It is a warm morning again. We have just received 1/4 inch of rain again with surrounding areas getting up to 2.5 inches. We must not be living right.
I have been watering various things, Kitchen Garden and some flower beds near the house. The rest will just have to survive.
I picked and froze another two large quarts of blackberries...now up to five quarts.
The beetles still don't seem as interested in them as in the past.
I also harvested my first cucumbers.
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| From Harvest 2010 |
I made Bread and Butter Pickles with them.
My sis developed a recipe last year using lime as an overnight soak for crispness and added red peppers to the mix for bite. They were outstanding! I did the same this year and am delighted with how they turned out. I had more cucumbers than the recipe called for but all I changed was I added one extra cup of vinegar...left all else the same except I added l.5 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes to the solution. I ended up with 8 pints and one quart jar which I didn't seal and have been sampling out of the fridge. They are just the way I wanted them to be.
We are still fighting Japanese Beetles. I can't see the Sevin or the Bayer product is working very well. The plants are still covered in 24 hours. I am going to try malathion next. I would just give up but each one that lives lays eggs to return next year!
Flowers
Another daylily is in bloom:
It is either Revolute or Hesperus.
and another glad:
Your pickles look delicious! How wonderful to be able to make your own. You are so talented. I love your blooms and am sorry that you are having to deal with bugs.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy today whatever you do ~ FlowerLady
Wow, I didn't realize you weren't getting any effect killing the Jap Beetles. So far this year I've only seen a few. I'll have to try putting in a few red pepper flakes. Sounds like a nice "bite".
ReplyDeleteAre those cukes the Nat'l Pickler variety? Looks like they are giving you a nice haul pretty early. I love cukes. YUM
ReplyDeleteThose bread and butter pickles will be delicious, I'm sure! Pickles were a given on Grandma's table, she would say they "cut the grease" of the main dish...funny how that stuck in my head! We aren't having the beetles but instead a bad gnat problem this year. I guess too much rain. Have sprayed several times but to no avail. Nights they swarm inside when we open the door to let the dog in/out. It's like we live in Minnesota!
ReplyDeleteMy mom always used lime when she made her pickles. She said it was for crispness. I love the idea of adding red peppers or red pepper flakes. Sound delicious.
ReplyDeleteThose Japanese beetles sound horrible. I'm glad we didn't have the locusts or the beetles this year.
I was up at 3 a.m. with Trixie but went back to bed. Now I wish I'd stayed up. Have a good day.
Those pickles look so good! I'm jealous...we don't have cukes and the blackberries didn't make it this year either. Hubby checked our patch and didn't see any blooms. Your flowers are really pretty. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteYour pickles look so pretty and I bet delicious!
ReplyDeleteLove that pretty glad-something I haven't grown.
We just got a 1/2" of that last rain. Every little bit helps. My SIL at Seymour got 1 1/2".