Drying and Canning

Ryan has gone on a drying spree.

We've been given a bunch of peppers and tomatoes by a lady I work with and we had too many peppers for salsa alone. Ryan decided to dry the various peppers whole in our dehydrator. He dried jalapeños, habaneros and another garden pepper, I'm not sure what kind it is exactly.

Many of the tomatoes we got were big cherry tomatoes that we cut in half and dried in the dehydrator, too. These ended up being perfect for dried tomatoes because they were so big that by the time they dehydrated all the way there was actually something left. Ryan

dried tomatoes

had the idea of grinding these dried tomatoes up and using them in things like sauces and salsa. It worked out great. He ground up the tomatoes and it turned into this great powder with a pungent aroma and deep flavor and color. I can't wait to use it in everything.

Most of the tomatoes were cut up into chunks, cold packed into pint jars and preserved for over-winter. I would so much rather have my own canned tomatoes than buy them at the store where they have tons of sodium and other preservatives. This is just tomatoes, lemon juice and water.

dried tomato po

I saved back a portion of the tomatoes for salsa. I have never made my own salsa before, and this batch ended up a success. I pretty much looked at two or three different recipes to go off of for amounts, but kind of just threw what I wanted in the pot. Once I got everything in there that I wanted: Jalapeños, red and green bell peppers, chopped onions, garlic, one habanero pepper, red pepper flakes, dried tomato powder, cumin, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper, I brought it all to a boil and let it simmer for 30-45 minutes. Really just until it was the right consistency. Then, I canned it. I did pints because quarts are just way too much and anything smaller is definitely not enough. Pints are perfect for salsa.

Our last two tomato plants are still giving us some tomatoes. The Cherokee Purple is going strong and the Sunrise Bumblebee is doing okay. The purple ones are big, beefy and great for slicing and canning. We've made BLTs with them and the flavor is on point. The texture is perfect, too. I want to grow these every year. We had an abundance so I canned a quart of them and threw a handful into my salsa. I still have five or six that I just picked this morning that will be ripe in the next couple of days.

Ryan made pasta dough with some of the dried tomato powder, as well as the butternut squash from the garden. There is just all kinds of things you can do with dried tomato powder and I intend to try more and let you know.

A Month Later...

It's been about a month since I last posted. So that means, it's also been a month since I planted fall crops.

Lots of tomatoes, but also a dead squash plant

The good news is that the tomato plants we have left are producing a second round of beautiful fruit. I'm thinking that because it's fall and there are tons of nuts and other things for the squirrels to put away, they aren't as focused on the garden. I did see one out there nibbling on a few green tomatoes so I grabbed my Halloween dummy and threw him out in the garden. I think he's making a sufficient "scarecrow" and haven't seen any more furry friends out there pilfering my goodies.

The various greens we planted are sprouting and beginning to grow. The cilantro is the most surprising crop yet. We harvested our own coriander from our spring cilantro crop, so I didn't have to buy seeds and used my own. I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical they were going to do anything. But, a couple days after everything else started sprouting, up came little cilantro sprouts.

The only thing about our garden this fall is that we planted on a day that was followed by a stormy night. It was a pretty powerful storm, too and had high winds and hail. We planted some crops in rows and others broadcast method, but because of the storm the seeds just kind of ended up all over the place.  So I'm just kind of watering the entire bed and watching sprouts pop up randomly.

Sprouts

The squash bugs ended up killing our butternut squash plant, but not before we could harvest at least eight big, beautiful squash. There were about four more on the vine that could have used another month to season on the vine, but the bugs got the plant first. I started noticing them about six weeks ago. I guess Ryan started noticing the eggs on the bottom of the leaf much sooner, but wasn't sure what he was seeing. The bugs took over quickly and started killing off the plant one leaf at a time. Pretty soon it was every leaf. It was kind of sad to witness. But we weren't too unhappy since we were able to get quite a few squash from it.

The cantaloupe plant was killed by the squash bugs, too I think. The same kind of thing happened with it, although I never really saw squash bugs on that plant. Something happened because the last cantaloupe was small and the vine died before I picked it.

The tomatoes are hanging on, though. The blight is still there, but, because it's not so hot and humid any more the fungus isn't spreading. I think we'll actually get some if we can keep the squirrels at bay.

Squash bugs taking over my plant!

I also think I could get one more harvest from my herbs, maybe two. The basil is starting to flower, (I picked off the first round of flowering so the plants wouldn't die yet), and the sage is, too but it's also starting to get yellow. The thyme still looks great, same with the rosemary. I'll cut a bunch today or tomorrow and dry it all for sauces and cooking through the winter. I love fresh herbs, but dry ones last longer. And that way I can use my dehydrator again.