[Beekissed]

No one had a good tomato year over here in regular gardens....way too much rain and very little sun all season until just a few weeks ago.  We had to buy tomatoes to augment our own this year due to that.  I haven't had to buy tomatoes for 15 yrs now, so that tells you how bad a year it was.   

This year I was determined to put up more than last year....I just feel like it's going to be a hard winter in more ways than one.  Getting in extra food and extra firewood.  Even laying in a little extra food for the chickens and dog, which I never do...usually just have one large trash can of layer mash and one large tote of dog feed on hand but think I'll buy extra this next month, just because.   Got a hunch things are going to get a little crazy this winter so I'm not letting anything go to waste, nor am I going to let anything languish in the freezer....everything in a jar this year for safe keeping. 

[mumofstig]

Funny how we get these 'feelings' - when I have done my monthly delivery, I've been getting in extra dry goods, flour, yeast, rice, dried pulses for stews - that kind of thing 

[Beekissed]

That's funny!     I've gotten to the age where I trust my gut on things...didn't used to, though.  I'm not one for "prepping" and such, just the usual putting things away for winter use as we've always done, but this year seems different for some reason.  Feel the need for a little extra cushion, I guess.

Glad I'm not the only one!     Means I'm on the right track.... 

[tosca100]

Weeellll....we have had the opposite problem this year. Last year we had similar to you Beekissed and many people lost their lives in floods. This year we have drought and blistering temperatures for a couple of months and set to be in the mid thirties till september when they will drop to the mid twenties. They keep promising thunderstorms but they rarely happen and it's too dry for them to do any good now.

Early on I bottled a lot of tomatoes, mostly whole to make up meals as I see fit but a few sauces too. For a while now the large Chocolate Stripes have been literally 'cooking' on the vine, they look OK if a little pale but are juicy and fragile when touched. I was relying on these to keep me going in fresh well into autumn. The plants are dying. The San Marzano are suffering from BER but hopefully I have enough bottled. The Rio Grande and local variety and a yellow have given up. All thet is producing are the three cherry varieties so they are what I am semi drying and freezing....got a dozen mixed bottled too. So we are OK for tomatoes.

However, the early peas and broad beans didn't do well, poatoes are OK, sweet potatoes might produc some but it's been a bit too dry for them Carrots are a bit dry but I am going to pickle some this week as we are unable to put the autumn ones in due to the dryness, same with beets, We have black, white and redcurrants bottled, plenty of jam and chutney, pears, quince and apples to come but the figs failed due to last year's awful weather. Cordials are also made for a vitamin hit. There is a good amount of chard and kale frozen, leeks to come (but they aren't growing!)Whatever the winter throws at us, we will survive...but might look a bit like tomatoes come spring. Oh yes, we also have plenty of honey, good bees, and milk from the goat frozen for winter cheese. If we lose the electricity it will be a disaster, we really will look like toms then!

Everyone is predicting a severe winter. I hope it will be as short as it's supposed to be here in Bulgaria.

[Beekissed]

So far the year's total is 138 qts and 52 pints of food...should be more to come when apples ripen, the flock is culled and deer season arrives.  God has been so good to us with all this food bounty!!!   

[mumofstig]

So, a busy day - 8 jam size jars of Giardiniera, 5 of pickled cucumbers, 8 of tomato and courgette pasta sauce and a larger jar of peppers for Antipasti 

I'll have to beg, steal or borrow jars before I can do any more 

[New shoot]

That's a good, productive day     

I'll have to beg, steal or borrow jars before I can do any more 

I caved in and bought a few more the other day.  Not that there is anywhere to put them once they are full, but they were pretty and very cheap (and I have no willpower when it comes to such things)