Harvest winding down but still getting good assortment --

[applestar]

In a small backyard garden, even a little harvest like this with a nice assortment of heirloom and OP tomatoes can be very satisfying

[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/FF9BE2AC-62BE-4C90-9805-580AE41F6B5A-132-0000000298EC4043.jpg[/img]

[jal_ut]

Nice. Yes, the end of garden surprises are good.

[gixxerific]

Beautiful Apple, nice arrangement.

[lorax]

Are those Roselles I see in there?

[applestar]

Yep - first time growing them this year.
They were very easy to start from seeds.

Can you give me tips on what to do with them? I've been peeling off the red calyx and drying them -- is it better to freeze them? Is there anything you can do with the seedpod/seeds? I've been searching out recipes and YouTube vids like mad -- Do you only make the boiled "tea" or jelly with the calyx? Whats your favorite way to make them? Can you use dried bits in an herbal tea blend or do they need to be -- eh what's that called? Boiled rather than just infused?

I'm trying different approaches with the rest of the plants:

I have one big full sized bush outside to keep producing until frost. The rest of the bed (so the base of the bush) is covered with slitted plastic sheeting which won't protect the upper parts from frost, but should keep the roots warm and keep the bush going full production for a while -- it's covered with flowers right now.

One small (2ft) plant has been potted and brought inside, and 2 more have been pruned and potted and are in a sheltered location on the patio for now. Oh and another one is in a planter off to the side of the patio.

[hendi_alex]

Someone is slow on the uptake! Glanced at gixxerific post, looked at the photo, and wondered [apple, I don't see an apple]. Then thought, [maybe there is a tomato variety called 'apple'.] Came back to the post later and noticed the cap in 'Apple' and the light went off, [ah Applestar!] [Pay attention to who is posting what you big dummy!]

That is a beautiful bowl of late season veggies. My last batch of green beans didn't do to well, or I guess the bean beetles would say that it was a great crop. I'm still hoping to get some beans off of a few healthy bushes that are just now blooming and have not attracted the beetles. Of course late fall the deer sometimes visit the garden, so will keep my fingers crossed.

We are still getting a trickle of tomatoes, some okra, a steady stream egg plant and jalapenos. We have a few late cucumbers just starting to produce. Of course the fall greens are doing well as we are harvesting collards, arugula, and lettuce. Cilantro and parsley are just starting to grow, but should produce well through the winter.

[applestar]

Thanks you. . I had to pick the apples a couple of weeks ago in fear of groundHOG and other (squirrels, chipmunks) thieves:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/7D0964FE-B707-49DC-87DE-2A82D32971A8-132-0000003B71B32753.jpg[/img]

[lorax]

Yep - first time growing them this year.
They were very easy to start from seeds.

Can you give me tips on what to do with them? I've been peeling off the red calyx and drying them -- is it better to freeze them? Is there anything you can do with the seedpod/seeds? I've been searching out recipes and YouTube vids like mad -- Do you only make the boiled "tea" or jelly with the calyx? Whats your favorite way to make them? Can you use dried bits in an herbal tea blend or do they need to be -- eh what's that called? Boiled rather than just infused?

I'm trying different approaches with the rest of the plants:

I have one big full sized bush outside to keep producing until frost. The rest of the bed (so the base of the bush) is covered with slitted plastic sheeting which won't protect the upper parts from frost, but should keep the roots warm and keep the bush going full production for a while -- it's covered with flowers right now.

One small (2ft) plant has been potted and brought inside, and 2 more have been pruned and potted and are in a sheltered location on the patio for now. Oh and another one is in a planter off to the side of the patio.

I do a number of things with them - boiled fresh and whole with a bit of sugar, they not only make an amazing tisane (I add fresh-squozen orange juice to it, and then slurp down the whole 2L jug with great gusto - and I never seem to catch colds or flus), the fruits themselves then are sweet enough to use in salads (cut the calices off and yummo).

Once they're dried, you can absolutely infuse them, and a lot of people down here are now using Roselle (we call it Flor de Jamaica) instead of Bougainvillea to give Horchata it's distinctive red colour and a touch more bite as well. It's well worth adding to your herbal tea blends both for its colour and its distinctive flavour. You can also decoct (boil) of course, but in blends that seems to be counterproductive as far as flavour goes.

Drying is probably better than freezing, although I've never had frozen Roselle before so I can't really comment with any authority. I've seen them just as calices, and also as whole fruits dried; I hardly ever have to do that, though, since a friend in the Oriente has trees and I have therefore got a nearly unlimited fresh supply.

In terms of other applications, I'm starting to experiment with the jelly as an ingredient in modernist-type desserts where I want that vibrant colour and tangy flavour; I've also been experimenting with adding concentrated Roselle jus to things like gravies to boost colour without affecting the savoury flavours I'm after (works amazingly with beef gravies without skewing off the flavour to too salty the way soy or gravy browning would).

[Ohio Tiller]

I just picked this last sunday I think I am about done. I still have some green tomatoes but I am not sure they are going to make it before a real hard frost. I put the bill in front of the one tomato for size That plant just would not do anything untill cooler weather hit and then Bang!

[img]https://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j176/Johnfor3/lastpick2012_zps3f204843.jpg[/img]

[sheeshshe]

very nice! I let mine 'go;' a couple of weeks ago when we all came down with the whooping cough Just too fatigued to deal with the garden I have a ton of green beans out there just getting enormous, and cherry tomatoes all over the ground out there I am so frustrated that I have considered taking next year off and not doing a garden, just bc I couldn't keep up with it this year after my daughters surgery in July. what a bummer. we got a lot of tomatoes, but half or more rotted in my basement. onions didn't get bigger than quarters. lost a lot of stuff to SVB etc. potatoes, just got 3-5 potatoes per plant, small ones. not my best year, that is for sure!

I am happy you all are still getting stuff in! I have some peppers out there almost ready! Maybe I should get some energy and get em LOL

[applestar]

If the green beans got too big, let them mature and save them for seeds next year. I'm having to resist picking mine, having decided to let the rest go ahead and mature... But I keep reaching for them, you know?

I wait until the pods start to dry, then pick them and drop them in a paper grocery bag and hang them up to completely dry. Some time later I sit in front of the TV and shell them all, sort them by size and bag them, keeping the biggest best ones.

[sheeshshe]

I thin that is what I'm going to do at this point. I'll have lots and lots!

do you hang the bag up to dry? or take them out of the bag and hang them up one by one on something?

I'll tell you that I didn't pick the black beans and they started sprouting. what a waste

[applestar]

I hang them (bags of beans, herbs, popcorn, etc -- most seeds I'm saving) to dry from hooks along the ceiling in the kitchen and dining room -- yeah gets pretty messy for a while until they're dry and I process them for storage eventually.
I wish I had a walk in pantry.

I got the idea from the little house in the big woods in which they store their harvest in the attack where it is "warm and dry" I don't have an attack, but I figured it's warmer near the ceiling.

[sheeshshe]

awesome! I have a bunch of paper bags right here How long does it generally take to dry out? is it months or weeks?

I have some popcorn too. What variety do you grow? I grew this multi colored variety and the kernels are SOOOOOOOO tiny, I can't see how it is going to make popcorn worth eating

[rainbowgardener]

I do have a walk in pantry, but a lot of stuff lives there and it gets pretty full. It currently has bee balm, basil, lavender and mint hanging to dry.

But I do have an attic!! I don't know about drying things up there though. 1) it has a pull down ladder up to it, so isn't the most accessible. 2) it is vented but unheated, very hot in summer (like I made the mistake of leaving a candle in with the Christmas stuff that is stored up there and it melted), very cold in winter.

But I'll keep it in mind.

[ReptileAddiction]

@ Applestar

What type of apples are those. They look so good I can almost smell them!

[applestar]

Sorry didn't realize there was a question.

These are Arkansas Black apples. Disease resistant, good keeper, and deliciously strongly flavored -- two other varieties I have are Pristine and Enterprise. You get used to eating these or any home grown apples and store bought apples all taste watery and blah.

[gixxerific]

I do have a walk in pantry, but a lot of stuff lives there and it gets pretty full. It currently has bee balm, basil, lavender and mint hanging to dry.

But I do have an attic!! I don't know about drying things up there though. 1) it has a pull down ladder up to it, so isn't the most accessible. 2) it is vented but unheated, very hot in summer (like I made the mistake of leaving a candle in with the Christmas stuff that is stored up there and it melted), very cold in winter.

But I'll keep it in mind.

Do you have a garage Rainbow? I dry a lot of stuff in there. It's warm and out of the sun. I always supplement a fan becuase of the humdity which you probably have as well in Ohio.

I would have to assume the "little house" used the attic since they didn't have a garage or much room or possibly a barn.

[ReptileAddiction]

Sorry didn't realize there was a question.

These are Arkansas Black apples. Disease resistant, good keeper, and deliciously strongly flavored -- two other varieties I have are Pristine and Enterprise. You get used to eating these or any home grown apples and store bought apples all taste watery and blah.

Would I hae to have 2 varieties to pollinate? DO you know what the chill hour requirements are?

[applestar]

You need a pollinator -- AB I believe is being pollinated by Pristine (pretty sure that was why I planted them in the same bed) but my Enterprise gets pollinated by a volunteer wild crabapple that makes 1/2" yellow fruits.

A lucky circumstance because back when I planted the Enterprise, I didn't know about needing a pollinator and thought the tree was just not old enough when it bloomed but didn't fruit for a cople of years. In the mean time, I let the volunteer crab grow in a nearby flower bed, and the year the crab started to bloom is when Enterprise started to set fruit.

With name like ARKANSAS Black, I would think it is a southern adapted cultivar, but I don't know the actual chill hours it needs.

[ReptileAddiction]

Ok thanks. I would have to have dwarf trees but they would have to have a chill hour requirement below 350 or they wont fruit in my area