Harvest!

Due to the possibility of frost (which ultimately didn't happen), I harvested the remaining corn from my little stand (that would be what remained after the depredations of the rabbits, deer, birds, etc) yesterday.  Last night, the Princess shucked about a 100 ears, of which 90 were usable.  I blanched them, threw them in a cooler full of ice water, scraped the corn from the cobs, and froze ten bags of corn (about 3 packed cups per bag).  Then I tossed the shucks in the composter, and put the cobs out for the chickens to clean up.  Considering that I had to plant that corn twice, weed it repeatedly, (only had to water it three times though) and put up my "make-do" fencing - which only worked 'til the corn was actually ripe - I may have burned more calories than I would ingest by eating the corn.  In defense of the expenditure of time, energy and aggravation, it was mighty good sweet corn, and I definitely liked the red, even though the cobs were smaller than the yellow.  The red corn stayed red when microwaved for eating on the cob, but it turned a weird shade of purple/blue when blanched in boiling water on the stove - although the part of the kernel that attaches to the cob stayed red, and made the corn look like it was bleeding when it was scraped.  I thought it was freaky. 

Next year I would plant the corn closer together (no skipping rows).  I would NOT plant Big Doris pumpkins or beans or anything else in the same patch.  (This year I planted those in the skipped rows - the bunnies at the beans, and the pumpkins went haywire and tried to take over the world.  What I am going to do with all those gigantic pumpkins, I do not know.  Next year, we will have little pie pumpkins, in their own little patch away from the corn.  And the beans will have to be in the hoophouse, or be MUCH better fenced.  If I get any beans at all, it will be the ones I planted late in the hoophouse that are just now blooming.

I finally do have some tomatoes.  We've eaten the four that actually ripened.  All the rest are still green.  I think I will have to go to the Farmers' market this week and buy some in order to have any for salsa.  Also, I think I will not be able to can any chutneys this year due to my lack of maters.  Annoying, especially since i have the apples for the tomato-apple chutney, and the curried apple chutney...

In fact, I have ten grocery bags of apples from our trees sitting in my kitchen, waiting to be turned into apple fritters (breakfast tomorrow) and applesauce (tomorrow's canning) and dehydrated apples (the next couple days).  And the pears are just beginning to ripen.  I hope they wait til I'm done with the apples.  The apple trees aren't even half picked yet, either.  This may be the year of the apple...

I have two more batches of sweet relish to can with the remaining cukes tomorrow, too.  I am sick of the cukes.  If I can enough this year to last for two years, then I will only plant enough cukes to make fridge pickles and one cuke salad a week next year.

The peppers are only just now beginning to ripen.  There should be enough for salsa if I can get the maters.