.
I was kind of disappointed by the yield from the red taters, the rest did really well. Next year I'll do a better job of hilling and increase the yield of all the tater plants.
I was kind of disappointed by the yield from the red taters, the rest did really well. Next year I'll do a better job of hilling and increase the yield of all the tater plants.
For Rusty_tlc--I would add oregano and sage, Stinging Nettle(plant amoungst the veggies), Mexican Marigolds(same), You can see a good list of companion plants and herbs at Bountiful Gardens' website. They have some really good planting ideas to help veggies grow better and keep the bugs away. My raised beds(4'X8') were made of rough sawn Cypress---4-12'X6" boards
oops--forgot tomention--you can get really good seed potatoes from Potatoe Garden---
oops--forgot tomention--you can get really good seed potatoes from Potatoe Garden---
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rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
- Thread starter
- #171
Costco had big bags of organic baby kale this week. It is delicious, but a lot to eat before it went bad. We had some from a couple of weeks ago in the freezer and cooked it mid week for dinner. It was great, so we got two big bags this week and froze it up.
Here is the method we use for freezing greens;
The kale comes pre-washed, if you are freezing from your garden or a farmers market wash the bejebsus out of the greens.
Get the biggest pot you have about 3/4 full of boiling water.
Get a big bowl full of ice and water about 50/50 mix. set a colander into the bowl.
Stuff the greens into the water, you can fit a lot more in than you think because they will collapse almost immediately. Use a spoon or strainer to push all of the greens under water. Give them about 15 or 20 seconds then remove to the colander with tongs or a strainer. Move the greens around in the ice water to shock them as fast as possible, they should be a bright green color.
Fill some of the disposable type plastic containers with the greens and just cover with water. Into the freezer.
You can keep them like that but we usually remove them from the plastic containers and vacuum seal them after they are frozen. (Run a little water over the container and the greens pop right out.)
This method works great, we are still enjoying chard from last summer that we put up this way.
Here is the method we use for freezing greens;
The kale comes pre-washed, if you are freezing from your garden or a farmers market wash the bejebsus out of the greens.
Get the biggest pot you have about 3/4 full of boiling water.
Get a big bowl full of ice and water about 50/50 mix. set a colander into the bowl.
Stuff the greens into the water, you can fit a lot more in than you think because they will collapse almost immediately. Use a spoon or strainer to push all of the greens under water. Give them about 15 or 20 seconds then remove to the colander with tongs or a strainer. Move the greens around in the ice water to shock them as fast as possible, they should be a bright green color.
Fill some of the disposable type plastic containers with the greens and just cover with water. Into the freezer.
You can keep them like that but we usually remove them from the plastic containers and vacuum seal them after they are frozen. (Run a little water over the container and the greens pop right out.)
This method works great, we are still enjoying chard from last summer that we put up this way.
splitshot
Head cook, Bottle washer, and Peace keeper.
Note to self, store this info. Thanks rusty.
Just when I thought we were pretty much done with the nasty cold, wind, and snow in comes a front sweeping across the country with yet another kick in the balls. I could not wait so I got my little packets out and got busy. Figured some of you might need a little shot of green as a sneak peek of the coming season of warmth, growth, harvest, and renewal.
Was thinking about doing a raised bed but realized I have a lot of squirrels and parrots around that might mess with my harvest. I am considering getting a greenhouse for this area. Best shot of the area I have right now. Taken in the fall after racking the leafs a little bit. I'm going to use the area on the right
rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
- Thread starter
- #175
It has begun.
Planted 8 hills of russet taters
planted two heads of Italian purple garlic
When I went to spade up the area I found three heads of garlic sprouting, dug them divided and replanted after adding a healthy dose of compost to the soil.
I think I'm ready if we have a Vampire Apocalypse.
I also added more vertical space for pole beans etc.
I'm hoping to get maybe 25-30 % more stuff from my garden this year.
Planted 8 hills of russet taters
planted two heads of Italian purple garlic
When I went to spade up the area I found three heads of garlic sprouting, dug them divided and replanted after adding a healthy dose of compost to the soil.
I think I'm ready if we have a Vampire Apocalypse.
I also added more vertical space for pole beans etc.
I'm hoping to get maybe 25-30 % more stuff from my garden this year.
Do not do
...what i did: Plant heirloom lettuce and just harvest it without thinking, as in just cut it and bring it in. I got a 2 ft across 10 (?) Lbs lettuce that took a week to eat by which time it was thoroughly wilted. From now on I'm cutting a few leaves at a timeoff the thing while alive in the raised bed. Yea yea, poor plants and all that...
Yet again: radishes are amazing. They'll sprout in a coupla days. Very rewarding.
...what i did: Plant heirloom lettuce and just harvest it without thinking, as in just cut it and bring it in. I got a 2 ft across 10 (?) Lbs lettuce that took a week to eat by which time it was thoroughly wilted. From now on I'm cutting a few leaves at a timeoff the thing while alive in the raised bed. Yea yea, poor plants and all that...
Yet again: radishes are amazing. They'll sprout in a coupla days. Very rewarding.
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The same can be said for most greens, and a lot of other things as well. Pinch what you need now. Everything starts to die as soon as it's cut. The only time I remove things in advance is to keep it from growing or ripening further.
Prepped my spot today. Going to the local flea market tommorow to pick up plants!
