The 2010 Harvest is Done

 Tomatoes and Applesauce galore!

Isn't it amazing that what's in this photo turned into lots of what's in the photo above?

Whew!  It's all in.  The garden is cleaned out and put to sleep.  (OK, almost cleaned out.  We've still got some lettuces, kale and carrots which are still chugging away out there.) 

If you've read the Little Farm from time to time over this past spring and summer, you know it hasn't been the best year for growing things in our neck of the woods.  Lots of rain...lots and lots.  The Farm is also basically located on what used to be swamp which means it's one low lying piece of ground.  This is great in years which are dry, but not so good in years like the one we've just had.

Our harvests weren't as big this year, but we're thankful to our Provider for all we did get.  Thinking about it all makes me in the mood for Thanksgiving. 

Dilly beans, pie filling, various jellies and salsas and the cereal stockpile.

Here's what we've canned, frozen or otherwise stored in our basement:

20 pints strawberry jam
1 gallons of whole strawberries
80 cups of shredded zucchini
82 cups of green beans
15 quarts of dilly beans
30 cups of corn
8 cups of kale
15 quarts of salsa
10 quarts of Italian tomatoes
10 quarts of Mexican tomatoes
18 quarts of diced tomatoes
3 gallons of roasted tomatoes - frozen
2 gallons of whole tomatoes - frozen
30 quarts of tomato soup
35 quarts of apple sauce
22 quarts of apple pie filling
9 pints apple butter
48 cups sliced apples - frozen
3.5 quarts of pears
7 pints corn relish
5 pints tomatillo salsa
1 gallon ziploc full of cubes of pesto
1/2 gallon of fresh basil frozen in ice cubes
10 pounds of purple potatoes - they are really cool!

Here is what we ate fresh all summer:
tomatoes
cucumbers
zucchini
peppers - not too many of these
fresh salsa (I have dreams about this stuff!)
corn
green beans
mixed greens - arugula, lettuces, spinach, etc.
egg plant
carrots
cabbage
broccoli
various herbs
sugar snap peas
swiss chard -not much
kale
rhubarb - not much

Please know we didn't actually grow ALL of the above.  The corn and apples were given to us and we bought about 2 1/2 bushels of tomatoes.  We did do all of the processing once these things got into our house.  Didn't want to mislead anyone...

Oh yes, one more thing I don't think I've mentioned.  We live in a home built in the 1870's, thus the basement with walls made from river stone.  When we initially looked at the house and saw the basement walls and the gigantic hand hewn beams which form the basement ceiling, I was a bit nervous.  After all, we were from California and this house wasn't screaming "Earthquake Proof" to me.  The Big Guy assured me this house would be standing for a LONG time and gently reminded me we weren't in CA anymore.

But back to what I was saying...  The basement is not the prettiest part of our house, but it does the job.  I'm really letting you all see the good, the bad and the UGLY now.  Maybe someday I'll post photos of The Closet of Chaos...maybe.