I took a walk around the entire property this morning and just took in all the wonders. From the Kentucky Wonder Green Beans (some drying out and getting ready for a seed harvest) to the beautiful zucchini growing out back in my Bottomless Container Bucket area near the creek bed.
Mother Nature is in full force... the days are getting shorter now as we have passed the summer solstice here in the northern hemisphere. Some vegetables are getting ready to be harvested for their next step in the sustainable life I want on my homestead. Some herbs are starting to go to seed; meaning I will be outside soon getting the seeds for next years' planting.
Even the potato leaves are dying off; which means I will be doing exactly what @goldenoakfarm has already started by digging up her potatoes. Granted she definitely has more plants than I do... but the six plants I have out there should hopefully give me enough "tubers" for our needs here for some of the winter months.
I have plans on purchasing a pressure canner in the next week or two so I can preserve more than just tomatoes and jellies.
As I walked around the front herb and flower garden, I decided to snip the two yellow roses that were late bloomers this year. I would have taken the others plus the red ones, but I was late to the dehydrate roses for future uses party.
Now that I have an idea of what I want to use the rose petals for, I need to see of I can find someone nearby who has some that wouldn't mind if I were to harvest a few for my herb and flower stash.
What Else Is Happening Around The Homestead
Here are my Kentucky Wonder Green Beans drying out; but you can still see a few blossoms. Wondering if I'll get a second harvest from these four plants in a few more weeks or month?
Also I counted eight black beauty zucchini which will all need to be picked in the next week. With the heat and humidity we've been subjected to this summer, I won't leave them on the vine too much longer; as I know they'll grow quickly. Plus I have about a dozen more yellow blossoms on the plants. So I am hoping for a round two with these also. I love grilling my zucchini right on the BBQ grates... such a yummy flavor!
By the time I made my routine, yet leisure, walk around today, rain clouds had started to gather above and I headed inside to get my jerky started in the dehydrator; but first I did my rose petals.
I spent most of the morning puttering indoors as the rain fell outside and now the sun is out and it's even more humid than it was this morning. Before I headed inside though, I did scatter about some more calendula seeds and dried up feverfew flower heads along the back property; near the Motherwort and Garlic Mustard. I really put a hurting on my feverfew stock this summer and want to make sure to replenish it for next year. And the calendula is just so useful around here for being a pollinator and for medicinal uses, so I wanted to make sure I'd have enough again next year. I am hoping to use some calendula petals and flowers in my next batch of homemade soap.
howdy this fine Wednesday @goldendawne! wow, it has turned into a wonderful cornucopia of plants, vegetables and flowers around there! plus the indoor plants..it's amazing. I didn't know that rose petals were used in flavored waters! that doesn't sound good, what do rose petals taste like? lol. wonderful post!
What kind of pressure canner are you thinking of getting? My dream is an American canner in stainless steel....
I adore that yellow rose! And I've loved snapdragons since a child. I still make them "talk".... :))
Not sure about the pressure canner. I have just started looking into them and checking some reviews.
I remember seeing an American canner somewhere online... I used to have one but lost it once when I moved. Not sure if it was forgotten and left behind or if somehow it got misplaced.
I was really interested in your dehydrating rose petals, @goldendawne. I will have to read up how long to dry them for so they don't lose their colour. What a marvellous idea, thank you !
Calendula, that may be my favorite flower! All the wonderful medicinal applications are not really even why... I just LOVE a flower that 1. Re-seeds itself. I am all about voluntaryism... LOL! 2. Blooms ALL summer long. 3. Dares to wear those flashy colors, they are like my garden smiling back at me!
Rose petals in the dehydrator? Who would have thought? Years ago I made a small square wire thingy for drying stuff. Rose petals, peppers, anything I could think of that I could use in cooking oil... Course there we would bellyache if the humidity got over 40%. Air drying worked pretty well...
What a wonderful report. Thank you for it.
Beautiful yellow roses you have there and the yellow color is a sign of friendship. Flavored water from rose petals hmmm..... sounds refreshing. How about wine infused rose petals?