right now

right now

Aug 23, 2010

Monday's Take

Unbelieveable, but just when I think the tomatoes are done, more roll in! I find myself having them on my counter longer, awaiting enough to do something with, so the end is very near. My UFO's and Orange Wellingtons are done, no tomatoes and minimal blossoms, so they will come out this week. Good thing I didn't wait until September, my usual heavy tomato month, to save seeds because the unusually hot summer has shortened the life span of everything around here. The only ones coming in now are the small Fourth of July and Romas.

this morning: Fish Hot Pepper, Mini Bells, Quadrato Bells, Romas and small hybrid tomatoes, yard long beans and yay - the wax beans are producing again!

Still have not harvested the jalapenos, I don't do anything other than glare at them when I go into the garden...

...every branch has this many on it!

and I have a WHOLE BED of them, help!


I had enough tomatoes to make 2 pints of stewed tomatoes, this may be one of the last batches


I will be busy blanching and freezing beans and pepper strips all evening, and hanging hot peppers to dry. I really wanted to start ripping plants out today, but have been so busy and tomorrow looks like temps will be more pleasant, so the squash bugs have been granted a stay of execution for 24 hours! I managed to avoid the garden chores for much of the weekend, I'll have photos of that posted later.

I will leave you with my favorite part of the garden right now: Yard Long Beans!


This curtain of beauty is what greets me as I walk in the garden gate, enjoy! And put 'em on your list for next year, they are wonderful!





11 comments:

  1. Gosh, those yard long beans are really long. Hehe...Those stewed tomatoes will sure be good in various dishes you make with them later!

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  2. I grew red noodle beans. I never ate them, but I loved looking at them. You still have a amazing harvest coming in!

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  3. Those yard long beans are just the coolest! I will have to grow them next year. What in the world are you going to do with that many jalapenos??????

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  4. I've never seen those yard long beans actually being grown . . . only catalog pictures. What fun to know they look so cool and taste good, too! I think you've convinced a bunch of us to grow them next year.

    As far as the jalapenos go . . . you, m'dear, need an intervention performed before you plant them again next year!

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  5. I have those beans on the list for next year already. They look great. Yes, I agree with momma pea, an intervention just might be necessary. I picked a bunch today and hope to make poppers and appetizers for friends this weekend. Got to remember to wear something on my hands though, last time they stung for days.
    Great harvesting, Erin

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  6. Hmm, so the yard beans are good?? They look so funny! If they are as good as you say, maybe for kicks and grins I will try them. We have a ton of Jalapenos too! I just chop and freeze them. What are you going to do with them??

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  7. Forget the tomatoes, it's the peppers that are blowing my mind. I must be doing something wrong as I've never gotten anything like that in two years....combined!!

    I think I'm going for the yard longs next year. They just look like good down home fun.

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  8. @ everyone: Here's the deal on the beans - they are freaking fanTASTIC! They grow FAST, much faster than bush beans and regular pole beans (here, anyways). They taste great - They look great! I have been blanching them and coiling them into quart size bags to freeze. They make awesome stir fry, they kids actually ate them because they had the "cool factor". i sauteed them in butter and chopped garlic and they were yummy! They snap really easily and I don't see any reason why you couldn't just snap them into whatever size pieces you wanted. For the longest time I have seen them in seed catalogs and flipped past them just thinking that it was a novelty or "what would I do with those?", but one of our favorite meals is stir fry, especially in the winter with our pepper strip stash and they go so well! I know they go by different names such as long bean, Chinese Bean, etc. I can't even tell you where I got them from since they were left at my house in a baggie after a party (LOL, I know how that sounds - it was a seed swap party!). If you plant them, put them somewhere you will see them like a pergola or an archway because they are really pretty and have gorgeous purple flowers, and everyone will say "ooooh, what's THAT?" and you will look all smart and stuff :)

    Ribbit, I dunno... I'm thinking 2 plants grown here would give me 12 jars of pickled jalapenos, and that's plenty LOL! The variety I grow are 'Jalapeno Gigante'.

    Apple Pie Gal, mainly I want to can 12 jars that we have to use on nacho night during the winter! The rest I use to take up space in the freezer and then throw out in the spring hehehe!

    As for the jalapenos, stay tuned for tomorrow's post - a flashback on last year's jalapenos and PTSD

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  9. Holy Jalapeno! Just a note, not that I know from experience: frozen jalapenos still leave oils on your hands, so wash your hands before washing your face using your hands! And make sure you don't get any oils on a dish towel, then use the towel the next day to bury your face in because your eyes are burning from cutting onions. I'm avoiding jalapenos for awhile now!

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  10. I'm impressed by the number of peppers that you grow. Next year, I should really up the amount that we have just because they were some of my favorite things in the garden.

    It will be really interesting to see how the rest of the summer and fall growing season play out. I can already feel the garden slowing down.

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  11. Kaytee, I buy latex gloves by the box (I'm also a bit of a disaster prepper LOL) and always wear them along with glasses. I forgot the glasses last year and got a pepper seed in my eye! I also break one of the surgical masks out of my stash if I'm grinding dried peppers like cayennes, etc. It only takes once to remember, doesn't it :)

    Thomas, I never ever have a problem using up the frozen bell pepper strips and they are so easy to deal with, just slice and freeze, no blanching so they never give me issues like the hot peppers do. I need to remember to drop a few into a bottle of vodka for hubby when he gets home, think I'll try the Fish Hot this time, it's like a homemade version of Absolut Peppar! Makes a spicy martini or good Bloody Mary!

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