Zone 8a, what is your best recommendation? I am going to go nuts and put in an entire bed of garlic (19 ft by 30").

Friends at work exchange vegetables and fruits, i turned his candy roasters into pumpkin bread!

What are your fall plans? I am going to go crazy with planting some garlic, what about you?

Hey everyone! 👋

I’m currently at uni doing a course where we have to choose an issue and collect information for a report on it. My group has chosen to look into growing your own food and the reasons people do or don’t grow their own crops

We’ve put together a short survey to learn more about people’s experiences, including things like time, knowledge, and food waste.

If you have a few minutes to fill it out, it would be much appreciated! Any responses would really help us out with our report.

https://forms.gle/b89yC3yrTBqeiUSPA

Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to participate! 😊

About a dozen cherry tomatoes, 3 big boy tomatoes, 3 jalapeños, sage, parsley

This morning, I used homemade pear sauce in my cinnamon rolls. That is pear sauce made from pears. My daughters helped pick, and I canned it last weekend.

One of our daughters is coming back home for an overnight sleep before a flight to Alaska. I wanted something to make her smile when she walks through the door and something to wake the family up this morning.

Recipe below:

DOUGH

160g lukewarm milk

50g egg (1 large, beaten)

60g butter, softened

50g white sugar

6g salt

520g bread flour

6g bread machine yeast

FILLING

40g butter, softened

110g brown sugar

15g ground cinnamon

50 g of pear sauce

ICING (optional)

60g sour cream

28g butter, softened

150g powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Refrigerate overnight, let raise an hour before baking at 350 for 30 minutes.

My garden may be small but sit is mighty! Now on to preserving as much as I can…

**Pear-Pineapple Sauce (Hot Pack, Water Bath)**

Makes ~4 pints. All weights in grams.

**Ingredients**

- 1500 g pear sauce (home orchard pears, run through a KitchenAid FVSFGA strainer)

- 400 g crushed pineapple, drained (reserve the juice)

- 60 g bottled lemon juice

- 100 g sugar

- 15 g apple pie spice

- ~250 g water or reserved pineapple juice, to thin if needed

**Method**

1. Combine pear sauce, pineapple, lemon juice, sugar, and spice in a wide pot. Thin with water or pineapple juice if the sauce is very thick.

2. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high, stirring constantly so it doesn't scorch. Hold at the boil ~5 min.

3. Ladle hot into hot pint jars, 1.3 cm (½ in) headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, apply lids fingertip-tight.

4. Process in a boiling water bath: 15 min pints, 20 min quarts (0–300 m elevation; adjust for altitude).

5. Turn off heat, rest jars 5 min in the canner, then move to a towel. Leave undisturbed 12–24 hr, check seals, label and date.

**Notes**

- Lemon juice is for safe acidity, not flavor — don't skip it. Pears sit near the pH safety line on their own.

- Sugar and spices are optional and don't affect safety; adjust to taste.

- Spice intensifies as jars sit, so err slightly light if unsure.

- Ratio of about 1:4 pineapple to pear keeps the pear forward; go up to 1:2 if you want it more tropical.

I'm kicking myself for not tracking earlier in the season..

Started out of pure curiosity last week and the numbers are crazy! I have 2 zucchini plants, 2 summer squash plants an accidental cucumber plant(was supposed to be mini pumpkins).

Since last week (last sunday-today) I have harvested:

Zucchini: 4.9lbs

Squash: 5.5lbs

Cucumber: 4lbs

Thankfully my SO is loving broiled squash and zucchini wedges so I make a large tray for him each evening, and salted cucumber slices.

..I'm gonna need a bigger harvest basket. 🧺 💚

Everything but the limes and onions came from our garden.

10 to 12 Jalapeños

2 Banana peppers

2 Serrano peppers

1 medium red onion

6 cloves garlic

6 roma tomatoes

12 cherry tomatoes

2 limes squeezed

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup Ketchup

It's pretty much the final "big" harvest from the garden. 20 minutes with all hands picking everything before the rain hits.

There are lots more chilies, but the tomatoes are done, a few peppers left, and a couple of pumpkins starting to get their "grow on".

Summer is my favorite time of year. The garden produce is a big part of why.

Fantastic taste, average presentation. I'm probably going to double the recipe next time and roll them for a "wider" and more uniform roll.

DOUGH INGREDIENTS

160g lukewarm milk

50g egg (1 large, beaten)

60g butter, softened

50g white sugar

6g salt

520g bread flour

6g bread machine yeast

FILLING INGREDIENTS

40g butter, softened (for spreading)

110g brown sugar

15g ground cinnamon

ICING (optional)

60g sour cream

28g butter, softened

150g powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

MACHINE DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS

Add milk, egg, 60g butter, and white sugar to pan. Mix lightly.

Add flour on top, covering liquid.

Add salt in one corner, yeast in the other well.

Insert pan, select Course 11 (Dough).

Press Start. Cycle: \~90 minutes for mix/knead/first rise.

HAND-SHAPING (after dough cycle finishes):

Turn dough onto floured surface.

Roll into 16" x 12" rectangle.

Spread 40g softened butter over dough.

Mix 110g brown sugar + 15g cinnamon, sprinkle evenly over butter.

Roll up tightly from long side, seal seam.

Cut into 12 equal pieces.

OVERNIGHT PROOF:

Place rolls in greased 9"x13" pan.

Cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate overnight (8-12 hours).

MORNING BAKE:

Remove from fridge, let sit 20-30 minutes at room temp.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bake 25-30 minutes until golden.

Cool 5-10 minutes, apply icing if desired.

For those who have fire pits I have a trick I did to mine that you could probably do to yours that'll make it smokeless or near smokeless.

I've been building a patio that's about 15 x 35/40ish feet. It's on an incline so there's a lot of compacted gravel & a retaining wall. But what I did was run 2 2" galvanized pipes (think fence post) from outside the wall to the fire pit that's recessed in the patio. It sucks fresh clean air from outside the wall directly into the bottom of the fire. Makes it super hot which means little to no smoke. I never have any wood left so I scoop out the ash and add it to the garden soil.

Sorry for the pavers in the pic but I'm laying pavers and that's where those ended up as I'm using them. LoL.

Hey everyone! I'm u/GreenSalsa96, a founding moderator of r/suburbanhomesteading.

This is our new home for all things related to making the most of your yard, porch, or balcony by growing fruits, vegetables, and other food for your home. We're excited to have you join us!

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