2015 Canning and Freezing Report

Here's the summary of what we canned in 2015.   I've probably left a couple of things out but you get the general idea.   Also, I've put in quantities of fruit plus the canned yield so you can get an idea of how far a bushel will go, etc.  I've updated the Canning page [tab above so I can keep a record of the 2016 season.   I'm excited to get this season going.

February:

• Carrots:  7 quarts. [pressure canned].  Great for carrot cake!

March:

• Maple Syrup:   8 pts

June:

• Strawberries - 1 flat [2 gallons] Reeves in Worthingon/Freedom: frozen

July:

• Peaches [Freedom Country Store]:  2 bushels
• Plain peach jam for cookie/pie fillings:  2 batches
• Spiced peach jam with brown sugar
• Peach Chutney: 2 batches
• Peach pie filling:  38 quarts total [Spiced 7, Peach Raspberry Vanilla 20, Peach Plum Vanilla  11]
• Froze several bags full - store flat to freeze.
• Blueberries [Freedom Country Store]:  1 box, 10 lbs - frozen
• Sour Cherries [Freedom Country Store]:  1 box, 10 lbs:  11 quarts pie filling
• NOTE:  Make this after the mixed berry pie filling in the same pot for better color.
• Sweet Cherries [Freedom Country Store]: 3 boxes, 20 lbs each:  
• Sweet Cherry Vanilla jam:  7 batches
• Sweet Cherry Chutney: 3 batches
• Mixed Berries for Amy [Freedom Country Store]:  1 flat  red raspberries, 1 flat black raspberries
• pie filling 11 quarts
• mixed berry freezer jam with instant clear jel:  6.5 pints

August: 

• Tomatoes:  2 boxes [from Reeves in Worthington.  $10 / 25 lb box]: 28 quarts
• Tomasqua from garden produce:  7 quarts 
• Green beans:  from the garden.   I swear we froze a million bags of them.  OK, probably closer to 8-10 gallons.   Way a lot. 

September:

• Apples: 1 bushel Gala = 22 quarts pie filling
• Apples:  1/2 bushel Gala, 1/2 bushel Honeycrisp = 24 quarts apple slices in light syrup. 
• Red Raspberries:  1 1/2 flats [1 1/2 gallons] from Freedom Country Store, discounted for age 
• 3 quarts pie filling
• 3 large batches jam: 12 pints

October:

• Beans, dry off the vine:  Almost 3 quarts total, mixed.   
• The Kentucky wonder beans were FABULOUS to hull and came right out of the shells easily.   I shelled those, plus some Freshette hybrids [a pain to hull], plus a few dragon tongues, plus a few long beans.  And they're pretty!  Great reason not to feel pressure to harvest them all green for the freezer or canner.

I'm so looking forward to this year!

2013 Garden Round-up

This is what we planted for 2013 and my notes on the varieties.    It was a weird year, last year.   Not harsh, but the spring was long - very long - and the summer was cool.  

Some of my tried-and-true varieties didn't like the cool summer.   Let's hope 2014 is a more normal summer.





Beans

• Fava Beans - Broad Windsor  Changed my mind because of the late spring.  Planted extra peas instead.
• Red Chinese long beans - love these!  They start fast and bear early.
• Green Chinese long beans - love these!  They start slow and bear late, but are frost hardy in the fall.  
• Dragon Tongue.  Fantastic fresh, freeze OK.  
• Freshette green bean.  My favorite of all the beans we froze.  

Beet

•  Detroit Dark Red - the rabbits ate them to the ground.  I didn't get a single one.   They seemed to start OK, so I'll try them again with extra critter protection.

Cucumber

• Telegraph - long.   My favorite so far.
• de Bourbonne [tiny ones] - seem to do better in a hot summer.  

Eggplant:  Bad year for eggplant.   Lots of flea beetles, too.

• Japanese Pickling:  Did OK.   Usually does great and it loves hot summers.
• Florida Market Eggplant-very sensitive to cold.  Lost the first batch of starts to a late freeze, even though they were in the hoop house.   Did a second batch of starts and put them in the ground at the end of May.   Got 1 single eggplant.

Fennel:  Di Firenze - likes cool weather.   Plant in fall for December harvest and in late Feb for spring harvest.

Greens:

• Siamese Dragon Stir Fry Mix.  I mixed this half and half with more arugula seed.  Yum!
• Bibb Lettuce-  Love this stuff and we had a lot of it in 2013.

Herbs, Annual:

• Basil, Genovese. Water seeds daily until they sprout.Harvest frequently. 
• Basil, Lettuce Leaf..  Water seeds daily until they sprout. Harvest frequently.
• Cilantro, Slo Bolt. Mostly it self sows.  Comes up everywhere.  I love it.
• Dill.  Self sows now. 

Herbs, Perennial [planted several years ago]

• Lavender
• Thyme
• Sage
• Horehound
• Chives
• Anise Hyssop
• Hyssop
• Chamomile [self sows]
• Alpine Strawberries
• Clary Sage
• Winter savory
• Lemon balm
• Sorrel

  Leek:  Autumn Giant Leek.   I started them, but didn't get them in the ground in time to harvest.   Will do better in 2014.

Melon

• Charentais [cantaloupe]- cat dug it up.  Will try again in 2014.
• Uzbek Sweetness Melon - fantastic melon!   Will do these again.   Sweet!

Onions

• Egyptian walking onions - don't like damp.   I hope they come up this year.
• Local starts:  red and yellow sets
• Australian Brown: Started in jugs in the hoop house in February and have lots of starts now. Didn't get them in the ground in time.   Will try again with fresh seeds.

Parsnip:  Half Long Guernsey Parsnip  [First try at parsnips.] - didn't come up.

Peas

• Sugar Snap:   Hardy and prolific.  Heat tolerant. Love these!

Peppers

• Golden Marconi - Great peppers.   The red ones did better.
• Red Marconi - Great peppers.
• Ozark Giant - Did OK, but not great.
• Quadrato D'Asti Rosso - Didn't do anything. 

Potatoes:  Kennebec.   From May's [local].   Tried these in potato towers again.   Much better to just grow them in rows. 

Radish:

• Early Scarlet Globe - the regular red kind.   Had great success in very early cold frame planting and and late fall cold frame plantings.

Rutabaga: Laurentian Rutabaga.   Did nothing. 

Sweet potatoes:  Georgia Jet.  From our own starts.   The deer liked these.   I fenced them out and the sweet potatoes were good. 

Squash, Summer

• Zucchino Rampicante - Used saved seed.   These did fabulously!
• Golden Marbre Scallop [pattypan] - Did well and seem to be somewhat resistant to vine borers.
• Lemon Squash - Did well and seem to be somewhat resistant to vine borers.
• Castata Romanesco [zucch type]:  Early set of fruit. Light.  Striped.  First one, June 30.  Loved these.

Squash, Winter

• Australian Butter - Good fruit.   Will try again.
• Black Futsu - excellent.  Prolific for us in 2013.  Great fruit.
• Greek Sweet Red - one of our favorite. 
• Golden hubbard - didn't do so well in 2013. 
• Honey Boat Delicata - Good!   We liked these a lot and they're cute.
• Musquee De Provence - Gorgeous and delicious.
• Queensland Blue - I keep trying these because they're, well, blue.   We usually get one.
• Rouge Vif D'Etampes - didn't get any.

Strawberries

• June bearing [from May's]
• Ever bearing  [from May's]

Tomato - not a great year for tomatoes in 2013.   Too cool.

• Amana Orange Tomato - Good tomato.
• Amish Paste - K2's favorite. 
• Brave General Tomato - Did ok
• Black Cherry Tomato - prolific.  Like these!
• Hillbilly [Flame]- Did ok.