There are all kinds of things I can't grow here in this climate, like corn, tomatoes, watermelon, etc. But there are also things that love it here. Like beets! I love beets too, so this works well. I planted several varieties including the standard dark red beets, as well as golden and these candy cane striped ones. Some of them ended up growing huge! You can see below that one is larger than my hand. And still incredibly sweet and tender. I think all the different colors are fun to see. We've been eating a bunch of them fresh, but hopefully next week I will be pickling and canning a bunch more to save for winter.
And then I made up a batch of salsa, thanks to driving by a farmers market a few hours from here where they can grow things like tomatoes and peppers. So I bought all their seconds, chopped them up, and ended up with this big tasty batch! We'll eat some of it fresh and freeze more for later.
Is your growing season too short for corn and tomatoes? Wow, you are far north! I grew up in Vermont and even we could grow tomatoes and one harvest of corn. I do love beets. Do you know someone with a vacuum sealer? They are great just peeled, roasted and vacuum sealed. Hold their firm-ess where canning can make them a bit mushy.
ReplyDeleteYes it sure is. Officially, we only have one week between first and last frost dates. But it happened to freeze for two days of that week this summer anyway. ;) Just the challenges of living in this climate and wanting to grow things. I do have a good friend with a vacuum sealer and have used it for several things. If I can grow more beets next year, I probably will try to freeze some. I love pickled beets so I did a lot of them and we ate so many fresh, that I don't have any extra this year. How long do you roast them before freezing?
DeleteAriel,
ReplyDeleteThe shell of my house is done. Email me at michellelamerato@gmail.com if you would like to see pics.
Congrats! I just did.
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