Gardens Home & Garden

Off topic. @Toedtoes. Thanks for being persistent and chasing off the person whose name I will not say. Same too @Malka

Thanks. Hopefully they are truly gone.

Well my garden is blooming. The poker plants have already done their first blooms. The lion's tails are in full pride mode (pun intended):


The fuchsias are starting their blooms too:


I tasted my first Loch Ness blackberry - yum! It was sweet but firm with a bit of tartness to it. I can't wait until they are really producing in a year or two. There are several more berries ripening on both the Loch Ness and the Chester.

And my plums are starting to ripen up:


I have enough there to cold pickle about six or seven 8 ounce jars. I'm going to try these small batches to see what works. I will try the following flavor brines:

1. Citrus champagne vinegar
2. Honey white balsamic vinegar
3. Sicilian lemon vinegar with mint
4. Apple cider vinegar with star anise, cinnamon, cardamom and pink peppercorn
5. White wine vinegar with coriander, orange peel and nutmeg
6. White vinegar with mustard seed, dill seed and garlic

If that goes well this week, I'm going to expand on what I like introducing additional flavors and different fruits and veggies from the farmer's market. I really want to try cherry tomatoes in cucumber melon balsamic vinegar with juniper berries. And of course, I will do some dill pickles.

I did my first batch of pickling!

#5


#4


#6


And #3 with a change from sicilian lemon balsamic vinegar to blood orange balsamic vinegar


And all lined up


I'm going to have some folks taste test in a few days after they've pickled good and long.