Growing Your Own: What did you grow / raise / harvest?

[Lilibulero]

Choke cherries? Never heard that name before. Are they a relative to cranberries? And, most importantly, do they choke people?🤣

[Muledeer]

7 hours ago, Lilibulero said:

Choke cherries?

Yep, one word condensed from two words. like hummingbird.  They are native to our mountains and canyons.  Not related to cranberries at all.   I'm not sure how they got their name, and I've always wondered that.  They do have a cherry-like flavor.  They are mostly used for juice and jelly because they contain large pits and they don't have much flesh.  They usually get eaten by the birds or dry up on the plant, so these large, juicy, and ripe chokecherries are rare.   I went back to pick more the next day and they were all gone. The plants are a shrub about 1-2 M tall, and their flowers are very fragrant.  

[Lilibulero]

Very interesting @Muledeer, worth a bit of investigation. There are similar types of berry in wild hedgerows here, and also, purple ones but I've no idea if they're the same or poisonous. Google photos ID didn't help.

[Frogster]

On 9/11/2022 at 10:36 AM, Muledeer said:

I harvested about a gallon of wild chokecherries last week,  and plan on juicing them for jelly today.  Also shown is a fresh crock of sauerkraut that I made with homegrown cabbage and garlic.  It needs to ferment for another three weeks. 

 

Do they have enough pectin without adding any?

[Muledeer]

1 hour ago, Frogster said:

Do they have enough pectin without adding any?

I assume they do not have enough pectin, although I have no idea how to measure that.  So, I will add a package of pectin, some lemon juice, sugar,  and use the chokecherry jelly recipe that came with the pectin.  It should yield about six one cup jars.  I got over a quart of juice from them - enough for at least two batches!  About twenty years ago, my Mom showed me how to make chokecherry jelly.  I haven't made it since then.

[pickles.]

On 9/11/2022 at 10:36 AM, Muledeer said:

Also shown is a fresh crock of sauerkraut that I made with homegrown cabbage and garlic.

YUMMY!!

[Tyke]

7 hours ago, Muledeer said:

I assume they do not have enough pectin, although I have no idea how to measure that.  So, I will add a package of pectin, some lemon juice, sugar,  and use the chokecherry jelly recipe that came with the pectin.  It should yield about six one cup jars.  I got over a quart of juice from them - enough for at least two batches!  About twenty years ago, my Mom showed me how to make chokecherry jelly.  I haven't made it since then.

how will you use it when it's finished?

[Muledeer]

3 hours ago, Tyke said:

how will you use it when it's finished?

I use it like any other jam or jelly, as a condiment on toast or English muffins.  

[daveb]

I was able to pick and eat a few small strawberries and raspberries growing by the side of a public path on a river walk.  

[Tyke]

6 hours ago, Muledeer said:

I use it like any other jam or jelly, as a condiment on toast or English muffins.  

I did guess as much. But we also use redcurrant jelly (made with much less sugar than jam) as an accompaniment to cold chicken and turkey, hence the question.

[daveb]

1 hour ago, Tyke said:

I did guess as much. But we also use redcurrant jelly (made with much less sugar than jam) as an accompaniment to cold chicken and turkey, hence the question.

That sounds similar to how we use cranberry sauce here (although it's called "sauce" I think it's more like jelly).

[Tyke]

37 minutes ago, daveb said:

That sounds similar to how we use cranberry sauce here (although it's called "sauce" I think it's more like jelly).

we do have cranberry sauce, too. It has pieces of (mashed) fruit in it. Redcurrant jelly is typically clear of fruit pieces (reasonably enough given that redcurrants are tiny and sometimes seem to be just skin and seed. Despite that I love them in fruit pies and crumbles. They are very sharp so you can choose how sweet (or not) to make the dish).

[Muledeer]

3 hours ago, Tyke said:

I did guess as much. But we also use redcurrant jelly (made with much less sugar than jam) as an accompaniment to cold chicken and turkey, hence the question.

How interesting!  For at least two reasons.  It sounds delicious.  We also have wild red currant bushes but I have never heard it as one word.  And because we have them,  and they grow all over the place, like the chokecherries, I would love to try making a batch of jelly from the fruit next year.   If the current is black, is it also called a blackcurrent?

[daveb]

5 hours ago, Tyke said:

we do have cranberry sauce, too. It has pieces of (mashed) fruit in it. Redcurrant jelly is typically clear of fruit pieces (reasonably enough given that redcurrants are tiny and sometimes seem to be just skin and seed. Despite that I love them in fruit pies and crumbles. They are very sharp so you can choose how sweet (or not) to make the dish).

Here cranberry sauce can have bits of fruit in it or not. The kind I am most used to (and prefer, as I tend to not like chunks in such things) is the can-shaped store-bought no fruit chunks kind (Ocean Spray brand), aka "jellied cranberry sauce" (they also do "whole berry cranberry sauce"). Some people make their own sauce from scratch.  

[Tyke]

9 hours ago, Muledeer said:

How interesting!  For at least two reasons.  It sounds delicious.  We also have wild red currant bushes but I have never heard it as one word.  And because we have them,  and they grow all over the place, like the chokecherries, I would love to try making a batch of jelly from the fruit next year.   If the current is black, is it also called a blackcurrent?

blackcurrant, redcurrant are all one word, yes. White currants are much rarer and I think would be two words. Strange, eh? I have one redcurrant bush in my garden which has spread a little over the 20+ years I've been here. It's still not at all big but has become absolutely prolific in fruit production in recent years. I have over 2kg (getting on for 5lbs) of the fruit in my freezer

[daveb]

5 hours ago, Tyke said:

I have over 2kg (getting on for 5lbs) of the fruit in my freezer

Nice!  

[Frogster]

Red currant jelly is really good. I used to make it when I had a currant bush in Portland.  The bush I planted here got infested with something and I dug it out.

I'm guilty of enjoying peanut butter and cranberry sauce sandwiches. (the kind without the fruit chunks) Thanks for reminding me.

 

Today I got all of the compost out of the compost heap and into the garden. I don't seem to have gotten bitten by any of the centipedes that were made homeless by the process.

[daveb]

3 hours ago, Frogster said:

cranberry sauce sandwiches

I like turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches.  

 

Maybe I should think about planting some sort of fruit tree or bushes in the circular patch in my backyard that is grass-free from previously having had an above-ground pool on that spot...

[omar.405]

There's a blackberry bush in the back of my garden. Decided to pick a fair few of them, wash them, and made my own jam out of them. Easily the best thing I've ever cooked myself. I'll update y'all when I make another jar  

[Myssterry]

A pot planted up for autumn.  There are bulbs buried in there too for the spring.

 

 

The violas are the type that seem to have little grumpy faces when you see them in real life.

[daveb]

1 hour ago, Myssterry said:

little grumpy faces

I can see them there.

Cheer up, guys!  

[Muledeer]

4 hours ago, Myssterry said:

The violas are the type that seem to have little grumpy faces when you see them in real life

I've never seen a grumpy-faced pansy before, but I can sure see them in that photo!  I love pansies, (or violas) - they seem to be the same flower.

[Myssterry]

4 minutes ago, Muledeer said:

I love pansies, (or violas) - they seem to be the same flower.

Here in the UK we tend to call the large-flowered plants pansies and the small-flowered plants violas.  The markings like on the ones pictured are called whiskers. I love them even more than the plain ones, and the little viola flowers always seem to have the funniest little faces.

[Myssterry]

 

 

 

 

 

[Frogster]

Today I planted the garlic that Muledeer sent. The trees are turning so pretty soon there will be mulch available. I have spinach,lettuce, arugula and carrots germinating in pots on the front porch and beets chard and radishes for fall in the garden. I finally pulled up the bean plants. The peppers and tomatoes are still producing under protection.

 

The garlic looks like a 16x3ft area of dug up dirt with a small label in case I forget what I planted where.

 

Here is the stuff on the front porch.

[pickles.]

On 10/2/2022 at 2:00 PM, MysTricky said:

 

 

 

 

I have a similarly-shaped basket, @MysTricky; mine has non-edibles in it. 
 

Spoiler

 

[Myssterry]

35 minutes ago, pickles mcgee said:

I have a similarly-shaped basket, @MysTricky; mine has non-edibles in it. 
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Mine is a traditional Sussex trug basket.  They are still made in Sussex and exported round the world.  Your shells are very pretty!

[Lilibulero]

Recently planted garlic is now 2 inches above ground, no doubt spurred on by the amazing rain we had a couple of days ago.

A dozen strong white onions and another dozen mild red salad onions planted now.

 

Raspberries are now pruned, honeysuckle next.

[pickles.]

36 minutes ago, MysTricky said:

Mine is a traditional Sussex trug basket.  They are still made in Sussex and exported round the world.  Your shells are very pretty!

The word trug was coming to mind, but I wasn’t sure where I’d got that from.  I love the look of yours, with the beautiful weathered paint.

 

All the shells in that collection I either found or bought as a child, at the same place we would go beach camping each summer.  Either found on the beach or bought from a shell shop on the coast highway nearby.  My brothers and sisters and I would walk to the shell shop, which seemed miles and miles away; I’ve never known how far it actually was. 😏

[pickles.]

On 10/2/2022 at 4:34 PM, Frogster said:

Today I planted the garlic that Muledeer sent.

That's very cool, that you two did a seed sharing thingy!