The garden has been a very busy place for the past few weeks and the cucumbers are producing an astounding amount of fruit. Currently my canning tally is at seventy-eight quarts of pickles since the season began just a few short weeks ago. The summer has been hot and dry, but with regular watering the plants are thriving with no immediate end in sight.
We are heading into fall with fairly warm temperatures and if I can protect the plants as the evening temperatures begin to drop I should be able to continue harvesting for several more weeks. The first frost date for my area is around October 1st, so I still have another month of potential harvests before the season winds down for the year.
I am continuing to pick about a gallon bag of cucumbers every day. Every few days I have to can a batch of pickles or I will run out of room in my fridge. Each round of canning has been resulting in at least seven new quart jars each time. My storage area is also very full already, so I am just going to let them fill up my back room until I can find more shelving for storing all of them. I always save the boxes that the jars came in to make storing my home canned goods a little easier.
If I can keep this up I may well reach my goal of 100 quarts of pickles this year. I know that I won't be able to eat this many pickles, but I have many friends that enjoy these seasonal taste treats. I'm sure I will find homes for them before next year's canning season begins again.
I'm amazed at how healthy your cucumber plants look! That's something to be said for not living in the hot, dry south. LOL
ReplyDeleteI am attributing this years happy garden to the leaves that I mixed into the soil before planting this year. My soil is a hard packed clay that is devoid of organic matter, but little by little I am helping to make it better. The leaves in the soil have helped a lot! I also mulch my beds with straw to help hold in the precious moisture and I water with drip irrigation to keep things efficient. From the looks of this years garden I think I am on the right track!
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