I did a bunch of canning today. Made 5 pints of gherkin pickles (wish I had an hundred more!), 5 quarts and 3 pints of bread and butter pickles and 4 pints and 9 half-pints of
mostly seedless wild blackberry jam (with 2 cups of frozen mixed berries crushed in there to make a full batch, hence the seeds.) Started a stock pot of chicken broth which I will cool overnight, skim the fat and can tomorrow.
In between that, I failed miserably with potty training the toddler and cleaned up a lot of accidents. She asked once to use the potty and did well, but spent the rest of the day going wherever she pleased. So backing off of that for awhile.
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Tinkered in the garden, set posts for some later pole beans. Tried to pull a few squash and cantaloupe vines back in line (can't walk through easily anymore; they are taking over!) Picked some more cukes and got a few different tomatoes today. They're just getting started. I'll be canning tomatoes here soon. Sorted out some pole bean vines and sent them back around their own teepees (they like to talk to their neighbors.) Pulled a few weeds here and there.
Squashed some bugs. Really need to get back out there with the spinosad and spray. I don't know what I'll do about spraying the squash, cantaloupe, etc. They're a dense and cluttered mess. I wouldn't know where to start. They look good for now, but I've had a lot of trouble with squash bugs in the past. Lots of fruit setting. Ava's cantaloupe have netting. Won't be long now!
My 'Black Swan' poppies are blooming! They're gorgeous! I will try to get a pic tomorrow.
Yesterday I took more field notes on Russ' beans and Marshall's 'Powder Stars' which are doing great and also on my tomatoes. A lot of my tomatoes have Early Blight, some even developing lesions on the fruit. I may be seeing some blossom end rot too because of the heavy and frequent rains we've been having. I'm finding that this particular plot doesn't drain well. I can't tell if the water is coming from leakage or overflow from my cistern or if it is just collecting as a low spot beside the cistern. I don't know that I'll plant anything there again other than maybe corn. I'll probably start putting the tomatoes out front in raised beds, giving the disease time to break cycle. This is the second year I've had it. Two very wet and rainy years. I have not had to water the garden once yet. I would share with you who need it if I could!
