I love the simplicity of roasting a stalk of Brussels sprouts, but in my experience here in Brookfield, VT, the grey aphids invaded so many of them that I spend hours cleaning before either blanching and freezing or cooking them. HOW DO YOU KEEP THE BUGS OUT?????
We either steam and butter them, or marinate in an olive oil+balsamic+soy+pomegranate molasses+black pepper then roast @ 425 till caramelized. Looking forward to your 50 ways to prepare B.S.!! Thanks for sharing that.
So I'm luck here, and I know that...but we very rarely have trouble with any type of garden pests. At least, in terms of bugs. We lose all manner of crops to deer breaking in, groundhogs and squirrels...oh the squirrels!
But bugs? Not so much.
My husband thinks it's because we have SO MUCH small fruit around, which promotes incredible song bird populations, and SO MANY nectary plants that promote beneficial insects. Ladybugs are everywhere, as are native pollinators...but we very rarely have any kind of "pest" bugs in the garden.
This year, the grey aphids did actually hit our brussels though. They got the bottom 5 or so on each plant, but that's it. This is the first year we've had any pest problems in our brussels though
Beautiful, impressive sprouts! I love them but have never had a crop look like that. This year they never sprouted and the greens went to feed my rabbits. Would love to learn more from you on growing, variety, etc.. we are in the north woods (Wisconsin) zone 3 . Thanks again for sharing your work. Always well written and helpful
These are a variety called Hestia. It's a hybrid, and I tried for years to grow heirlooms without success. This hybrid does amazingly well, so that's what we grow each year.
Love the post! We got our Brussel sprouts in late and they are still growing although I'm not sure how much more they will grow in the cold with less sunlight?
We still have cabbage, Brussel sprouts, beets and turnips in the garden. We have had a lot of cold nights, some cold days. We were thinking we needed to pull the beets before it gets too cold here in Kentucky. But, you are leaving your beets in the ground all winter. Does this mean they won't go bad if the ground freezes?
Do you know if turnips are the same? Our beets didn't do as well as the turnips and we don't have much space to put them if we pull them but don't want them to get pithy or woody if we leave them in the ground. Do you know if we could leave them until warmer days too?
In the past, I've left carrots, parsnips, onions and potatoes in the ground all winter and they were all spectacular in the spring (and dug sporatically in the winter too).
This is the first year I've left beets in the ground, just because I didn't get to them. Most of them mature in 60ish days, so I usually just make canned beets and pickled beets because they're done early. I've never actually tried to leave them in...and this year it was more or less by accident. Now I'm leaving them just to see how they do. I think they might get woody, but we'll see.
The other root crops (carrots, etc) are all great left in until April. Even potatoes do fine here that way.
I have a high tunnel (unheated greenhouse) here in central VA. Usually, I can count on salad greens from the beds in the tunnel all winter. This year, however, we had (or perhaps have) a greens thief. I’m thinking rabbit. I am not aiming to kill it, but I sure want to deny it any further chance at my greens, and maybe if there’s no goodies to be had it will go away. The planting beds are raised, with hard sides (concrete block ends, sides of recycled plastic decking boards two boards high). I am thinking about a piece of hardware cloth or chicken wire across the tops of the beds, held down with earth staples. I have enough of the wire to give it a try, anyway. This way, too, I should be able to put row cover on hoops over the whole thing for cold protection in the deepest parts of the winter.
If they just froze last night (or even in the last 48 hours), you can still process them down and preserve them. If they froze last week, they're probably already too far gone. Once they freeze, they start to spoil, but if you catch them quick you can preserve them.
I am working on sweet potatoes (purple & regular) this week, since they are readily available everywhere for a decent price. Dehydrating for stews and powders. Blanch & freeze, oven roasted then frozen. I get so much pleasure out of food preservation. I went on a last minute, 1 week road trip & had everything I needed for ALL my meals either in the freezer or dehydrated. It’s the first time in awhile I have been so proud of myself. All the preserving sure paid off on my trip.
I really enjoy these articles hearing how you take care of your future self. Thank you so much for all the hard work you do to get us more knowledgeable.
I just found the recipes and also found one for pressure canning beef short ribs, either raw pack or with liquid. Do you have a favorite way? I raw pack beef but am not sure with the ribs if its better to add liquid. Thanks.
You are so inspiring. Thank you for sharing your work with us.
You are quite welcome!
Love reading your posts…
Thank you!
I love the simplicity of roasting a stalk of Brussels sprouts, but in my experience here in Brookfield, VT, the grey aphids invaded so many of them that I spend hours cleaning before either blanching and freezing or cooking them. HOW DO YOU KEEP THE BUGS OUT?????
We either steam and butter them, or marinate in an olive oil+balsamic+soy+pomegranate molasses+black pepper then roast @ 425 till caramelized. Looking forward to your 50 ways to prepare B.S.!! Thanks for sharing that.
So I'm luck here, and I know that...but we very rarely have trouble with any type of garden pests. At least, in terms of bugs. We lose all manner of crops to deer breaking in, groundhogs and squirrels...oh the squirrels!
But bugs? Not so much.
My husband thinks it's because we have SO MUCH small fruit around, which promotes incredible song bird populations, and SO MANY nectary plants that promote beneficial insects. Ladybugs are everywhere, as are native pollinators...but we very rarely have any kind of "pest" bugs in the garden.
This year, the grey aphids did actually hit our brussels though. They got the bottom 5 or so on each plant, but that's it. This is the first year we've had any pest problems in our brussels though
same question! I've allmost given up on brussel sprouts and cabbage because the bugs devour most of it. OOh, pomegranate molasses, yum
Beautiful, impressive sprouts! I love them but have never had a crop look like that. This year they never sprouted and the greens went to feed my rabbits. Would love to learn more from you on growing, variety, etc.. we are in the north woods (Wisconsin) zone 3 . Thanks again for sharing your work. Always well written and helpful
These are a variety called Hestia. It's a hybrid, and I tried for years to grow heirlooms without success. This hybrid does amazingly well, so that's what we grow each year.
Love the post! We got our Brussel sprouts in late and they are still growing although I'm not sure how much more they will grow in the cold with less sunlight?
We still have cabbage, Brussel sprouts, beets and turnips in the garden. We have had a lot of cold nights, some cold days. We were thinking we needed to pull the beets before it gets too cold here in Kentucky. But, you are leaving your beets in the ground all winter. Does this mean they won't go bad if the ground freezes?
Do you know if turnips are the same? Our beets didn't do as well as the turnips and we don't have much space to put them if we pull them but don't want them to get pithy or woody if we leave them in the ground. Do you know if we could leave them until warmer days too?
In the past, I've left carrots, parsnips, onions and potatoes in the ground all winter and they were all spectacular in the spring (and dug sporatically in the winter too).
This is the first year I've left beets in the ground, just because I didn't get to them. Most of them mature in 60ish days, so I usually just make canned beets and pickled beets because they're done early. I've never actually tried to leave them in...and this year it was more or less by accident. Now I'm leaving them just to see how they do. I think they might get woody, but we'll see.
The other root crops (carrots, etc) are all great left in until April. Even potatoes do fine here that way.
We love roasted brussel sprouts! I think they should get added to the grow list. 😁
Yum!
My calendula is still blooming and I'm collecting the flowers to dry.
That's kind of amazing! Ours lasted well past first frost, but didn't make it through that last cold snap. Enjoy it while they last!
I have a high tunnel (unheated greenhouse) here in central VA. Usually, I can count on salad greens from the beds in the tunnel all winter. This year, however, we had (or perhaps have) a greens thief. I’m thinking rabbit. I am not aiming to kill it, but I sure want to deny it any further chance at my greens, and maybe if there’s no goodies to be had it will go away. The planting beds are raised, with hard sides (concrete block ends, sides of recycled plastic decking boards two boards high). I am thinking about a piece of hardware cloth or chicken wire across the tops of the beds, held down with earth staples. I have enough of the wire to give it a try, anyway. This way, too, I should be able to put row cover on hoops over the whole thing for cold protection in the deepest parts of the winter.
Hello!
I can’t figure out where to ask a question. So here goes
several of my pie pumpkins froze overnight. Can I still bake them down and then freeze the pumpkin? Or are they a loss?
If they just froze last night (or even in the last 48 hours), you can still process them down and preserve them. If they froze last week, they're probably already too far gone. Once they freeze, they start to spoil, but if you catch them quick you can preserve them.
I am working on sweet potatoes (purple & regular) this week, since they are readily available everywhere for a decent price. Dehydrating for stews and powders. Blanch & freeze, oven roasted then frozen. I get so much pleasure out of food preservation. I went on a last minute, 1 week road trip & had everything I needed for ALL my meals either in the freezer or dehydrated. It’s the first time in awhile I have been so proud of myself. All the preserving sure paid off on my trip.
I really enjoy these articles hearing how you take care of your future self. Thank you so much for all the hard work you do to get us more knowledgeable.
I just found the recipes and also found one for pressure canning beef short ribs, either raw pack or with liquid. Do you have a favorite way? I raw pack beef but am not sure with the ribs if its better to add liquid. Thanks.
Where can I find your recipe for pulled pork ribs? And the black bean soup? Both sound yummy?
They are so good that way!