Wow! Watermelon!

My daughter video called me while I was on vacation to show me that the watermelon was finally ready to pick! They weighed the watermelon and it ended up being 30 lbs. Last I heard they were going to cut it open soon. I can't wait to see what it looks like inside!  They promised that they would take pictures or video call me when they cut it open. It is our first time growing a normal sized watermelon, and I'm not sure what it's going to be like since the sugar baby watermelons we grew last year never seemed to be right; they were either over ripe or not ripe enough. I hope we have better luck with these large ones. Stay tuned for an update.

Late August Harvest And Preserving

This year we grew four varieties of beets. We have red Detroit, cylindra, golden, and chioggia.  Oh how I love beets! They are so tasty and look like jewels on the plate. I like them every way I've had them- boiled, roasted, pickled, and juiced. 

10-year-old Tame Dame # 3 likes pickled beets. Her dad and older sister prefer their beets cooked and plain. 

Ever get a sneeze right before a pic?  Did it look something like this?

Dame Dame number 3 pulled up this beet that happened to have two beets growing together as one.  While her sister was trimming and stringing the green beans in the house, she was pulling the rest of the mature beets from the garden, pulling off the greens and placing them in a bag for our neighbor, and hosing off the dirt before bringing them into the house to be canned.  
Preserving the garden never seems to be a convenient activity, and it is a lot more work then you would anticipate if you have never seen or done it before.  On this occasion, it was the day before I had to leave on a trip and I had a church activity to be to that evening, and there was homeschooling to get done, and chores, and packing, but the garden produce would spoil if I didn't take the time to preserve it that day, and all that hard work of planting, nurturing, watering, weeding, and caring for the garden would have been wasted.  Thank goodness I am a homeschooler because there is no way I could have canned all the green beans and beets on my own! My daughters were a very huge help, and they got to learn a lot about preserving food!  This was a hands-on school day activity where they learned many things including capacity, measuring, proper food handling, sterilization and why it's important, and cooperation!  I would say it was a very successful and educational experience.

The things that have ripened and we have been harvesting are our corbaci peppers, aspabroc, cantaloupe, string beans, beets, turnips, onions and chives, and a few carrots, tomatoes and potatoes.  Wahoo!  We've canned and frozen green beans and beets so far.  And it's all organic!  Our hard work is paying off. 

This next month there will be heavier harvesting, so more preservation is to come. I'm so thankful to have the health to garden and the support I get from friends, family, and others.