Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Monday, September 16, 2013

Finally ..

A break in the heat.

Although, last night a whopper of a storm rolled through the Inland Northwest of epic size!  A large dust storm .. ahead of thunder and torrential downpours scoured the area.

The kitchen has been steamy of late with outside temps in the 90F's .. and simmering pots of tomato based chili sauce AND applesauce waiting to get canned.  I gave up canning outside temporarily due to the 'meat' bees (yellow jackets) swarming around any type of food. 

Autumn is a welcome change and will spur us on to get the garden harvested before any frost hits.

Are you squirreling away provisions for winter?  Taking down a garden?  Saving seeds?

Speaking of seeds, we must be vigilant to be seed savers as countries try to adopt policies to 'force' their citizens to use seeds tested and approved by the government.  Imagine that!  What would the food supply look like without regional heirloom garden seeds? 

Plant Reproductive Material Law
 
Vegetable Seed Saving Handbook
How to Save Heirloom Tomato Seeds
How to Save Heirloom Vegetable Seeds
How to Save Seeds



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm finishing up the garden...hoping to get a few more pints of green beans canned. Still must harvest the rest of the potatoes. Squash, tomatoes, salsas, mixed veggies canned. Preserves, pickled jalapenos canned, and lots of frozen squash and peppers.
I'm looking forward to canning applesauce and I would like to make some special preserves and chutney for Christmas gifts!
Your alternate source cooking methods are terrific. We have a dual fuel stove, a propane grill, a generator.

Katidids said...

Looks and "smells really good I bet.
We're harvesting the last of the summer garden and tilling tonight. Fall garden going in next.

Laurie said...

I'm freezing okra, sweet pepper and pawpaw pulp, and shelling lots of beans... fresh ones will be frozen and the drier ones will finish drying before being put in jars. I'll probably can another round or two of green beans. Our fall garden was put in a few weeks ago. I wish our apples did well enough that I could be canning applesauce... between cedar rust and insects, they're gnarly little things, and few of them at that. Lucky you!

Sandy Livesay said...

Mrs. Mac,
Pretty header picture on your blog.

It's to hot during the day here but in the evening it's cooling down. 60's here late at night and early in the mornings, we can feel Autumn in the air.

Plenty of canning still to do here with the fall garden soon to bloom.

Your tomato base chili is looking really good and ready for canning.
Do you have everything ready for winter in regards to your canning?

Mrs. Mac said...

The majority of our winter canning is done. Just finishing up with chili sauce (it's our new preferred 'ketchup' and a little easier to make. Will get more applesauce canned as supply arrives from the food co-op. Our apple trees are sparse this year so we had to buy.

Sue said...

I'm working my way through buckets and buckets of apples--making applesauce. When I tire of that, I remind myself that my favorite tree only bears every other year, so it's keep saucing or PAY $5 a jar for the organic version. Needless to say-it keeps me going!

I so love that header photo--such colorful bounty. It just makes me feel "good"!

Kathryn said...

We got a good crop of apples this year. I'm drying quite a few. We don't care for applesauce, but do like apple pies (or cobblers where i use crushed nuts instead of dough), and i think the dried apples will be a good option. We didn't grow enough of anything else to can, but this is my first year of trying. :)

We've had an odd summer, warmer and more rain than usual, which gave us a better chance at growing things. I'm just too inexperienced to do it well, i guess.

Anonymous said...

Wow, your vegetables look amazing! So colorful! The wasps have been terrible this year. I'm really looking forward to fall.