DUCKS for THEE in 2023

[ducks4you]

Got busy (and sick) so canning is now put off until tomorrow. The tomatoes can barely wait!'

 

[ducks4you]

NO more tomato pictures until tomorrow. I had to make an appt for the electricians at DD's house this morning.
After all of the new electrics in March of 2022, there were holes in the walls and ceilings that couldn't be helped, and right before Easter DD's poorly constructed drop ceiling, held up by nails, fell.
This morning, they now have their LED's back in the kitchen and they have their foyer chandelier back up.
DD's found a handyman who is truly an artist! He fixed all of the walls by laying drywall on top of plaster--nobody can tell, and he constructed a gorgeous drop ceiling in their kitchen which has a lot of odd corners.
The electrician's sent one of their guys out to do the work this morning.
Everything is back to nice, and DD's will use a lot of painter's tape next summer and repaint the walls and ceilings.

 

[ducks4you]

Back to canning. I now have 12 1/2 more quarts of tomatoes in the pantry. Here are the photos of the progress. Canning was Saturday, November 18th, an in between picture of what WAS left to can, and then yesterday's canning (November 24th.)
The roaster AND the serving dishes were ALL canned a week ago, Saturday, and I got a complete 9 quarts of tomatoes to put away.
I cooked them down to remove the skins, then packed 5 quarts cold, which went in the pressure canner. I put the lid on my not locked, then timed when it started steaming. Meanwhile I had the remainder cooking in my crockpot, ladled 4 quarts hot, then removed the first batch and put in the last 4 quarts.
Yesterday wasn't so much, but my total (from 2023, 2022 and a few from 2021) is now 86 quarts of tomatoes in my pantry.

 

[ducks4you]

Ijust noticed that the above photos are out of order, BUT, you understand all of the work.
Last photo (left) is all that is left from our emergency pre freeze harvest right before Halloween.
COMPARE (right) with what I started with on my kitchen table about a month ago, 21 quarts later.
IT IS worth it to bring in your fruit before a freeze! However, the longer the tomatoes take to ripen off of the vine, the tougher the skins get. Taste is still tremendous, but it is harder to process.
I never planted my Amish Paste seeds. In 2024, I intend to grow them on the inside of my street fencing and count on those for most of my canning next year. DD brought some of them last summer for me to teach her how to can. I had bought her a canner for Christmas 2022, a 12 pack of pints, and the other equipment you need. The Amish Paste are really easy to get the skins off. I also plan to plant fewer slicers and give them more room and tie them up to give the vines more breathing room. I think I cramped them too much and the tomato size suffered.
Taste didn't suffer. DH loves to open jars of tomatoes and give them a smell test...and smile.

 

[ducks4you]

DD and I didn't see deals to tempt us to rise at 4:30 and drive in to the brick and morter stores on Black Friday.
For those outside of the USA, "Black Friday" is the day when vendors make enough pre Christmas sales to put them in the Black. Otherwise, they often operate at a loss.
DD's and I had registered for the "Reds of Monticello." We went a few years back. Vendors in this town, which SO reminds me of Georgetown, CO, offer red wine. Starts at 5PM, goes until 8PM.
You get a wristband when you sign in, and a small glass, etched with the occasion and the date, and a map of who is offering. The organizers decided they didn't want all vendors to give out wine--too many adult drunk "trick or treaters???", maybe--so several vendors offered alternatives. Many places had cheese and sliced salami and crackers, and some chocolate.
We had to get there about 6PM bc eldest DD had to work yesterday, but we got a super good parking spot on the square. (This is their county seat and the square surrounds their courthouse, where youngest DD works.)
DD's were concerned that I couldn't walk the whole route. I really needed to work my right knee, and I found a few places with chairs for a few quick breaks and we walked to most of the stores. Couldn't differentiate between many of the red wines, but I had bought Josh Cabernet Sauvignon before and several stores served that.
The closer to 8PM (Closing time) the bigger they quantity of wine is poured in your glass. Several stores had their wine in fancy decanters. Many others had punch...one ice cream store gave out small samples, instead.
DD found 2 lovely tree ornaments, a Drosselmeyer and a Mouse King, from the ballet supply store on the square.
Anyway, DD's were well pleased that we got to attend this year. Cold, but dry, so...perfect! They even had a Christmas ornament photo spot for everybody AND they were celebrating CHRISTMAS there, always refreshing, like their wine.

 

[ducks4you]

BAD DUCK!!!! Didn't Need any more seeds, but the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals sucked me in...except for the ones that required $50+ to spend for your discount. I have already Spent that for next season, since I started buying seeds in October of this year. The $bold is the regular price. And Yes, I realize that these are 2023 seeds.
It's been my experience that most 1yo seeds directly from the company have great viability.
Here are the orders:
SeedsNow Order, November 27, 2023--sometimes FREE SHIPPING can make all of the difference.
Order summary
Chamomile, Roman × 1
Sampler Pack (Appx. 250 seeds)
$1.50

Basil, Cinnamon (Mexican Basil) × 1
Sampler Pack (Appx. 50 Seeds)
$2.00

Carrot - Tendersweet, 7" Long × 1
Sampler Pack (Appx. 160 seeds)1,99
$1.00

Cauliflower - Violetta (Purple) × 1
Sampler Pack - $1.99
$1.00

Marjoram, Sweet × 1
Sampler Pack (Appx. 230 seeds) - $1.99
$1.00

Discount CYBER23

-$5.93
Subtotal

$6.50
Shipping

$5.93
Taxes
$0.00
Tip
$0.06
Total
$6.56 USD
You saved $5.93

 

[ducks4you]

Regarding St. Claire Seeds, powers that be are trying to cancel them for their vocal Christian beliefs, so I wanna help.
I didn't NEED any more carrot seeds, but I liked these, so I was willing to dish out the taxes to buy one more thing from them. They have advertised that NOW all seeds are fresh for 2024.

[Order #39426] (November 27, 2023)​

Product​	Quantity​	Price​
Carrot - Chantenay Red Core​	1​	$2.49​
Subtotal:​	$2.49​
Discount:​	-$0.50​
Shipping:​	$5.00 via USPS 1st Class​
Tax:​	$0.00​
Payment method:​	Credit card​
Total:​	$6.99​

 

[ducks4you]

Earlier this month I wanted lima beans and I found some herb nippers at Ferry Morse;

Order FM223890​
PRODUCT	SKU	PRICE​	QUANTITY​	TOTAL​
Ferry-Morse Home Gardening Carbon Steel Garden Snipping Scissors EXTRA20 (-$0.70)	H-SNIPPER-12	Regular price $3.49 Sale price $2.79​	1​	Regular price $3.49 Sale price $2.79​
Order FM223890​
​
		​	​	​
		​	​	​
Bean Seeds, Lima Fordhook Bush #242 EXTRA20 (-$0.43) Fulfilled November 10, 2023Track shipmentUSPS #9400111206216588562296	4076H	Regular price $2.19 Sale price $1.76​	1​	Regular price $2.19 Sale price $1.76​
Subtotal	$4.55​
Shipping ($7.99 Flat Rate Shipping)	$7.99​
Tax (Champaign County Tax 1.25%)	$0.15​
Tax (Illinois State Tax 6.25%)	$0.78​
Total	$13.47 USD​

 

[ducks4you]

I liked the nippers so much I ordered another pair for DD, the gardener.

ON THIS order, shipping and taxes really stung, BUT, it Is a Christmas present. Order FM224143​ Placed on November 16, 2023 at 10:07 pm Order FM224143 PRODUCT SKU PRICE QUANTITY TOTAL Ferry-Morse Home Gardening Carbon Steel Garden Snipping Scissors Fulfilled November 17, 2023Track shipmentUSPS #9400111206216922630469 H-SNIPPER-12 $3.49 1 $3.49 Subtotal $3.49 Discount -$0.34 Shipping ($7.99 Flat Rate Shipping) $7.99 Tax (Champaign County Tax 1.25%) $0.14 Tax (Illinois State Tax 6.25%) $0.70 Total $11.98 USD

 

[ducks4you]

I don't think that I will have much more to post from 2023.
This year I fell back on my knee physical therapy, at the gym 2x/week therapy, had a severe hive allergy (Downey Unstoppables are poison, IMHO!!!), and lost a LOT of time between being Mayor and being SICK and living on benedryl!!
Still, I got my tomatoes out, started from seed and ALL heirloom, learned a LOT about planting peppers, started from seed, learned that my 2 favorite ground covers are:
--oats
--turnips (Everybody sells discounted turnip seeds, mostly bc most people don't know how delicious they are!)
SO, you can buy your turnip seeds cheap, or save the seeds when they mature, bc they breed seeds like weeds!
I mastered a wildflower garden and, forgot to post, I managed to harvest over 100 Redbud seed pods 2 weeks ago. Boy, you touch them and they fall off of the limb, so I had to be quick. Some cold and snowy day this winter I will take them out of the damaged food saver container they are living in and remove the tiny seeds.
I planted a VERY late crop of pickling cucumbers and green beans, and still got a harvest.
I hope to plan out my indoor seed starting calendar for 2024. That starts in about a week...and so will my 2024 thread.
Any suggestions for names will be considered and appreciated.