Bright Meadow Farms

Spent the last week canning relishes and pickles in the evenings. Such a long drawn out process! The pickle recipe called for the pickles to be soaked in brine for at least six hours, then a vinegar soak for 12 hours, then finally boiled in the pickling liquid. One jar didn't seal, so I got to taste them, they are wonderful -- but really, all that labor for four pints of pickles? Not to mention the mess on the stove!

I made some chow-chow (4 jars) and also some sweet cucumber relish (3 jars), followed up by 7 jars of tomato salsa. I used my antique jars with glass lids and rubber rings, and screw-on bands. I purchased boxes and boxes of them at an auction several years ago, nobody else seemed to want them. I had never seen the glass lids before, and was entranced by them. I was worried that they wouldn't seal but they seem to be just fine.

The tomatoes are coming on thick and fast in the garden now -- too bad, I can't make it to the farmer's market this weekend. I wonder if I can just rinse them off and pop them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer? Don't have time to can or process them.

My cucumber vines are not doing well at all, mostly the leaves are crispy, but I picked 7 cucumbers tonight. There are some green leaves still at the ends of the vines. Looking for something on the internet to tell me what caused this problem! The zucchini seem fairly healthy, the pumpkins look sad, and the canteloupes that volunteered seem VERY healthy!

Something is nibbling big bites out of my beets. I suspect a baby rabbit. I will look into the live humane traps and relocate it (them?) if I catch any.

Corn is ready, we have had corn for supper three nights in a row. Ummmm, good! A little butter, salt and pepper, it's almost a meal. Slice a tomato and grill a bratwurst, life is good.

I have planted some lettuce seedlings in the shade of the corn stalks. I am pulling out the corn (and any weeds) as I pick the ears and sending it directly to the compost pile, then tilling the row and planting the lettuce. Hopefully there is time to get the lettuce up and going before frost hits in mid-October.