Late Fall and starting to feel the Cold

The constant rains of this last summer have ruined this years pecan crop here in South Baldwin county. I know we don't have any this year and I have not seen any local signs going up advertizing nuts for sale. Underwoods in Foley has a sign out but I don't know what they have to offer or if the nuts are local or from out of state. Be sure to check any unshelled pecans being sold from roadside stands to be sure you're getting good quality nuts.
Our first early cold spell of this week will put an end to any remaining summer vegetables like okra and tomatoes, but it will mean more of the cool weather crops will be in the local farmer's markets. Turnip greens, Kale,  Pumpkins, Beets, and Spinach will all be coming into season. The last of the locally grown tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, and peppers, can still be found if you shop now.
While there may be a shortage of pecans this year, the local citrus crops of satsumas, lemons, grapefruits, and kumquats is sure to be abundant because of last years relatively mild winter. I just picked a bushel of satsumas off our one bush and have some lemons on another plant. When you have an overabundance of citrus, one thing you can do with the fruits is to squeeze the juice and either freeze or can it. I froze all my lemon juice last year and still have a gallon in the freezer. I also juiced and canned satsuma juice so it would last throughout the year. Why buy processed orange juice when you can have sweet satsuma juice every morning?
It is a good idea to buy an electric citrus juicer when faced with large amounts of fruits to juice. I have one and it is a real time and wrist saver. After juicing the fruits, I strain the juice to remove any seeds and pulp. Put it into a large pot and heat it just until it starts to steam good. You don't want it to boil. I taste it and then add some sugar, usually around a cup to a gallon because the canning process can take away some of the natural sweetness. You also want to use satsumas that are at the peak of their ripeness and not too green or over ripe. If over ripe they will lose their tang and be flat. Adding some lemon juice can help remedy that problem.
Pour the juice into clean canning jars, wipe the rims clean, seal with canning lids and process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. The juice will keep for up to 3 years.
I found that freezing my lemon juice in ice cube trays (2 tablespoons per cube) is a good way to preserve it and have it handy for grabbing just the amount needed in recipes later. I just empty the ice trays into plastic bags and store the lemon cubes that way in the freezer. You can also freeze it in plastic containers in larger amounts.
Hope everyone enjoys the season and helps to keep our local growers in business.

High Summer Vegetables

It is the high point of summer with all the usual heat and humidity that is the norm for our part of the world. Where else can you get a free sauna bath everytime you just step outside. There are some hardy vegetables that are still bearing, which can be found in the local growers markets. Field peas, okra, cucumbers, butterbeans, melons, pears, figs, and summer squash, that are grown locally, can all still be found. Most local tomato patches have quit fruiting due to the heat but there will be a new crop this fall.

Another locally produced crop is our native honey, which is offered for sale at many farm stands and farmer's markets. Did you know that most store brands of honey are actually processed so they cannot be traced back to their country of origin. The honey is washed and watered down so that it does not contain any pollen and it is the pollen that marks each batch of honey so it can be traced back to where it was produced. Much of the honey sold in commercial stores is actually imported from China and may contain pesticides and toxins. Buying locally produced honey is the best way to go as you will be getting a pure product and helping a local producer as well. There is also some evidence that eating local honey can help keep the body from developing allergies to local plants and their pollens.

I put up some 2 gallons of fresh figs the other week. You have to get out early to beat the crows to them and to survive the heat. I have a good crop of pink eyed purple hull peas coming in right now along with my okra which is finally starting to bear in-spite of the constant wet weather and cloudy days.

Summer Crops coming despite the rains

With all the rain this past week, at least the temperatures have been held down. We are nearing the end of our black berry harvest with perhaps a week to go. Customers are stopping in who have been to other local farm stands, with bags of sweet corn, watermelons, peas, and butterbeans, so there is still plenty to enjoy. There are also plenty of red ripe tomatoes to be found and soon there will be okra for frying.

Okra does not like wet, cool, weather so this past week's rains will slow it down some, but the heat will return along with some drier days to allow it to catch up and start flowering soon. The cooler night time temps, in the lower 70's, have meant my tomatoes are blooming again to set on a new crop. Now if I can just keep the stink bugs off them till they redden up.

The Start of Summer and Summer time treats

Its time for enjoying some of the best of the early summer fruits. We now have our You pick Blackberry patch open and it is full of nice ripe blackberries for jelly making, jams, desserts, and just eating out of hand. We open at 7 am. and that is the best time to pick these beauties before the heat really gets turned on. We are open everyday of the week except for Wednesdays and Sundays, so come and fill your buckets. We also offer berries that we pick for $3.00 a lb/ $2.00 a lb you pick. Our plants are thornless.

Hillcrest Farms has blueberries coming in as well as other fresh produce like tomatoes, squash, and fresh herbs. They are open for those wanting to pick blueberries on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and their stand is open daily except for Tuesdays.

Cassebaums sweet corn is coming in, with fresh pickings every morning. They are closed on Sundays. Get there early for a bushel to fill the freezer.

Right now at local farm stands you can find tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, squash, peppers, onions, garlic, and eggplants. I have been picking fresh tomatoes, when I can save them from the stink bugs, and have already put up green beans and corn in my freezer. Two of my banana trees are flowering so by this fall I will have some delicious bananas for making puddings and breads.

Well, I am finally back to let everyone know what's growing and ready to harvest here in Baldwin County. I see the sweet corn up the road is starting to tassel so it will not be long before those delicious roasting ears are available. Cassebaum's sign says they will be opening in June and I am sure they will be having the same high quality produce that they always have. Hillcrest farms is getting ready for the soon to start blueberry season and the Peebles' farm will be having sweet mouth watering blackberries before long.

I have green tomatoes the size of baseballs on my vines and will soon be picking the first of my pole beans. Strawberries are already being harvested along with potatoes, peaches, and butterbeans. I put up my first batch of peach jam today and soon will be filling jars with blackberry and grape jams and jellies.

We have had a really nice long spring this year with an ample supply of rain, but now it looks like we may be in for an extended dry spell, so the best part of the spring harvest may be the first crops. We have also been enjoying a nice harvest from our asparagus patch, getting about 1 to 2 lbs a week, for our Sunday dinner.