We Have Carrots!

I can't even remember how many years it's been that I've tried to grow carrots. I've followed directions to the "T" and every year I've had no luck. I've tried floating row covers, sand, peat... you name it. Then I read that one needs to sprinkle the seed on top of freshly worked damp dirt, cover with a thin layer of sand, and then cover with a board. I tried it, and had it raised just a tiny bit for a little air circulation. IT WORKED! I had a 5 foot row of carrots that sprouted and matured! Tonight we will be eating the fruits of that row. I know - five feet isn't much, but I was so tired of wasting seed and garden space. Finally - I know how to get those little buggers to grow. Life is good!

Seven more trays of mint now dehydrates on the counter. I'm hoping we'll have enough for tea this winter. I've never tried putting up a year's worth of tea before. I've been counting things by trays for my notes. I could put down gallons or quarts of dried apple slices, but if I post trays, I have more of an idea how much needs dehydrated instead of the end product.

I still have to go to the garden today and pull in the green tomatoes I want for jam. Then the garden is finished. Then all we'll need to do is put it to bed.

The Early Bird

Early this morning, DD and I left our nice warm home to brave the rainy and foggy weather to get to JCPenney's to hit the early bird sale. She needed a new winter coat, and although we looked at yard sales and the thrift stores, we didn't find one in her size. We found a nice feather down coat in her size plus we also found a bra on sale that she liked. If we had purchased them at regular price, we would have spent $194.99. Instead, we bought both for $63.49!! It certainly was worth taking the time to go!!

We were out of Penney's before the mall even opened (another big plus!) and made a quick stop at the health food store to pick up some echinacea purpurea root, elder flowers, cardamom, and wheat germ. I buy all these in bulk and it saves a lot of money. The girl at the register asked me why I'm buying elder flowers, because they are so easy to harvest. I told her I know, but sadly missed them this year. She said she did, too. I did go for elder berries, but the birds had hit them hard, and were eating them even before they really turned ripe, so I just let them go this time. Next year...

I think I have pretty much everything we'll need for cold and flu season now. DH won't drink the elder tea - says it's TERRIBLE, but to the rest of us, it just tastes like any other herb tea. He says he'd rather die of the flu than drink it. I just roll my eyes, because we all took it as soon as we started showing signs of a cold week before last, and we did get the cold, but it passed by so quickly. DH on the other hand was miserable and ended up missing a couple of days of hunting and a couple of days of work. Sigh...

Putting Up Food

We've put a bit of food up in the pantry this year. What we didn't grow came mostly from friends and some from the local growers market. When we can't grow it, we make sure to purchase locally.

Here's a peek at what was put up on the pantry shelves or in the freezer this year:

Canned

1 quart garlic cloves in oil (actually these are in the refrigerator)
1 batch Sweet Cherry Jam
1 batch canned peaches
1 batch peach pie filling
1 batch Peach Brandy Jam
1 1/2 batches Peach Jam
1 1/2 batches Spiced Peach Jam
1 batch Spicy Habanero pepper Jelly
1 batch Habanero Pepper Sauce
2 batches Barbecued Hot Peppers
1 batch Jim's Salsa (from Countryside Magazine)
1/2 batch Pickled Peppers
13 quarts and 5 pints tomatoes
4 quarts pears
1 batch Spiced Pear Jam
1 1/2 batches Pear Jam
1/2 batch Squash Relish from Heinz pickling booklet(DD made these!)
1 batch Tomato & Corn Relish from "The Joy of Pickling"
7 quarts and 1 pint Apple Sauce
2 batches Caramel Apple Butter
1 batch Apple Butter
10 pints meatballs
3 pints browned hamburger
6 pints hamburger with onions and peppers in tomato juice
7 pints hamburger with onions and peppers in water
1 batch Pineapple Sauce/Topping
3 batches Pickled Peppers

Frozen

5 batches Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
4 packages sliced onions for French Onion Soup (6 generous cups each)
26 cups chopped onions for cooking
3 packages chopped chives
3 pints peaches - sweetened
1/2 gallon bag flash frozen peach slices
7 quarts (generous) green beans
8 packages grated zucchini
1 quart flash frozen green bell peppers
3 generous quarts chopped green bell peppers
1 quart flash frozen Cubanelle peppers
4 generous quarts Cubanelle peppers
1 pint flash frozen red cherry peppers
1 batch Vera's Apricot-Zucchini Jam
6 pie crusts from "30 Day Gourmet"
9 generous quarts corn


Dehydrated

2 trays sweet cherries
5 trays onions
2 trays zucchini slices
3 trays peach fruit leather
3 trays hot peppers
15 trays apple slices
6 trays apple snacks

Herbs

Dried mint for tea
Echinacea tincture
2 quarts frozen chopped parsley
28 cubes frozen chopped parsley in water