Operation Rescue the Okra!

In yesterday's post I shared that we had had 13 1/2 inches of rain in June and 4 1/2 inches this week.  Last night we got another 3/4 inch which brings this week's total to 5 1/4 inches of rain.  Getting this much rain has made it really hard to work in our row garden, its the reason we lost a portion of our potato crop to rot and it's the reason our row of okra looked like this ...

Yes, there really is okra in that mess of weeds!

Hubby got the weed-eater out and cleaned out around the row.  Can you find the okra yet?

Ta-da!  I pulled weeds from around the plants and hubby ran the mantis tiller on both sides.  We fertilized it and called it a day.  Next week we'll run the tiller on both sides again and I'll pull any weeds out that have grown back.  Let's hope this works!

patsi

A Working Pantry

Practical Proverbs 31 Living

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

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If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

These Potatoes Have a Special Purpose!

In spite of 13 1/2 inches of rain in June and 4 1/2 inches this week, these potatoes survived!

Ordinarily, we would have had them out of the ground in June but with all the rain, it just wasn't possible.

We started digging them this week and yes, we found lots that had already rotted, about as many as were good.  Still, we managed to save these two crates plus a portion of a smaller basket.  It's a lot more than we thought we would get.

So, if we didn't think there would be much of a harvest, why did we bother?  Here's why, these potatoes were an experiment.  

We purchased a box of potatoes from the little Mennonite settlement we try to visit a couple of times a year in August of 2019.  We brought them home and ate on them off and on until January 2020.  By this time all that was left was small ones and they were wrinkled and starting to sprout.  I almost threw them away but decided instead to plant them to see what would happen.  We were having a hard time finding seed potatoes to have to plant in February so we thought, 'what have we got to lose!'

A Working Pantry Boot Camp Challenge #6

Are you ready for another 'challenging' challenge???  

Here you go … 

Add something to your pantry that doesn’t involve money … meaning it doesn’t cost you anything … not even one cent!

In a nutshell, what this means is that for this challenge, you can't spend any money this week!

When you’ve completed the assignment come back here and share what you did.  Pictures are welcome but not required.

Remember you can always substitute something totally different if a particular assignment doesn’t work for you.  Just tell us what you’re substituting and share a picture if you can.

patsi

A Working Pantry

Practical Proverbs 31 Living

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Follow A Working Pantry on Pinterest

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Cucumbers! Cucumbers! Cucumbers!

I have more cucumbers then I know what to do with, I'm being overrun with them!  (Note to self, don't plant so many cucumbers next year!)  

We're harvesting daily and getting several every time we harvest!  

We're growing them in the top of two of our grow barrels and in our raised bed.

(Notice how the cucumbers cascade down the sides of the grow barrels, this makes harvesting so easy!  The white pipe is part of our watering system.)

Today I made kosher pickles using Mrs. Wages kosher pickle mix.  I also made sweet pickle relish.  I plan to make one more batch of sweet pickle relish tomorrow and then I'll have all I need for a year.   I also plan to make more kosher pickles.

Muffins and Pears!

Just popping in with a short post, we had a nice 4th of July weekend, I hope those of you in the U.S. did as well. 

Two Buckets and a Bowl!

Today is hot and humid and sticky and the yard needed mowing ... so that's what we did!  Hubby got the mower out and got started while I picked up debris, etc on the yard.  When I was through doing the yard prep, I grabbed a bucket and started harvesting from our raised beds, container pots and row garden.

A Working Pantry Boot Camp: Challenge #5

Are you ready for the next challenge? Here you go, let’s see what we do with this one …

What is the 2nd letter in your middle name? Add something to your pantry that begins with that letter. It can be anything that begins with the 2nd letter of your middle name. Let’s do it!

When you’ve completed the assignment come back here and share what you did. 

Remember you can always substitute something totally different if a particular assignment doesn’t work for you. Just tell us what you’re substituting and share a picture if you can.

patsi

A Working Pantry

Practical Proverbs 31 Living

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Follow A Working Pantry on Pinterest

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Daily Harvesting!

We're at the stage in our gardening that we're harvesting daily.  This bucket represents a typical harvest.  The contents change from day to day, but all in all it's a good representation.

We purposefully planted this year with harvesting in mind.  The goal was to not have huge amounts of produce coming in at one time overwhelming us as we tried to get it preserved.   

As we're getting older we're learning to make gardening and preserving as easy on us as possible.  Yes, we enjoy it, but it's still work!

Inside this bucket are ...

Cabbage
Bell peppers

Echinacea, Grapes and Herbs!

(Picture:  our Echinacea, that we're growing in a pot, is showing off!)

We are in full harvest and preserve mode at our house.  Our garden is in full swing and we are harvesting something almost every day.  Today it was tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, blue berries, lemon thyme and parsley.

I set the tomatoes aside to finish ripening (some of them were not fully ripe) ...

I had cucumbers for a snack and put the rest in the refrigerator for later use ...

I plan to chop the peppers and set them in the refrigerator.  They will be used in another batch of salsa later in the week ...

A Working Pantry Boot Camp: Challenge #4

I love that we all shared the different ways we were adding freezer meals to our pantries for challenge #3. The week has inspired and given me new ideas for future freezer meals!

With challenge #3 behind us, it’s time to move on to challenge #4, which doesn’t require as much effort on our part … I’m calling it ‘add an extra!’ When you go shopping this week, choose at least one item that you are purchasing and buy an extra to add to your pantry. (You can buy as many extra’s as you want of as many different items as you want as often as you want.)

Let's 'add a little extra' to our pantries this week and have fun in the process.

When you’ve completed the assignment come back here and share what you did.

Remember, you can always substitute something totally different if a particular assignment doesn't work for you.

patsi

A Working Pantry

Practical Proverbs 31 LivingShe looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Follow A Working Pantry on Pinterest

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.