Putting By

A beautiful visitor here lately, a pipevine swallowtail.

Another day in the garden and the kitchen, but less hectic and demanding than most years. Having a smaller garden is nice butbit feels odd not to be up to my ears in things needing put up, immediately!

The rattlesnake beans have completely covered their arch and are blooming and growing some nice beans.

I tried ti photograph the bean blossoms, which are a pretty punk and purple,  but didn't do too well, I'm afraid.

So today: the leeks were planted, a tedious job tgat requires bending over and carefully placing leek plants that are for all the world like thin blades of grass. Tedious, but done. Now to keep them carefully watered until they are hardy enough to be mulched for the winter.

I planted turnips too, but could not find my carrot seeds. Perhaps I used them up. I can't remember. Larry bought me some in town. Then I cut broccoli, picked some tomatoes, and then got to work stringtrimming. 

One SMH moment: I asked Larry to dig the carrots---and he pulled the celery instead! He said "You told me to pull the celery!" Ah me. I did not, of course. So he went back and dug the carrots while I cut up the celery and put it in the dehydrator. Dried celery is so handy for all sorts of things, Then we re-planted the celery butts and watered them heavily. They should re-grow new stalks. It's frustrating because they were not nearly ready yet. 

A wheelbarrow full of carrots. Mostly greens,  of course, but plenty of carrots too.

In the afternoon I prepped the carrots for storage.  Super easy---just twist off the green tops, put into baggies with a clean, dry paper towel, seal up and put in the fridge. Don't wash, just brush off the dirt. Last year I tried this method for the first time, and used the last of them in February.

After that I blanched the broccoli and put it in the freezer, and bagged up the green beans and ham I cooked yesterday and put those in the freezer too.

By then Larry was home from town. We made burgers on the grill, lit the firepit, and enjoyed the beautiful cool evening as the sun went down.

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