Potato Bin Wrap Up

Happy Tuesday! Since I did the first potato bin post over on GRIT, I figured I should post the follow up piece over there as well. Check it out, by clicking here. 

It's Link Time!

The more I put these link lists together, the more I realize that I gravitate towards food blogs. Not like that's a bad thing, really, but still... I need to search out some other things to share, besides just recipes. How about you leave a comment, here or on Facebook, and tell me about a favorite website you visit regularly? I'm always looking for new stuff to read. 

• C is for cookie... and these Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches are for me!
• MMMM! Porcini Mushroom Lasagna. I will have to stalk my farmer's market for fresh mushrooms. 
• Kohlrabi is one of my favorite veggies, so I tend to forget that it's kind of uncommon. If you see some at your market- buy it, and make this salad. Can't find mustard greens? Sub in a spicy microgreen mix, instead. 
• I have Potato Envy. There, I said it. After digging a couple of my bins up last week, I'm sad to say I'm  probably going to be disappointed again with our yield. I'm working on troubleshooting and coming up with a plan for next year- more on that to come. Until then, check out Susy's garden to see what potatoes are supposed to do. 
• It's no secret that I love pickles. Did you know, though, that I love both kinds? Here's a great explanation by Amanda over at Phickle, about the difference between fermented and canned pickles. 
• I really want to get into mushroom hunting. What's not to love about going for a hike and coming back with food?
• Are you guys watching the Outlander series on Starz? I've been a huge fan of the books since the first one came out, so I was a little leery about TV adaptation. What do you think, so far? If you haven't read them yet, and are looking for something to keep you busy through the winter- I highly recommend checking them out!
• Genius smartphone photo tips... it's well worth the three minutes to watch the video.

That about wraps it up for today! Have you had a chance to think about what you want to see more of here on Acorn and Thistle? Do let me know- I want to hear from you! 

How Do You Store Potatoes?

The potato vines are all starting to die back now. This means that in another week or so, I'll finally get my answer as to if the bins did better this year over last year, or not. If the volunteers are any indication, it's been a good year for them in general; I've dug three of the random plants out already and have been pleased to see a good number of medium-sized tubers on each vine.

So, between the 7 bins, I'm anticipating at least 25 pounds of potatoes coming in. Seeing as how there's just the two of us, I need to come up with a way to make sure all of those spuds last through the cold months. Our main food storage area is in our basement, which stays around 55 degrees year 'round, and we have a dehumidifier to keep things from getting too damp. Unfortunately, 55 degrees is a bit warmer than is recommended for a root cellar (they should be around 40-45) so keeping the potatoes in there isn't a sure thing.

There are other options for storing potatoes that I think could work for us. I've been reading up on dehydrating and canning as possibilities, and I'm curious. I remember, vaguely, disliking store-bought canned potatoes as a kid, but I have never tried home-canned ones. Because they're a low-acid vegetable, I'll need to use the pressure canner versus a water bath, just to keep things safe. I happen to have some potatoes in the pantry that are starting to look a little rough, so I think I'll make up a test batch to see how they turn out. There's no real comparison between store-bought potatoes and home grown, but I think it'll be close enough to see if we like them canned or not.

To dry potatoes, it seems that they need to be cut thin and blanched, in order to take out some of the starch and prevent discoloration. That seems easy enough, so I'll definitely do a test batch of those, as well. I'd like to see how well they rehydrate before I invest too much time and energy into them.

I should probably look at freezing, too, while I'm coming up with ideas. We need to get a chest freezer anyway, with the beef coming in soon, so I think I'll have some extra cold storage space. I imagine it's really similar to drying, in that we'll need to blanch them first- so I could test freezing and drying out at the same time since the preparation is essentially the same.

Do you have any experience with canning, drying, or freezing potatoes? Or something I haven't thought of yet? Let me know over on Facebook; I'm always open for suggestions!

Ramping Up, Winding Down

The past few mornings have been cool and foggy, a sure sign that the seasons are getting ready to start changing. The afternoons, however, are still quite warm- and the produce coming in from the garden definitely reflects that.

I already have the first round of apples cooking in the crock pot, and a test growler of hard cider is bubbling away on the counter. I'm out under our apple trees several times a day with my bucket, gathering up the good ones to process, and the less desirable ones go to the animals. A friend has a cider press he's offered to lend us the use of; I'm looking forward to making arrangements to have a cider-making party here, very soon. We were going to do that last year, but most of the apples fell while we were out of town, unfortunately.


The garden continues in high gear: yesterday, in addition to my regular squash pickup, there were cucumbers, purple greenbeans, peas and kale all ready for the taking. Today, I need to harvest the seeds from the cilantro that bolted and let them dry. I haven't used coriander much as a seasoning, but I'm looking forward to trying it. So far, the seeds taste like a much milder version of the plant, so that's definitely something I can work with. Plus, I'll leave some seeds on the plant so I can have more next year.

The tomatoes are getting closer. They're almost to the top of the enclosure, so once they get that tall, I'm going to have to clip their main stems back, in order to force them to focus on ripening the fruit, instead of getting any taller. I'll give it another week, maybe two. There are some good flowers almost all the way up to the ends!

Blackberries are also on the agenda. They're starting to ripen quickly now, so it's just a matter of time before we're bringing those in and making jam. Last year's batch never quite set up (I think the pectin I used was past it's prime) so we've been using it as a syrup/sauce- but it will be nice to have an actual jam this year. Come hell or high water, that stuff is going to gel!

The pears are getting really close, too. We don't have nearly as many as last year, so it's important that we bring in the ones that we do have, when they're at their prime. Both Alex and I love dried pears, so I think that most of them will be processed that way. (Mental note: must take apart the dehydrator today and fix the weird noise it's making.) I still have a couple jars of pears in vanilla syrup from last year, so I don't need to worry about making more of those this time around. They're really good, but we just don't eat a lot of desserts.

Our potato bins are finally starting to slow down. I noticed over the weekend that some of the vines are starting to die back, which means they'll be ready to dig soon, too. If I had to guess, it'll be another two weeks, at the most. I dug up some of the volunteer potatoes the other day, and I have to say it looks like a good year for them, in general. We got 12 tennis-ball sized red potatoes from one small-ish looking plant!

The beef are finishing up their stint over in the neighbor's pasture. They've got 3 weeks left before the kill truck comes, then another 3 weeks of hanging after that- and then we'll have our third in the freezer. I have no idea what a third of a whole steer will look like, so this will be interesting. We're estimating a couple hundred pounds of meat... that reminds me, I still need to look into getting an additional freezer for storage.

This is how it will be, for the next 4 to 6 weeks: for every one thing we check off our lists, another two will get added. We'll be busy working to put up food and finish the fair-weather chores, before settling in for the cooler seasons. It's an exciting time, and it never ceases to amaze me at how fast the last little bit of summer always flies by. I think that's why it drives me bonkers that the back-to-school stuff and the Fall decorations show up in stores in July... it's going to go so fast as it is, why rush it?

What's on your to-do list for the end of summer?

Friday Photos

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend planned.

It's been another busy one here, so I'm just going to get right to the week in photos:

Echinacea

Fig!!

Psst... Maggie- it's finished!

Fledgling Robin. Saw it yesterday as Mom walked it farther away from the chickens.
 Looks to be doing well!

GIANT SLUG

'Cause I'm Happy...

Potato farm up the road.

Tomato Jungle!

Volunteer potatoes. One plant... 12 tubers. Woo Hoo!

And since I wasn't able to post yesterday's usual collection of links (hello, migraine), here are a couple of links that I had set aside as interesting:

• We don't have tomato hornworms here, but I understand they're quite the problem in some places. If you happen to be in one of those areas (Hi Karen!), you may find this article from Hobby Farms helpful.
• Speaking of tomatoes... here's a handful of recipes from Gardener's Supply. That Bloody Mary mix sure looks good!

Is your garden starting to wind down or are you still running to keep up with harvesting your goodies? Pop on over to Facebook and let me know!

GRIT Day

The new post has been uploaded to GRIT and should be live later today!   Edit: It's live now. Click here to go read it.


In it, I talk about growing potatoes in bins- what's working this year, and what really didn't work last year. Always learning!


As usual, I'll post an update on FB later once it's available, so check back later for it!

Friday Photo Tour

Hi Friends- Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week. I did; it had its ups and downs, for sure, but it all evens out in the end. Here's what it looked like, from my perspective:

This little guy fluffed up all of his feathers just so I could take his picture.

Happy!

I think this is an Angora Goat. Anyone know for sure?

I love our big trees... Alex is a good 9 feet off the ground, in this photo.
 It's time for a trim, though!

... and all of that cleanup work gives us a head start on next year's firewood. Satisfying!

The last of the robins, getting ready to leave.
All of them have flown the nest, now.

The garden is taking off.

This year's potato bins are growing fast too... much better than last year!

Peas - take two.

Foo Dog - Guardian of the Garden

Fiery red-orange Oriental Poppy

One of my favorite roses - a gift from a friend's garden.

That's it for now! Don't forget to stop by the Facebook page and leave a comment on the giveaway post to be entered to win a package of reusable produce bags from Natural Home. The contest closes Saturday night at 11:59 p.m., and the winner will be announced on Monday! 

Have a great weekend everyone! :)