Grape Jelly

 

The raccoons and squirrels won't get many of my grapes this year...I've made them into jelly (the grapes not the critters).  This was a good year for the grape vine with clusters of sweet grapes. 

I may have picked some of the grapes early (see the green ones?), but I was in a race against the wildlife.  Besides, it's nothing a little sugar can't handle.

 

I followed my grandmother's recipe, boiling the grapes without water (see below), straining them, and boiling the juice with sugar.  The recipe is in Grow It. Eat It.

I defied the canning gods by pouring the jelly into clean jars...and not processing.  The jelly sits safely in the refrigerator.  Well, not so safely since we've eaten half of it already.  Since it's not "canned," we'll have to eat it soon.  Not a problem. Delicious!

 

Sweet Corn Experiment

My experiment with growing sweet corn in a pot is successful.  We ate several small but tasty ears of bicolor corn.  I started with a large growing bag (sized for potatoes) filled with compost.  Because the bag is made of black fabric, I had both an advantage with holding heat (from the black) and excellent drainage (from the fabric). I planted nine seeds per container.  Because of our cool, wet weather in the early spring I had to re-plant some seeds.  I added organic fertilizer about three times.  I watered faithfully, every day and sometimes twice a day.  (This is the disadvantage to excellent drainage.) The variety is On Deck Hybrid from Burpee, which is a supersweet hybrid.  The advertisement said that the ears would be 7-8 inches long, but mine were smaller, perhaps because we had cool weather while the ears were developing.  But they were delicious!

 

Heat Advisory

We're in a heat advisory, which means especially hot and humid temperatures.  Minnesotans aren't used to this. (I'm not used to this!) The dew point yesterday was 78 F, which is the normal high temperature.  I've been watering my garden early in the morning.  The pots in the sun need more water, sometimes twice a day.  After some cooler than average temperatures, I am happy to see my tomatoes and peppers ripening.  I was nervous that I wouldn't get ripe pumpkins, but this weather helps.  The photo is yellow pear tomatoes. 

Wild Blackberries

I had one awkward moment when picking this morning. The thorns of one cane caught my pants, the thorns of another cane caught my sleeve, and I moved my hand without looking, the thorns of a third cane catching my flesh. Thankfully, no one heard my yelps of pain. I know, I know, I have to get rid of these nuisances, but I'm going to wait until I get one more bowl of berries. 

Embrace the Mushrooms

We have over 60 of these babies growing in our front lawn.   I don't like eating mushrooms; however, they grow with abandon in our yard and woods.  Fungi are nature's way of cleaning up.  With one caveat--making sure that little ones or pets don't eat mushrooms that are poisonous--I say let them grow!

Flowers Finally!

The cosmos in the garden and zinnias by the mailbox are finally flowering.  I planted them from seed late this spring since the ground was soggy and cold.  This is the latest for my garden that the flowers are looking good. 

The zinnias in pots have been looking terrific since I could control the moisture and temperature and planted the seeds earlier than the others. This is Zowie Zinnia, planted in three pots that border my garden. In pots by the front of the house I had planned on impatiens, but when they died, I replanted with red geraniums.  It's a little shady for them, but they look great.  I hope for a late, late frost so I can enjoy these beautiful blooms a long time.   

Green Beans

This is an early morning photo. We are in a heat advisory today and I might melt.  The green beans seem to love this weather.  I picked lots of beans today, and this photo shows the blossoms of  Slenderette, a variety which is both prolific and tasty.  So tasty!  In the middle of the winter I will occasionally splurge on fresh green beans, trying to re-create this wonderful sensation of freshly picked beans. No garden?  My advice is to visit a farmer's market or beg some beans from a friendly neighbor.