And when I came home, I had to work hard! Look at today's harvest, more tomatoes, figs, lychees, avocados, eggplants, peppers and I forgot to take a picture of the okra. And I thought that I was going to relax! :)

{{gwi:84217}}

Silvia

beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.... and I'm completely utterly, JEALOUS!

Hi Ibarbi

Thank you. While I was at the beach I was reading a book about growing food for bad times, I only read a few pages but the concept it is so interesting. Some of the things that said is that we should grow things that we can preserve for later or we can barter, one of the crops that is giving more that I can think of are the tomatoes, I already gave away, froze some, made salsa, made tomato sauce and today I am going to repeat the same process. And I already had 2 parties tomato based dishes. Tomatoes are so good, I can not think living without a good tomato!

And part 3 should be asking everybody, what are you are eating from your garden? and herbs for cooking count.

Silvia

Welcome HOME ! the nice thing abt. going away is being able to come home to our gardens, the things that make us happy..... My garden has been giving me 'maters, (mostly Everglades, and finishing up the others, I'm tearing out the old plants to avoid givng the whtefly a host )..., eggplant, peppers,onions, sweet 'taters, papaya..bananas and the mango trees are almost ready but not quite, still no 'yellow flag' on the Hadens..... the milkweed is bursting out all over the place and with the dill and fennel the butterflys are multiplying fast, 5-6 different kinds flitting around.... milkweed volunteers in odd places, those seeds float around and come up everywhere... nice.... sally

What an awesome harvest. :-)

Silvia, glad you enjoyed your visit to the Islands. Beautiful pictures you have posted.

Now back to the garden and all the catching up to do. In this hot weather things mature fast.

Here is a picture of what is going in my freezer. A 13 X 9
dish full of Black Jungle Butter Beans.

Luther

LOVELY Haul You have There Silvia and GREAT Photos of Your Trip
NC

Hi Sally, thank you. One day I hope to visit your garden and see all the nice things that you are growing and you do have plenty to enjoy the flavors of your own harvest. I was so surprised when I went out of the plane, home in Orlando was hotter than the islands, you could feel a breeze there even without air conditioner. Now that you are talking about bugs, I saw them at the resort using some kind of fog for bugs and result nothing bite me, that was good. I also made a nice friend there she brought me mangos from her house, they were really big and to be able to bring the seeds home, I ate them all, I am surprised that I did not get sick, lol. The papayas are so good! but they must be hybrids because last time that I brought seeds with me, when I planted them they did not look like the ones that I ate it or maybe is the soil, I don't know.

Thank you Starryrider, I know that you said hubby does the veggies, what are you eating from his plantings? share with us.:)

Hi Luther, we enjoyed the vacation so much! I just love the fresh food, the water, the sand and the people. The last night that we were there they had disco night, lol. That was nice to remember NY and the time of the disco era, it was of a big impact in my life and I did very well there. Also love reggae.

This is me reading the gardening book in the shade

And cutting one of my favorite bi-colored tomato for a sandwich

And Luther congratulations on your harvest! that is the way to do it, save for later.

Hi NC, thanks, a lot of English people go to Jamaica, they are usually not very loud, lol. Last time that we were there we met a couple and I could see that he was sweating but him being so proper, did not complain. When we went inside a bar saw him breathing with relief and wiping his head with a handkerchief, and I was not even hot, lol. It is nice in the islands, you should go.:)

Silvia

Beautiful harvest Silvia! And too funny, I recognize your toes in your reading the book in the shade pic. :-)

Gorgeous butter Beans Luther. Mine are just coming in and I've very excited about trying them.

I'm eating lots of tomatoes, beans, cukes, and hot peppers! Still getting Gladiolias and Mumms too. How odd is that?

Best,

Elizabeth

Harvesting tomatillos, tomatoes, hot peppers, a few cukes still and that is about it. The limas are starting to flower and the cowpeas are in their second sets of leaves. The Lakota squash have PM so it's a matter of time before I have to pull them. The tomatoes are finishing by default rather than by fruitset for a change - stupid stink bugs. but I'm still pulling in some Everglades thanks to Tom. :-)

I will swear yet again that next year I will be more careful with my plantings so that I don't have such a dramatic drop off in the summer. LOL. Starting the shade garden in the screen room this next week with Diva cukes and a determinate bush tomato I can run in and out of the house. I'm determined to have them back in production before the fall starts make it back into the garden in September.

Barbie

I am so impressed and inspired, Silvia! As soon as the rains start, I'm going to try to grow some vegetables. Your trip looks lovely.

What is the fruit in the second picture?

I had some black sapote for the first time from my young tree:

And I grow herbs for cooking:

I use malabar spinach on sandwiches:

And I found a recipe for cocoplum jelly that I want to try as soon as I have enough cocoplums from my hedge:

Julie in WPB

Hey Barbie,

How are you getting tomatillos success? I've planted several years now - tried raised beds, pots, shade, sun, everything possible. No avail.

Are you doing anything special or using any special seeds?

Hey Julie,

Beautiful looking herbs and malabar spinach. I'm meaning to try some malabar next. Do you find it starts best from seed or from a cutting? Your pic looks like a vine which was not what I expected.

Elizabeth

Thank you Elizabeth, and that is funny that you recognized my toes, lol. And I have to go back and read that book when I get some time because it is so important to be prepared whether bad times are coming or not, to have control of what we eat and our health. We are under a weird weather that is for sure, the drought is changing a lot of our gardening some things are maturing faster and smaller or dry as in the case of some citrus. I was going to make Italian mojitos for the Italian party and we could not because the limes are so dry and when we were in Jamaica they said the same thing.
And that is good to know that you are enjoying the harvest in your garden, keep up with the good work!

Here is another picture of the vacation

Barbie, you are doing well in your garden and to let you know I grew the Lakota squash once in Arizona and did very well and last season that I grew it in Florida it did not do so well from 2 vines I got one small squash and one big and then it was not productive.

Here is the big Lakota

When you will be growing the Diva cucumber, you can use cheesecloth or other material to cover them from bugs, let us know how it works out for you. But maybe in the screen room you won't get any.
And the stink bugs are a big problem in our yards, the whole garden has to be kept under inspection to see where they are hiding. I saw in the newspaper that in other states it is worse, that they are getting inside the homes. A University is trying to trial the only predators and if it works maybe they will release them?

Hi Julie and thank you, I love feedback from other gardeners! I always learn something new. Beautiful herbs and so lush! also the Malabar spinach, you are having some healthy sandwiches that is for sure.
I don't think I had black sapote before, I only had the light colored one and that is so long ago that I don't remember the taste,lol.
The coco plum jelly sounds very interesting, let us know how it came out. I made loquat jam for friends and because they never ate a loquat, they all said it tasted like apple butter, they all like it. I thought the flavor was better than apple butter that I used to make when I had too many apples.
The fruit in the second picture is called a Jamaican apple or Onathera or something like that, it will grow by you that I see you are in a warmer zone. The taste that is best described as a crisp pear. I made a new friend where I had the spa treatment and she had a lot of knowledge about herbs and plants in general and we talk for about 2 hours, she said that the apple some people like it and some people don't, last time that I tried it, I like it.
Julie, I will be looking forward to see your veggie garden in the coming months!

Silvia

Thanks Silvia and Elizabeth. The black sapote is sometimes called Chocolate Pudding tree because you can add a little cocoa powder and some honey to the fruit and it tastes a lot like chocolate pudding without the work or calories.

Elizabeth, I grew the malabar spinach from Park's seeds I got years ago and haven't had to replant since. It comes up every year all by itself! Easy. I can send you some seeds if you like, as soon as the berries ripen. It is a vine. It's good in soups but gets kind of slimey when cooked so I just eat it in salads or sandwiches. I guess you could chop it up and toss it with some cooked rice or pasta, too.
Silvia, I am going to look into that Jamaican apple. It sounds very good and that picture was beautiful.

Julie in WPB

Silvia, I googled calallo and found a calallo soup that sounds delicious. It has okra, crab and other ingredients that fits my taste buds.

We had a lighting/thunder storm yesterday, that gave us a much needed, 2 inches of rain.

Today we picked bell peppers and processed.

We made a lot of cajun recipes during the winter months. Also we love chicken Primavera and these recipes call for peppers.

Luther

If you have an asian grocery anywhere near you, just buy some malabar spinach there and stick a few stems in water. It roots very easily.

Silvia, What beautiful pictures both of your harvest and your trip to Jamaica..
Did you bring back any callaloo seeds if not I have and would be happy to share.. I grew up eating it with codfish(saltfish)...
The second picture looks like an ackee tree.. When my aunt visited a few years ago she planted one for me but it did not do well due to the cold...
Waiting for her to bring me another one.. I learned from you not to put new trees into the ground too soon..
I agree the Jamaican apples are really delicious, haven't had one since I was a kid..

summer gardening....i went to walmart....:) we work outside all summer..!did go to the volusia farmers market today! lots of veggies cheap! yard is rocking....need some much needed rain, but we'll manage with out. your stuff looks great....!

First thing I would like to thank my very good gardening friend who was kind enough to leave those jalapenos for me, you know who you are, and you are a very special person, now I can finish making my salsa.:)

Luther, yes you will enjoy eating callaloo, I had it for breakfast with escoveche fish. I don't remember the writing but is something like that. The new Jamaican friend that I was talking about said that she eats okra with steamed fish and callaloo. It is time for us to try new things and this is going to be one of them.
And that harvest looks so great, you are doing all the right things, Dottie must be so proud of her gardener. :)

Writersblock, thank you for the tip, probably Elizabeth want to try that. It grew for me even in the Arizona summers.

Thank you Maxine, I also love cod fish! and no I did not bring any callaloo seeds with me, when is the best time to plant them? do you know? and thank you for the seeds, I would like to have some. Since my new friend brought some mangoes from her yard for me, I had to eat them and they were delicious! I don't know if I am going to plant them, since for us mangoes need to be protected in the winter and I don't know about the ackee tree, it might be too cold here. That reminds me that I had ackee and salt fish for breakfast one day. Maxine you should go there more often, we try to go at least every year, it is a lot of fun!

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: Jamaican apple

Hi Wallisadi, thank you. And yes, we are so hot here and is so dry. I was so surprised to feel hotter than in the islands, we need a lot of rain! And is good to buy veggies locally. First I try to grow them, if not I try to buy them close to home, it is better for us and the economy.

Silvia

Silvia - do you mean ceviche? It is also a Tex-Mex dish, we had alot growing up. Goes good with Okra! And peppers. And avocado. A good summer dish.

Callaloo is edible leaf amaranth - I just got a new variety from Evergreen Seeds that sounds good. I've got to figure out how to protect it from the dang critters around here before I put it out. Now should be fine to start it. I started a batch a few weeks back that is ready to go in the ground now.

Mark - is the Wed Volusia farmers market at the fairgrounds? I've been wanting to head over for that. Our CSA isn't growing summer crops; bummer for me.

My MIL and I both got a malabar spinach seedling from Seminole Farms Rose & Herbs. Hers in the lower keys in a pot is doing better than mine under an oak tree. My Okinawa spinach is doing good. The baby leaves are good on sandwiches.

The dang lubbers around here seem to have an appetite for the summer food, they have about done in my cherry tomatoes, the chayote vine and my lima bean vines. Grrrr .....

I'm still getting odds and ends of edible greens from the garden, but they don't taste so great. I've been cooking them down in a small crockpot and making veggie stock base. It's pretty good in a pot of beans!

The tomatoes are slowing down, but the eggplants and okra are picking up. I can't believe it, but today my calendar beeped at me to start fall tomatoes. Heck, I haven't even figured out the why's and what-fors of the spring tomatoes.

We made a batch of southern peas while my in-laws were here. They were so very good. The bush peas have been producing for a bit now, the vine peas are just taking off. Oh, and the slow as molasses wing bean vine has gotten a growth spurt.

We are having eggplant parmesan for dinner tomorrow, so I picked all the good sized today. This is what I pulled out of the garden today. I've gotten into the habit of freezing the peas as I pick them on a flat pan. Then adding them to a ziploc bag in the freezer. This is working out for me better in my small/beginner garden.

The okra, Hubs and I eat about as fast as we pick it right now. But it is starting to come in faster so maybe we can get enough for a batch.

The yardlong beans have started running, so hopefully they will start soon. The limas are giving me fits. Poor germination and then the dang lubbers got after them. One is recovering, I have started more. The sweet potatoes and peanuts are determined to win garden domination. The mouse melon/Mexican Sour Gherkin vines are going good. Oh, mustn't forget parsley! And basil, papalo, epazote. The Jericho and Anenue Lettuce are both holding there own somewhat. Jericho seems more robust.

I need to start more okra. It is such a pretty plant, and if you don't think you like Okra, try it raw with some salt. Hmm, a raw salsa with snaps, everglades toms, mouse melons, okra, peppers and some greens topping ceviche? Yumm!

I'm so jealous of your tomato harvest Silvia! If only I was closer I would gladly take a load of your hands :). I have lots of room for improvement come fall. Starting with labeling my tomatoes with a marker that doesn't fade.

I've got this mystery orange tomato that I have no idea what is. I thought the plant was a green zebra or an uglyripe that I saved seed from. But the tomatoes are orange? Quite tasty, and cracked alot. Then a few doors down we have the disgustingly healthy Mortgage lifter vine that has been blooming like crazy for months, along with growing like crazy and has not sit one.single.tomato. We really love tomatoes, and I had such plans for putting up several batches of tomato and pasta sauce. Grrr ....

Well, I can kick back a bit this summer, snack on my okra, everglades toms, and mouse melons and ed-u-ma-cate myself on the finer art of growing tomatoes under the oaks!

and send hubs out to do a rain dance!

~dianne

>Silvia - do you mean ceviche?

Escabeche, maybe?

Gosh everyone has such beautiful looking produce. For okra, there are lots of great Indian recipes, like spice-stuffed okra (if you don't like the gluey consistency, try the recipes like that which call for lengthwise cuts instead of cross cutting it).

Hi Writersblock, it was like escabeche but they called a different name meaning the same thing. I grew up eating escabeche and ceviche and to me the ones that are made in my home town are the best! They also had a very good idea to serve ceviche, it was in small like votive glasses, the sauce was on the bottom, thinly cut veggies and 1 shrimp. I will copy the idea for a party.:)
And I agree with you Indian style okra is very good!

Hi Dianne, wow! you are doing very well consider the limitations of your shady garden, keep up with the good work! and I know lima beans and the sword beans are like molasses,lol

Did you plant a Kellog's Breakfast? Mine look like yours

I pulled out all my kale plants, the only greens that I have now and are doing great are the Green Glaze collards

And all the people that comes to see the garden, ask about my amaranth Dreadlocks, I will plant it again, it is pretty.

And today I am doing a fig jam with bay leaves, I have to take the figs away from me, otherwise I will eat them all!

Silvia

Elizabeth- I think the only trick to the tomatillos is planting more than one of each variety that you are trying to grow together. They need a second one to pollinate or else you have to wait about 120 days for your first fruit to set. They are a weed basically so no coddling necessary! Very closely related ot the paper lantern weeds that pop up everywhere. LOL. I am planting a second 'crop' now of purple because we love them so much. They grow like a tomatoe, so set them low in the ground when you transplant or hill them up when they get bigger if you direct seed. :-) G/L!

Sylvia - my Lakota looks waaay different!

Barbie, I got the seeds from Burpee because if I remember correctly it is one of the few seed companies selling it. Last time that I grew them the seed was from Tucson Native seeds.

And one of mine came looking a little bit like yours,lol

And I did the fig preserves today with bay leaves, I am planning to eat them on top of homemade vanilla ice cream.

Silvia

Wow, I'm amazed at what everyone has going now, I'm sure not going to show my last tomato pictures ;-) I'm mostly done but I still have a few sweet peppers going as I've moved the buckets into the shade. AND, Lou has me trying my parthenocarpic cukes INSIDE the pool cage and one of the three varieties I tried this way has far exceeded my expectations, Cool Breeze. I've never had cukes survive this late in the season here in the Zone 10 summer...unfortunately this variety was a crop failure for 2011 and I have no seeds left :-(

Tom

Oh, yeah, I think they call it escoveitched fish, don't they?

Love the idea of the fig jam.

Hi Tom

Welcome back to the Florida forum! we missed you! And thanks to you my watering job it was much easier this season with the wand that you gave me.
Those peppers look awesome and I am glad to hear about your success with the cucumbers, I have to try those sometimes.
I am waiting to get the last tomatoes before I get the plants out for the season, for some reason this has been a very long season for me with most veggies. Some things I just pulled them out even they were perfect like the kale because they were getting bugs and I don't spray any of the leafy greens that I eat.

Writersblock, yes, probably that is the name. I forgot to ask Maxine since she is from Jamaica.
That fig jam turn out delicious! it had a wild taste to it when I added the fresh bay leaves from my garden and if you don't know it is there, you could not tell what is the secret ingredient. The next fig jam that I am making is going to have a sweet German wine and pine nuts. Each time I pick about 3 pounds of figs, I will be making something to enjoy later.

Silvia

Wow, I am also in awe of all the harvests you all are still getting. I've pulled almost everything except the ancient sweet peppers and the eggplant, some onions and a couple of kale. A few carrots left in the ground. At the very end of my tomatoes.

Silvia, great looking stuff. Those figs look amazing, and that amaranth is beautiful!

Tom, I've missed your posts. I echo Silvia's awesome peppers...and ditto for the cukes!

Dianne, what varieties are your eggplant?

Luther, now that's a batch of yummy looking butter beans...

Anna

Hi Anna, thank you. I am also cleaning up the garden to have it ready for the next season, getting rid of the dead leaves and bugs.
I am waiting for some of the fruits to ripen, that will keep me busy in the hot months. Butterbeans and okra were planted late. And we have a butterbean king and that is Luther, beating us all with his harvests,lol
I can see Tom thinking of new ways to improve the quality in our gardens, and thinking seeds!
And during this hot and dry months we are all gathering resources and planning...

Silvia

Tom,

You can safely come back and post again, I promise not to call you 'Tommy Tomato Seed' anymore.

Lou

Hi, I'm still growing a few summer vegetables. This year I tryed out several new butterbeans/limas. Here is a picture of my sweet potatoes and Alabama Black Butter Beans.

A dish of Alabama Butter Beans.

Here is a picture of my new Limas just up.

Just planted some tomato seeds that are suppose to bear in hot weather. Will give them a try in containers on the east side of my house. They will only get the morning sun in this location. Also planted three containers of zucchini in that location. Dottie said for me not to run out of zucchini, or she wouldn't be able to make the bread we all love. Even the Dog expects his slice of zucchini bread for dessert each evening.

Happy gardening to all,

Luther

Wow Tom! That's Cool. Cool Cukes :) And I miss you also.

Anna, from left to right:

Florida Market (rareseeds.com), Orlando (KitchenGardenSeeds.com)[learned from Silvia], Orlando, Orlando, Black Beauty, Ichiban, Hansel (tomatogrowers.com).

Black Beauty, Ichiban, and Hansel overwintered from last fall. The Hansel is both a small plant and a small fruit, that fruit is full size. I'm really enjoying the Florida Market and the Orlando. I'll probably stick with Florida Market, Orlando and Hansel for fall. That is unless I get one of those cute eggplant seeds. When I get another batch of Hansel I'm going to try pickling them like sweet peppers.

Silvia, I don't have any Kellog Breakfast seed. Is this considered orange or yellow? Looks pretty orange to me; from the outside, see pic above. Here it is sliced. Sure made a good tomato sandwich. Could an orange tomato be a sport from a Green Zebra? Granted my darn label faded, but I spent all season calling that plant a green zebra.

Barbie - what all do you do with tomatillo's?

~dianne

Lou, how is your garden doing? it is time for your update.:)

Luther, you are so efficient! make sure that you give us the taste results on all those butterbeans and limas. And you are very brave with the heat tolerant tomatoes and the zucchini, let us know how they do.

And look what is growing inside the very hot greenhouse that has closed doors and windows, it is a tomato I don't know what kind and I did not plant it or water or spray and is looking very healthy, has a lot of flowers! will see if they fruit.

Silvia

Dianne, it looks like yellow to me, lol. I have few yellows dark, medium and light and also different oranges.

Here is a picture for you, green zebra is green with a hint of yellow, I never had an orange or yellow from the same seed, but if yours are from rare seeds sometimes they make mistakes on the seeds, it can happen.

In the back are a red, two oranges, 3 medium yellows, two light yellows, a pink, a purple and a green. Green zebra is a little smaller than the one in the picture.

Silvia

Thanks everyone, like Silvia I was gone awhile, but in Eleuthera...my mind seems to stay there for weeks after I return :-( I've also moved on quite a bit into the lurking stage but I'm still here ;-)

Tom

Good Sunday Everybody

I was keeping busy...on Friday I made more salsa with the hot peppers that I was gifted (thank you) and at night I went to salsa show at the Amway Arena, it was packed!

Saturday we went to a get together and made Caprese salad, the tomatoes were a big hit, I was feeling sorry that I did not make more. They asked about the orange tomato the most because they had not seen before, they were also impressed with the size of the slices. I told them they were heirlooms beefsteaks Neves Azorean Red and Pineapple. One time I saw Denise show a picture of one that she grew and after that I got the idea to grow them, they also have a rich taste. The topping on the tomatoes was also a hit, note to myself, next time make a lot more!

Silvia

Oh Silvia - Caprese is one of my FAVORITE ways to eat tomatoes. Then again there aren't many ways I don't like to eat them. :-D

As for the tomatillo I spoke too soon last week. I went from only a couple harvested to a few pounds! Check it out...

Hi Barbie, that is a wonderful harvest! those are some great looking tomatillos. When I was living in Arizona I ate a lot of them. One of my favorite ways to eat them was in salsa with the tomatillos and chiles charred in the BBQ and then I would use them in enchiladas or tamales. Very good!

And I saw the pickleworm too about few weeks ago, that is when I pulled the zucchini and the cucumbers. Now I am trying to start cleaning the tomatoes little by little.

On Sunday we had homemade bread with the fig jam, I am making more of those, everyone like them

For lunch we had a tomato tart

And for dinner BBQ pork with corn salsa, salad with sliced tomatoes

Silvia

Oh, Silvia, I can't help but keep looking again! I just had dinner and even so, your dishes make my mouth water! That tart looks amazing! The dinner and the bread/jam look wonderful also.

Anna

Thank you Anna, this season was very good for all the beefsteaks tomatoes, all colors they were amazing in dishes.

The fig tree was not giving good fruit in years past till I started putting a lot of organics, I even put the bat guano that Bernie gave me, lol. The fig jam with bay leaves went like a knockout with cardamon homemade bread.

The tart always come out good, I like the warm crust with fresh tomatoes and goat cheese.

And this season the citrus have been dry, like limes that I get at the store. Then I remember that I froze last season calamondins whole, sliced on top, I use that on the pork to make it in the BBQ together with a lot of spices, it was really good!

And I am thinking of ways to use the big Cinderella pumpkin...it will make many and different meals.

Silvia

I'm coming over to eat at YOUR house Silvia! :-D

Barbie

Dianne - Mark didn't answer your question, but the answer is "yes". The DeLand Farmers Market on Wednesdays is at the Fairground.

I have been away on vacation to Virginia. We checked out Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and the Yorktown battlefield sites. The area has lots of planted fields of tobacco, wheat, and corn. It was a very nice area to visit.

After growing bush lima beans last year, and getting no harvest, I am proud to say that the Black Jungle Butterbean seeds that Silvia sent me produced nicely. Thanks so much Silvia. I didn't take a picture of my harvest because they look just like Luthur's photo.

Luthur - What is the difference between the Alabama butterbean and the Black Jungle? In you picture, they look the same. I see that you have replanted. Do you think that I could get another crop if I planted another row soon? Last year my fall plantings of Black Jungle beans bloomed but wouldn't set to make pods.

Silvia - As I mentioned before, my Seminole pumpkins turned out to look like the seeds got crossed with a butternut squash. No complaints about production. These are from only 2 plants:

Silvia - I have so many figs ripening now too. Your fig preserves look delicious. Do you use packaged pectin in your recipes? When I make calamondin marmalade I don't have to add any so I was wondering if figs have a lot of natural pectin.

Loved your vacation photos!

Christine

Barbie, there is always plenty of good, fresh food at my house, I hope one day you can come.

Hi Christine, I am glad to have you back and good to hear that you had a nice vacation.

I planted the black jungle butterbeans last year, I think it was one time in May and again in June, they were both times successful. This year I got delayed and planted this month, they are nicely growing now.

Your harvest of seminole does look different, I hope the taste is the same. I am still thinking of ways of using my huge Cinderella pumpkin, I am going to make a lot of dishes out of that one.

And Christine, the way I make any dish is that I see any recipe, read it and do my own thing. I get ideas from the books. And I do simple things, when I pickle the veggies are preserved from the vinegar and when I do jams the sugar does the work. I don't use anything extra like pectin or preservatives.

I make a lot of different fig jams some are more concentrated than others, jam like, others like thick syrup to be used in pancakes or bread. I am going to make another fig jam this season with German wine and pine nuts. All my pickles and jams are kept in the refrigerator and the tomato sauce is in the freezer. This way I am extra sure that they are safe and nobody ever can get sick.
When making jams like the one I did with fig, sometimes I use local honey from the u-pick place, it does make a difference.

Silvia

Christine, the black jungle butter bean and the Alabama black butter bean tast similar to one another. They both have new blossom spikes today, even in this heat. So they will grow and produce in the summer months. The bama butter bean puts blossoms spikes closer to the ground than the BJBB. Also the bama butter bean is not as vivious a climber as the BJBB. They are both very good and I will plant them again next year.

Luther

Silvia - No, the flavor and texture is not the same as a Seminole pumpkin. It must be a cross with a spaghetti-squash-type or butternut vine. We ate one of the burgess buttercup squashes last night, sauteed. That was really good. Even though it only produced one mature squash per (smaller-sized) vine, we really like it. Let us know how you prepare the Cinderella pumpkin. I surely could use some ideas. I have been giving away some of the "Seminole pumpkins" but I have more maturing that are almost ready to pick.

We really enjoyed the BJB beans. They were delicious. What I will do is set aside seeds for next year and plant whatever is left over along with some yard-longs. The regular pole beans are finished so I will have their empty cattle panel to use.

Years ago, I made a lot of strawberry jam after going to a U-Pick place. I used commercial pectin to set up the fruit and it tasted just fine. They must have changed the recipe because I made some blueberry jam recently with the same brand pectin and it put a strange flavor and texture in the fruit. Your idea of using sugar or honey sounds like a better idea.

Luthur - Which of the BBs is the better producer? It's hard to tell by your pictures because they look like they both produced well. Are you saving seeds? Are you concerned about the two varieties crossing? Where did you get the Alabama BB seeds?

Christine

Christine, I got the Alabama black butter bean seed from rareseeds.com They both produce really good. They were planted in different locations under different conditions.
But they are both very good. I will plant them both next year.

Send me an e-mail. I have something for you.

Luther

Luther- You don't have a "send me an email" in your My Page so I can't send you an email. I checked mine only to find that my "send me an email" is missing. It was there. I don't know what happened.

Anyway, please send me an email since I can't reach you.
christineyoung@iag.net.