August 17
Beet Season

Over a long weekend, I have managed to "find" my garden! Through the tall and short weeds, I have located the cabbage and cauliflower, which have now been turned into sauerkraut and frozen cauliflower ready for soup. I have always hesitated on making sauerkraut, however, my abundance of cabbage made it necessary to explore making it. Fortunately, a customer shared her recipe for it, which sounded too easy not to try. I'm looking forward to Labor Day, when my kraut should be ready for bratwurst. The sweet corn is getting bigger every day, and I am hoping the raccoons do not find it! The neighbors have their half acre of sweet corn surrounded by an electric fence. I have not invested the time or money into that, so we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I am excited to report no animals have found my beets. Thank goodness! I love my pickled beets! There are three crops of beets in the garden, and they get the most attention out of all the veggies out there. The canning and pickling of beets has begun! They are absolutely delicious and very easy to make. I simmer peeled beets with a simple brine of vinegar, water, cinnamon, cloves and sugar. Then it is into jars and a hot water bath. It is so easy to pickle beets and worth the red hands. If you have never worked with beets, they can cause everything to temporarily turn red. Don't worry about the red, the taste is well worth it! In a few days, I'll be making leek soup, as the crop is bountiful!

Let me know if you have any questions or comments on your garden.
I can be reached at wajasper@sargentsgardens.com

Happy Gardening!
Wendy Jasper
MNLA Certified Professional

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