Yesterday we did a "test run" at pickling and canning. We did just a few jars of sweet pickles, sweet/spicy pickles, pickled kohlrabi, pickled beets, and spicy green beans. I also made a small jar of fresh salsa just to test the recipe. Hopefully we'll be borrowing a pressure canner in a week or so and start putting up some soups and stews. We are going to have bushels of ripe Roma tomatoes soon, so salsa and spaghetti sauce are on the agenda also.The pickled stuff all looks pretty good, can't wait to eat some of it.
All of the animals are doing well, the big pig is over 200lbs now. We might end up butchering the pigs sooner than I was originally planning. We were looking at late October, but late September may be possible now. The turkeys have really hit their stride, they look bigger every day.
We had a talk about what animals we might raise next year. We both agreed on turkeys, probably not more than a dozen of them due to space considerations. Nikki wants to try 4 or 5 chickens next spring, which is pretty funny because she was dead set against chickens earlier this year, but I guess after having ducks anything seems easy. We will probably raise a quick growing "meat bird" and if they aren't too much trouble we'll get 4 or 5 more during the summer. I haven't completely decided on pigs yet. If we do raise them, we will probably get 3. I'd like to get a different breed, something that isn't white so that they are better protected against the sun. I think that would probably be it.
5 comments:
so very nice to see ardwyn farms back! knowing for those few days you were in a pickle adding more spice to life on the farm keeps your blog from reading canned and that you feel pressured to post, or you get all stewed up and butcher your blog like some pig headed turkey's out there do.
i hear bj not bk's em has an incredible salsa recipe. it may be worth a quick contact. maybe em's has a unique basic ingredient that while enjoying it with chips on a hot evening in a rocker on the porch you and nikki can ease those weary bones with a relaxing beer, forget her getting stewed with you from "roma'n around the kitchen doing the salsa to the tune of the pressure cooker gauge and enjoy the sunset together. (to-mat-o might even be in the stars for the evening agenda!) (Ha! - at my age, I can say anything to you young whipper - snappers) glad the farm blog is back young man!
Any chance of you shipping down some farm salsa to an old friend?
We don't even know if the salsa is going to be any good! But if it is edible I will definitely ship you some.
Cool! Edible Salsa is so good.
I agree. Edible salsa is my second-favorite kind of salsa.
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