Last night we had a temperature of 7° F. Holy cow, it’s not even the end of the month yet — October, that is! We usually are in the fifties with lows in the high twenties or low thirties. But at least we aren’t having disastrous wildfires like folks in the West are experiencing. For those of you, living near those fires, know I pray for you daily, that you stay safe and don’t lose your homes. How horrible they are this year!

I just put up another two cases of pints of carrots and still have a half of a five-gallon bucket left over, plus the ones that are down in the basement for winter. We love our carrots!

This is Seneca Nation, an F2 hybrid Dara and Will are breeding to get an open pollinated sweeter roasting ear.

This year our friend Dara and Will collaborated on a new roasting corn they call Seneca Nation. It’s a cross between Seneca Round Nose, a long-eared flour corn that is also good as a roasting ear, and Seneca Sunrise, Will’s wonderful sweet corn. The plan is to create a sweet roasting ear that is long like Seneca Round Nose and sweeter, more like Seneca Sunrise. It’s in the second year of selection and we’re very happy with the results so far. It is interesting to see the bi-colored, long ears that have a mix of rounded, flour kernels and shrunken sweet corn kernels. We did eat some green and found it very good. I’ll keep you posted on how this goes as continual growth and selection continue.

Lacinato kale is not only pretty to look at but it tastes great too, especially dehydrated.

We also harvested plenty of Lacinato kale this late fall and found it’s wonderful dehydrated. You just tear the leaves into moderate sized pieces — off the ribs — and dry them. It’s great to add in soups and stews! — Jackie

16 COMMENTS

  1. I also dehydrate chard. Its amazing how a bushel of chard when dried will fit into a couple of quart jars. I crush it down originally because my dh wouldn’t eat it if he knew what it was and now that he’s gone I continue to do so to save space.

  2. Jackie–Was very interested in your comment about dehydrating kale as we have a small cabin and I find dehydrating is a much better way to maximize the space. Do you just dehydrate the kale pieces without blanching first? Thanks! Hope your weather moderates a bit…

  3. I did not blanch my corn this year. Left corn on the cob and sealed with my Food saver. I take out of the freezer and thaw out enough to cut off cob. Put cut corn in microwave for about three- four minutes with a little butter. Your corn looks good enough to eat, yum. My husband and I live in town so do not have a lot of space to grow a large garden.

  4. Prettiest corn I ever saw! I can’t grow it because very allergic to the stalks/fields as it is of the grass family. But sure can eat it! :) We got the earliest snowfall and coldest temps in the entire recorded history of Spokane, WA. But I yanked Tuscan kale, arugula, basil and some thyme, so I win anyway!

  5. Winter came earlier here in northern Oklahoma than ever since 1925. We’ve had ice and rain for 36 hours. Our wood stove feels soooo good. We haven’t lost electric but our little town, 5 miles away, lost power yesterday morning and some are still without power. Next week is supposed to be in the 60s and 70s again. What’s going on?
    We’re 75 and 81 so we’re staying put, not only because of the weather but because Covid is picking up here also.
    I look forward to reading your blog and all the comments. Blessings on us all.

    • Really strange weather all over the country this year. And it doesn’t help a lick that COVID is increasing by leaps and bounds does it??? Wear your mask, stay home and think peaceful thoughts.

  6. Didn’t have a garden this year as I was at my dad’s caring for him. But am turning my laundry room into a pantry. Picked up an upright freezer for a song and have almost filled it. Got cabbage super cheap and blanched and froze 9 heads. Ditto for potatoes, but picked up a used Excalibur and am drying them. Mangos were on sale last week and this. Got a dozen ripening in the kitchen. Will freeze those then get a dozen more to dry. Onions and peppers are on sale this week. Will probably freeze those, but might dry the peppers. Already had zucchini in the small chest freezer I replaced. Still looking for a good deal on eggplant.

    • Good for you Kim! Even if you can’t grow a garden at times, there are still ways to fatten up that pantry. And this coming year I think all of us will be glad we did.

  7. Beautiful corn. The weather for me is holding up and we are doing some of the many things we wanted to get done. The list gets longer each day. I do look forward to a snow day curling up next the stove, reading a book and taking a snooze. Covid is now rampant in our rural area. We go nowhere and see no one. Tough times.

    • Yes they are….and I’m thinking this is only the tip of the iceberg. We stay home, wear a mask and just about bathe in hand sanitizer if we have to go out in people We’re getting a warm break in the weather this coming week and we are doing the happy dance!

Comments are closed.