What did you do in the garden today?

[Sally PB]

Cucamelon pickles are excellent! I hope hubby likes them. Since they're refrigerator pickles, they don't keep more than a couple months.

 

[Sally PB]

Cucamelon refrigerator pickles

Makes 2 pints

3 to 4 cups of fresh cucamelons
1-1/3 cups distilled white vinegar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp cane sugar
1 Tbsp sea salt, kosher salt or pickling salt (not table salt)
Approximately 6 sprigs of fresh dill (a small handful), washed
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp peppercorns
Pinch of red chili flakes, based on personal preference (I used a scant half teaspoon)

Optional: 1 or 2 grape leaves (or oak, black tea, or horseradish leaves). The tannins in these leaves help the cucamelon pickles maintain maximum crispness.

Instructions

Combine the vinegars, salt, and sugar. Stir the pickling brine until the sugar and salt completely dissolve.

Wash and sort the cucamelons. Avoid using any that are bruised, soft, or otherwise damaged.

Add the washed dill and peeled garlic cloves to the bottom of a clean jar, along with the called-for remaining spices.

Fill the jar with cucamelons to within an inch of the top.

Pour the brine over the cucamelons, leaving a half inch headspace.

If available, add a couple grape, oak, black tea, or horseradish leaves on top of the cucamelons, and push them down into the brine.

Cap with an air-tight lid, and put the jar in the refrigerator. Allow the pickled cucamelons to marinate in the refrigerator for at least one week to develop maximum pickle flavor.

During the first three to four days in the refrigerator, gently tip or shake the jar to wet/rotate any cucamelons floating on top – ensuring even pickling and that no “floaters” become dry or moldy. Or, use a glass/ceramic fermenting weight to keep the cucamelons submerged.

Store in fridge. Consume within 2 to 3 months for the best quality and texture.

 

[Smokerbill]

Cucamelon refrigerator pickles

Makes 2 pints

3 to 4 cups of fresh cucamelons
1-1/3 cups distilled white vinegar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp cane sugar
1 Tbsp sea salt, kosher salt or pickling salt (not table salt)
Approximately 6 sprigs of fresh dill (a small handful), washed
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp peppercorns
Pinch of red chili flakes, based on personal preference (I used a scant half teaspoon)

Optional: 1 or 2 grape leaves (or oak, black tea, or horseradish leaves). The tannins in these leaves help the cucamelon pickles maintain maximum crispness.

Instructions

Combine the vinegars, salt, and sugar. Stir the pickling brine until the sugar and salt completely dissolve.

Wash and sort the cucamelons. Avoid using any that are bruised, soft, or otherwise damaged.

Add the washed dill and peeled garlic cloves to the bottom of a clean jar, along with the called-for remaining spices.

Fill the jar with cucamelons to within an inch of the top.

Pour the brine over the cucamelons, leaving a half inch headspace.

If available, add a couple grape, oak, black tea, or horseradish leaves on top of the cucamelons, and push them down into the brine.

Cap with an air-tight lid, and put the jar in the refrigerator. Allow the pickled cucamelons to marinate in the refrigerator for at least one week to develop maximum pickle flavor.

During the first three to four days in the refrigerator, gently tip or shake the jar to wet/rotate any cucamelons floating on top – ensuring even pickling and that no “floaters” become dry or moldy. Or, use a glass/ceramic fermenting weight to keep the cucamelons submerged.

Store in fridge. Consume within 2 to 3 months for the best quality and texture.

I wonder if substituting small green tomatoes for the cucamelons would work? I have about 20 pounds of green tomatoes (tiny to big) I need to do something with.

I have plenty of horseradish leaves...

 

[Sally PB]

If you try it, let us know!

 

[Eagle343]

It's about to freeze which means I'm picking it all. Here is the fall batch of hot sauce.
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I Like the labels, If I may be so bold as to ask for the recipe? Or where I may find it/them?

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Today was great day to be outside! Picked more tomatoes & okra. Got a deal on some blueberries & raspberries so I planted them. The ground is so dry! I watered everything well.


The temperatures here are odd, turned the heat on when it hit 39 last week, but this weekend it was in the 80s.
I pulled weeds, of course, but the lawn is pretty much brown so no mowing.

It is dark & getting windy, the firepit is burning down.

 

[jerryse]

Cooler today. I planted the hollyhock starts and watered them. Got tired of waiting for rain to plant them. No rain the next 10 days. I hope we do not get a lot of snow to make up the rain shortage.

 

[Smokerbill]

If you try it, let us know!

Certainly! And thanks for the recipe!

I weeded and leveled the cleared out bed I'm planting tomatoes in next year, and removed all the mulchy organic matter from the top of the other bed I cleared of plants. There was about 3 inches of mulch covering the "real' dirt. I think I'll turn this bed into a hugelkultur bed.

 

[akroberts1085]

I went out and turned on the water to the garden and everything is starting to look like it's almost done and not going to get anything else from it which sucks because I haven't gotten any peppers at all.

 

[Nomadicus]

We picked both zipper cream peas and purple hull summer peas today. Should get a few more Tuesday and then I'll mow them off and till the shredded plants into the soil.