More Peach Jam

Dan and I are finally starting to get comfortable making jam. Yesterday, we made our second batch of peach jam. It was amazing to us how different the two batches are. The first batch we made with some freestone yellow peaches from the farmer's market. The jam has this lovely pink hue to it and a very sweet flavor. Then, this second batch was made with clingstone yellow peaches from the Path to Freedom Urban Homestead. The jam came out much more yellow and the flavor was not quite as sweet as that first batch even though we used the exact same recipe. We really love the diversity in the jam that using different varieties of peaches have given us. It is a great reminder to us as to why it is so important to make sure that this type of biodiversity continues to exist.

Summer in the Garden - Part IV

Our weather has been unseasonably cool this year. Most mornings are grey and overcast for several hours before the sun finally breaks through. And, the highs in our area have only been in the low to mid 80s. Normally, it would be in the high 80s or 90s. I guess this is part of climate change. We have a mild summer while the East Coast has one heat wave after another. 

Regardless, of the the lack of heat, our tomatoes are ripening up. These are Yellow Grapes. I am hoping to harvest these in the next day or two. We already have a bunch of the Isis Candy and a few Sungolds that have been picked. They have been really sweet and delicious. The verdict is still out on our Romas though. A couple of the plants have a few fruits  on them but then the other plants have flowers and no fruit. Yet, they have been getting taller. Not sure if we'll be getting much from those. And, here I was hoping for enough Romas to can a batch of tomatoes. Something tells me that I may have to buy them at the farmer's market if I want to do that.

This is just one of several Japanese eggplants that have emerged in the last week or so. There is even one that is almost large enough to harvest. May be by next weekend, there will be a few to grill.

Our first Jalapeno pepper has finally emerged. Might be able to harvest it this week if the weather gets warmer and this little guy has a growth spurt. We have one very small Red Bell pepper that is to pick. And, there are more on that plant that are starting to ripen and the plant is getting top-heavy so I need stake it.

The Sante Fe lettuce is finally getting big enough to almost eat. We have a couple of heads that might make for nice little salad later this week. Though I am a bit disappointed that so few of the seeds that I planted germinated. I usually have better luck with lettuce but not this time. Time to plant some more seeds and see what happens.

Peach Jam

I am a bit late posting this. Dan and I actually made this peach jam last Saturday. This is our second canning project. And, it came out pretty damn delicious. I was able to get peaches at the Pasadena Farmer's Market at a really great price. One of the farmers often has a couple of boxes of seconds. I dug through the box and got enough peaches to make this batch of jam. The seconds were only $.90 per pound, which is a great price and totally makes doing this worthwhile. What is batch number three is going to be? Not sure yet,  might be fig jam or may be pickled carrots.

Summer in the Garden - Part III

Aww! It's so cute. It's the incredibly small red bell pepper. No, I'm not kidding. It is only about 3 inches in diameter and maybe 2 inches tall. At least, it's ripening. 

A couple of the Roma tomato plants are starting to fruit. Very excited about that. Not sure if we will get enough to can this year. Things are going better now in 'tomatoland.' Even with some our earlier mishaps this year, we are having more success with them than we did last year.

I am keeping a close eye on our Brown Turkey figs. They are almost full-size now and should start to ripen soon. My concern is the squirrels. Except for a couple of figs, those little furry bastards ate all of them last year. I'm hoping to beat them to it this time around. I am determined to make fig jam from our own figs. 

I could not believe my eyes the other day when I noticed that our Dwarf Meyer Lemon tree was blooming again. This is first time that we have seen it bloom twice in a year much less just a few months apart. Will this lead to more lemons? I have no idea. We already have about 16 of them on the tree. Not sure if this little dwarf tree can hold more but we would thrilled if it did.

Pumpkins? Maybe?

After planting more pumpkin seeds, one finally germinated. One...out of the dozen that I replanted. Maybe a few more will sprout. I certainly hope so. It would be really, really nice to have more than one pumpkin plant growing since it will increase the likelihood that at least one of them might reach maturity. And, given my lack of gardening success these last few months, I need all of the help I can get. 

This variety of pumpkin is a French heirloom variety  called Rouge Vif d’Etampes. It is also referred to as the Cinderella Pumpkin because they look like the pumpkin that magically turned in to Cinderella's coach. These are lovely pumpkins that are great for use ornamentally. I had one that I purchased last fall at a farm in Somis that lasted till this past week. That is almost ten months. But, I hear that they also make delicious pumpkin pies. It would be nice to find out using a homegrown one.

Summer in the Garden - Part II

Things are finally starting to pickup in the garden. We have more of our Isis Candy cherry tomatoes starting to ripen. And, the new tomato plants that I planted last week are doing well and growing.

The three basil plants are doing very well. And, it feels like a miracle since we have had several basil plants in the last few months get eaten up my some mystery pest. 

The first flower on our Japanese eggplant plants. Hoping for a few more on this plant and that the other one will start flowering soon as well.

And, after several weeks of worrying, some of our winter squash and gourd seeds are starting to germinate. The seedling above is for ornamental gourds. But, we have a couple of seedlings from our Waltham Butternut Squash seeds starting to come up as well. Now, if only the acorn and pumpkin seeds would germinate. If not, I have a feeling that I may be planting some more seeds. I want to see part of our front yard overtaken by squash and pumpkin vines and I'm not ready to let go of that little dream just yet.

The Meyer Lemons are almost the size of large eggs. There are 13 of them on the tree right now.

Last but not least, one of our red bell pepper plants is starting to produce. This is the largest pepper on it so far. Which is not saying much, since it's about the size of a ping pong ball. But, we are hoping that we will have peppers we can harvest next month.

First Time Canning - Apricot Jam

Well, I finally did it. Or I guess I should say we did it. Dan and I made homemade jam (yep, it took two of us). It's my first time canning. I've been wanting to give it a try for over a year now but I have been too intimidated. I had already purchased all of the appropriate equipment. However, all of that safety stuff and fear of pathogens can make someone a bit nervous about giving this age old form of food preservation a try. But, I finally committed after buying a box of apricots a few days ago. It was that or make a lot apricot crisps. Next up, homemade pickles.