Joe

A campfire, a cocktail, a warm summer night with a slight cool breeze watching a storm in the distance roll past. This is all I need. #illinois #weather

Pour water out into small bowl, add the salt and mix. Pour back in jar, place ferment weight on top. Cover and you have pickles in about 5 days.

I do mostly pickles and hot peppers for hot sauces. Pickles you pack a quart jar full of cukes, dill, peppercorns, garlic, whatever else you want to put in. Fill with water 1/2” from top. Weigh everything in grams, minus jar weight. Multiply that by 2% and that’s how much salt to add.

I love that!

Red kuri squash plant

Red kuri squash pant grown vertically.

I will never not be amazed at how fast squash plants grow. I’d love to set up a time-lapse shoot sometime to record over several weeks time. I hack off a rogue 6’ vine almost every day to keep things tidy and workable. Photos are roughly 3 weeks apart. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #squash #garden

Perfect time to try a ferment. No need for vinegar. Just need non-additive salt and water.

It doesn’t matter how much it costs to garden. It’s a hell of a lot of cheaper than therapy. 🌱 #gardeningfeed

Large Green oxheart tomato.

Look at the size of it! Going to have to weigh this monster when it gets ripe. 🌱 #gardeningfeed

Monarch butterfly on zinnia flower.

Monarch approves of my zinnias. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #butterfly

Swalllowtail caterpillar

This big boy is ready to be a beautiful butterfly. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #caterpillar

Not sure what that is. 🤔 a scarab of some kind possibly.

Squash bugs How to identify squash bugs

They are destructive little assholes. They feed on cucurbit plant saps, reducing yields and killing them off if large enough infestations. extension.umn.edu/fruit-and-ve...

Squash bug eggs on leaf

Not today, jerks! This is why checking your garden multiple times a day is a good habit. Found 3 squash bug egg clusters today. 🌱 #gardeningfeed

Well shit! Partner had jury duty this morning and just got picked for a murder trial. I feel so bad for him 😩 #chicago #fml

Garden kitty aka “big balls”, has a built in bubbler with my irrigation. We call him big balls because, well he looks like he’s carrying a sack with two large potatoes in it. 😆 🌱 #gardeningfeed #cat

When it comes to preserving tomatoes, are you a canner or a freezer? I kind of do both but probably freeze more because it is so much less time consuming. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #canning

I think you’re on to something there.

Dill pickle hot sauce recipe.

I love dill pickles and I love hot sauce. I’m not sure I’d be a fan of dilly hot sauce though. Could be good on a burger 🤔 yay or nay? 🍽️ #recipe #hotsauce

Do you have a favorite flower support? I really need to get something to keep my gladiolus and black eyed Susan’s from flopping over every year. Just ignore all the bindweed/morning glories, I’m losing that battle 😩🌱 #gardeningfeed

I’d have to see if there’s a free service around here, because there’s 5 of them. 😳

These garden kitties are gonna eat me out of house and home! Every time I go out to the garden they beg for more food. Now I know what it’s like to have teenagers. 🌱 #cats #gardeningfeed

…or this weekend I mean.

The mid 70s next week is gonna feel like fall and be perfect for catching up on tidying up the garden. 🤞

The most prolific question I see asked every year is “when can I pick this cucumber?”. Well, you can never pick a cuke too early. It’s actually my preference to harvest them younger, cause I hate large seedy cukes. They taste better too IMO. You can however pick one too late. 🌱 #gardeningfeed

Putting this on my list of “to try”. 👍

That adorable little jerk!!

English cucumber.

Cucumbers being fermented

Well if that isn’t the most perfect cucumber that I’ve ever grown. These are Telegraph English cukes that I switched to this season and they’re doing really good. Currently #fermenting a batch to see how they are as pickles. 🌱 #gardeningfeed

Now I just have to hope the asshole squirrels don’t figure that out. 🫣

Red kuri squash fruit.

Baby red kuri squash. Not sure if it got pollinated or not yet. Should know in a couple days.🤞This is a new variety for me, so I’m really looking forward to see how it tastes this fall. 🌱 #gardeningfeed

Hornworm caterpillar on tomato leaf.

This is why I check my garden at least 20 times a day. It’s a shame their caterpillar stage is so destructive, because the moth is so damn cool. 🌱 #gardeningfeed