Finally got a chance to do some harvesting and processing this weekend. First I made sauce from the Banana, Speckled Roman, Amish, and Hog Heart paste tomatoes. A bunch of Principe
Borgheses got in there as well. I think Hog Heart is my favorite variety, but I would grow them all again. Four quarts in the freezer.
I brought two Hubbard squash up. They are nice specimens, but not enormous. There are some great big leeks and kale and parsley still. Weeds are completely out of control, to the point where I think I will have to call Tony to till up a different garden spot for garlic planting this fall.
The chile bed did very well despite the encroaching pasture. I harvested a bunch of Hot Paper Lantern, Limon, Red Rocket, Matchbox, Fish and Czech Black peppers, pictured. As of mid-September there are plenty of green fruits still out there. As an experiment I yanked a few of the pepper plants, roots and all, and hung them upside down under the ell porch roof. Maybe I will get more ripe chiles before frost this way. If not, at least I maintain my weirdo reputation in the neighborhood.
In addition to drying chiles I thought I'd try to make a batch of hot sauce. Lacto-fermented, of course! I chopped up a mixture and packed them in a jar with sea salt and a drizzle of kimchi juice to get things started. Since I don't expect that the types of chiles I grew, with the intent of making ristras, to have enough moisture content on their own to make a brine, I topped the jar off with water, then crammed a ziploc bag full of water in the mouth of the jar to weigh them down.
Terry Johnson cut the fields late this year, understandably due to the rains. I was surprised at how eager I was, beyond any practical reason, to see the pasture mowed.
The BOW weekend was a blast. Very fun, educational, and I met a bunch of amazing women. The best things I learned at "Finishing School" were the trucker's hitch, and that I actually can sweat a pipe. Couldn't start the chain saw by myself, though.
