Tales from Easement Acres
Every year there’s one, usually either a beefsteak or a brandywine. An early fruit, if unmolested by wildlife, will eventually become the largest of the season. Here are the winners from past years (it would not appear that I documented them all):
2017: Undefined
2019: 24.8oz
2021: 16.8oz
2023: 19.3oz
2024: 14.2oz
2019 still holds the record.
And pushing its way into 3rd place, muscling out 2021, is 2025! Yay!
2025: 17.2oz
Not epic, but categorically glorious.
–Simon
Supplementing the family diet with the victory garden.
–Simon
What do second stage ethanol fermentation and metabolic detoxification have in common?
Vinegar! Acetic acid. Good for excreting into the toilet and preserving produce. Except probably don’t use urine for the produce part. Too many other things in that for a good pickling medium.
Fortunately, it’s easier to just buy vinegar than to rely on the above in-home methods of production. And much easier than attempting the lactic acid route (though I’ll totally try that one day). But for now, it’s refrigerator pickles, sans-Orléan method. Standard grocery store vinegar for this one. Here’s the recipe I used:
Seems a tad sweet, but I’ll give it a week to settle and adjust accordingly.
We have cucumbers (there’s an abundance from the garden right now and the kid wanted to make some after learning about it at summer camp), serrano peppers, and red onions. So far, the red onions are pretty good. One of the most ridiculously up-charged items to buy, by the way. More street tacos in the future!
We can, indeed pickle that.
–Simon
The produce is coming, the produce is coming!
Yayy!
–Simon
Woe to the rhubarb that lacks its brilliant hue/
The visual allure for folks like me and you.
Yes, my rhubarb was most green in color – apparently due to a lack of anthocyanin. Dear God!
Fortunately, following my soil test and subsequent amendments, the problem appears to have been resolved; once I increased available levels of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, and iron. Actually that was a happy accident, since I was more concerned with tomato production. But I won’t beat a dead gift horse on the mouth. Here’s our most recent harvest:
Brilliant!
–Simon