Bust out the jars!

It's pickle making time! Well, almost. I'm still searching for a good sour pickle recipe, but I've been coming up short. Besides, I honestly can't remember if we planted "regular," big cucumbers or pickling, baby ones. (Those are official farmer terms. Haha!) I'll let you know if they get any bigger.

Pumpkins

Every year we fail at growing pumpkins, yet we always attempt. I think we do it for the girls. The powdery mildew takes over, but we usually get at least a single small gourd. That's enough to bring a smile and to decorate with.  Keep those fingers crossed! 

Grapes

Out of our three plants, these white grapes have really taken off! I still think we have a couple years before we get any fruit, but I'm sure it's worth the wait! 

Andy's Hops

We hadn't seen much change from last year until Andy noticed these flowers! Now, we are noticing them all over the vines. It's a big difference from our first growing season in which we yielded a total of four flowers. 

Grapes

All of our grapes are growing this spring!  The last vine has really taken off and has reached up to the wire. The middle grapes are slowly catching up. Our transplant of Grandpa Smith's concords have blossoms!  We thought they were done for, but they're still growing!  

Time to prune.

These grapes took off, but now it's time to prune....I think.  Any suggestions what to do next?! I know we need to prep for the coming year, but what's first? 

Toms

Here are a few of the tomatoes that are left. We have had an excellent crop this year!  

Seeing red.

I plucked just under one hundred tomatoes from their vines. They will be made into sauce, paste, dried tomatoes, and even ketchup!  We are very excited to make our own ketchup to be honest. There are still many tomatoes on the vine that I hope will ripen soon because I still need to can enchilada sauce and salsa!

Four days worth and I'm all caught up!

We have been out of town for a few days. We headed south and roughed it as a family for a bit. The girls had a blast, but our trip was hindered by a stomach bug that took out half the Smith population. We're better now, and we did end up enjoying our time away from the hustle and bustle of the city. 

---

Here is dinner!  We each caught a fish...errr...the girls and I each caught a fish. Well....Evan caught two, but one was on Tilly's pole, so according to Grandma R's logic Tilly said, "my pole, my fish!" 

---

When we got home we noticed the hops were really taking off!  Nice big flowers are such a treat to look at!  Sorry the picture is so dark.  I'll attempt a better one soon.  

---

I thought I'd be nice and start a basket of fresh veggies and eggs for the new neighbors next door. Andy reminded me that they are kind and I should also be kind. So here is a start. I plan to add more once the onions are done drying. Should only take a day or so. 

Houston, we have a problem!

So I went with the idea of putting the pumpkin vines on a makeshift pulley system, BUT what happens when the pumpkin starts growing on the very end of the vine 10 feet in the air? 

I think I'll have to sew up a little sling. Anyone have any other ideas?  

More tomatoes!

We tried black cherry tomatoes this year, and they're looking good!  

Vine ripened beauty

I love the ripening color progression that is occurring right now. It's a wonderful sight.  

The hops are what's hoppening!

Hahaha I couldn't resist! 

So, we had a tour visitor who was absolutely certain that hops ONLY grew straight up and were IMPOSSIBLE plants to train.  I smiled and said we were new to farming and new to growing hops, but thought we'd try it anyway. Trial and error. But now, I look outside and see this plant growing up and hanging a right on the line!  Booya! 

Catch up and a BIG cuke

Here is Tilly sneaking a snack. Little baby bites ran along the plant! She finally tore off a piece and chewed on that for a bit.  What a goof! 

What beautiful carrots!  We even have a couple purple and even a few white ones growing too! 

(This is what happened when I said, "Smile!") 

I reached in through the vines to feel the weight of it, and it slipped right into my hand!  It's going to be tasty! 

...and another one!

Thank you to all who contributed to my squash recipes!  Below are a few of the responses I received.  Happy cooking! 

"Sliced squash, slice a sweet onion, chop fresh garlic used powder if no fresh. Cook all in butter until all have brown edges." - Grandma R

"All zuke recipes work for yellow squash.  Try it raw sliced.  Try it stewed or stir fried with tomatoes, onions, and garlic.  Tomatoes can be fresh or canned." - Granmo

"Butternut squash is one of our favorites.  Peel, seed, cut in cubes and roast with salt, pepper and olive oil at 400 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes and it is wonderful.  We had some tonight." - GG Moss

And of course I received this gem....

"Barf. My recipe is throw them in the trash!  ;)" - Jen Pelley

Thank you for the ideas and the honesty!  I appreciate them both! 

Yep, that's a squash!

Now, who has recipes???

Bigger cukes

These are the cucumbers I was talking about the other day!  I couldn't believe there were biggies on the vine.  It will look neat seeing them hanging up the barn wall. This one is about five inches long. 

Squash

Check out the squash on that vine!  The cucumbers are growing too!  Just babies right now, but I'll be slicing them up and bathing them in lemon juice in no time! 

Vertical Gardening

The cucumbers are really taking off! As they grow, we will continue to raise them off the ground and allow them to grow vertically. 

The Trellis

Here is a trellis that I suggested Andy build for us. This is one of the many ideas he will eventually claim as his own!
We initially saw it while "doing the Puyallup." It was in the WSU Pierce County booth. It is made specifically for large vine plants and little gardening space. When you have limited space, like us, the only way left to grow is up! Pictured are our cucumbers. As they start to grow, we will attach twine of some sort to the plant and use the pulley system to raise it off the ground. The vines usually take over the garden, but by growing them vertically, we will save space and it will be yet another great visual piece to our beautiful garden.
(Don't worry, I will post another picture as our cukes begin to grow!)