Tasks:
Canned salsa, pickles, okra pickles, bean pickles, acorn squash, and stewed tomatoes
Began building greenhouse tables
Watered… everything
Thinned turnips
Harvested potatoes, pole and bush beans, tomatoes, onions, peppers, okra, cucumbers, more tomatoes, herbs, and cauliflower
Turned compost
Dead-headed basil, bee balm, and flowers in perennial beds
Staked tomato cages
Notes:
Potatoes: After pulling our crop of potatoes (the yield was poor because of our planting techniques) we have decided to try planting a late crop. To do so we took all of the small quarter size potatoes from our harvest and placed them in a plastic bag with a banana skin. Hopefully after a week we will have established sprouts and can then plant them.
Bell peppers: Since the pepper plants are still small and seem to lack both the strength and water to produce mature peppers, we have decided to harvest all bell peppers when they are still small and green. This way we will lose less of them to end-rot. Near the end of the season, when there is more moisture and the plants are taller, we will let the bell peppers fully mature.
Preserving eggplant: We have tried two methods of preserving eggplant. The first was to skin the eggplant and then slice them into quaster inch slices. We then placed the slices in a bath of water with citric acid (or lemon juice) to stop discoloration. After doing this we placed them in Helios to dry them. The slices dried very nicely; we should be able to use them in place of lasagna noodles.
We have also tried cubing, blanching, and freezing the eggplant. Though we bathed the eggplant in citric acid before we blanched it still turned brown. The cubes also look very rubbery. This is probably not the most appetizing way of preserving eggplant.
Choice of pole beans: George and I have decided that we enjoy the Asian Red Noodle Beans much better than the Italian Flat Beans that we have. They are easier to pick (because they’re purple), much more attractive, and have a much better taste.
Okra pickles: are amazing! Especially when they are pickled with hot peppers.