Winter activities

Ever wonder what we do in the winter in the Backyard Garden? It's much the same as the summer but on a smaller scale. Westin, our youngest son, gave us a book on canning for Christmas which is full of exciting recipes. Of course we found several we wanted to try. First in line is Habanero Pickled Onions. We picked a half dozen of our overwintered habaneros, bought some onions, pulled out the canner and we were ready to go.
See the pictures below. 
We also discovered our first broccoli ready to pick. Both look good, can't wait to try them!
Happy New Year!!

December

This time of year, we are busy selling what we have created out of our backyard garden. It's always exciting watching our customers react with joy after tasting some of our new creations. Thanks so much for supporting us in this endeavour. 
The weather has been cold and wet but we are also overwintering about a dozen pepper plants protecting them from the frosts. Plus we are growing mustard greens and carrots in the garden.
Good eating for sure.

First freeze is in the forecast

We moved from the heat of the summer, to the cool of October, to the cold of November.
We always love the cooler temperatures, as do the peppers and okra, but it's always sad to see the growing season come to an end. Now the task is figuring out which plants to overwinter and which to leave to the freezing temperatures. We'll pick everything that's out there, including the kiwis which is always exciting because we pick those once a year. We picked close to 400 last year and this year should be another bountiful harvest too.

Deer Festival

We had a blast at the Deer festival on Saturday. We had our best day ever and there had to be 2000 people in attendance. We were so busy at times we barely had time to check out the other 150 booths. It was a long day, wake up time was 4AM to start setting up at 530AM. We ended up getting home around 630PM. 
Special thanks to Mandy Tanner of the Chamber of Commerce who must have been everywhere that day because everything was organized perfectly and went very smoothly.
While this was our last out of town event for the year, we are still open for business and are actively filling Holiday orders from regular customers, friends and coworkers. We have added new items to the products we sell too.
Just click on the tab on the right side of the blog and email me what you'd like.
EAT LOCAL!

Preparing for the Deer Festival in Monticello

We are in full steam ahead mode preparing for the Deer Festival in Monticello this Saturday. It's on the historic square from 8AM -5PM. We'll be there fully stocked with jams, jellies and pepper sauces. If you are in the area we'd love to see you again.

What to do with 60 habaneros?

No really what can we do with 60 habaneros?
We'll obviously take some to the Deer Festival but we're open for suggestions. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, we want to move these fast!!

Beneficial rain but not for the market

Finally some beneficial rain for us but unfortunately we were rained out of the Monticello market🙁. We were looking forward to seeing our market friends and trying out some new products. Not a problem though, as we will begin focusing our energies on the upcoming Deer festival in Monticello on November 2nd. 🦌
Today we'll use the extra time to process more jams, jellies and sauces.
Check out the link to our deer festival page.

Tomatoes?

It's definitely been a different kind of garden year with the heat and lack of rainfall. In fact, we are still picking cherry tomatoes and also have several tennis ball size tomatoes ready to pick this week. We've never picked this many tomatoes this late in the growing season. They're not the big ones we're used to in the summer but we still love picking them and they taste great!!
Hope to see you at the market Saturday.

 

Just Announced Fall Market on the Square

Just announced, Fall Market on the square in Monticello, Saturday, October 19th from 8:00-12:00, and of course, we are excited to take part in the Fall Market.
Since our last market in September, we have been busy creating new items including pepper sauce, pickled okra and what we call Christmas Jam. This mixture of strawberries and cranberries is perfect for stocking stuffers or Christmas gifts to the neighbors and friends. 🎄🎅
Hope to see you there!!!

Woohoo, we just completed our first season of farmers markets, Fridays and Saturdays, and we had a blast meeting all of  you. It's the kind of experience that had us asking ourselves "why didn't we do this sooner"?
Even though the market season has ended, we are still available for your sweet, savory and pickled needs. Several of you have already reached out to us, for ways to purchase your favorite items even though the markets are closed. Simple solution- at your convenience, email me and we'll be happy to deliver you what you need.
We may also be doing another market in Monticello, on October 19th.  Hopefully, the weather will have cooled and you can be thinking about your holiday gift giving needs.  Check out the website for details.
We will definitely be selling at the Deer Festival in Monticello, on November 2nd. We've heard what a great event it is and we can't wait to be a part of it.

Last weekend of Markets!

Don't forget to stock up on all your jams and jellies this weekend as we approach the last market weekend of the year.
We have fresh supplies of everything and a variety of fresh produce.
Hope to see you this weekend!!
If you can't make it just email me and we can help you out  for sure.

A busy weekend

This was a typical day in the kitchen for us. Pear Preserves         (Thanks Joe Mac.) pickles and pickled okra. A tiring day but very satisfying!

Pepper time

We really love peppers and grow everything from Habanero to Sweet Banana Peppers. We make our unique jams and jellies but also make pepper sauce for our winter greens. We roast peppers in the oven or grill. Most of our peppers will continue producing until the first frost and a few have overwintered and are producing for the second year in a row.
** Don't forget last markets of the season Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28.
Come out and replenish your supplies, we'd love to see you! 

 

 

A nice weekend harvest

We had a very nice weekend harvest of hot bananas, bell peppers and okra.
We will certainly enjoy eating these during the next week but are also busy replenishing our stock of produce so you can enjoy them too.  Pepper Jelly.....Pickled Okra.....Pickled Hot Bananas!

The markets are drawing to a close

Another good weekend at the markets, it's hard to believe this adventure that started in May has only 4 days left, two Fridays in Forsyth and two Saturdays in Monticello.
We've made so many friends and heard so many stories, the experience has been priceless!
With that being said, we hope you plan on visiting us in those remaining four days to stock up on your favorites or try something new like our Apple Pie Jam or Pickled Okra. Both are limited in quantity and will sell fast. 
We hope you continue to access this website for updates and communicate with us about how we can help you with your holiday gift giving needs. We are here for you.
Need a stocking stuffer gift, we can do that. Need a unique gift for a neighbor, employee or boss, we can do that too.

September

September is here and eventually the cool fall breezes will arrive as well. Looking at 97-99 the next week  makes it challenging for our plants.
Today we canned over 20 Piccalilli Relishes (chow chow), 10 loaves of Zucchini Bread, 15 Pear Preserves, and Pickled Okra. It was a busy evening preparing for the markets this weekend to say the least.
Sadly, the Forsyth and Monticello Markets will end the last weekend of the month. We have always experienced a brisk business in the Fall as the holiday season approaches. We hope our new friends stay in touch/call on us to help for their holiday needs such as gift giving and entertaining. Jams and Jellies are great for stocking stuffers/eating during family gatherings. 
Just check over on the right side of this page the list of items available. Think of your future holiday get togethers and let us supply the jam and jelly or pickled item.
Email gkosater@gmail.com

See you at the markets, eat local!

New Items- Pepper Sauce, Pear preserves and Piccalilli Relish

Here at Backyard Garden Creations, we are always looking for suggestions and new ideas of what we can grow and then create for you. We had several requests early in the Spring about pepper sauce and relishes. Next week, we will bring to the markets Cayenne Pepper Sauce and Piccalilli Relish. Piccalilli is the English cousin to Chow Chow. We used our peppers, green tomatoes and herbs to create these new offerings. Pepper sauce, of course, is great on the greens that will be arriving in the Fall. Piccalilli Relish is great on burgers and sandwiches but also goes well with vegetables. Come out and visit next weekend if you are in the area. EAT LOCAL!

 

Peppers are in abundance

As you can see the peppers are still producing at a high level. Today we picked an abundance of bell peppers, cubanelles, hot bananas, jalapenos, and marconis. We also picked okra, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and we are still picking figs. All of this after selling a good amount of produce at the markets this weekend. The summer harvest just keeps moving forward.

Gearing up for the Markets

Our vegetables are doing well despite the heat. This week, we will bring to the markets,  sweet banana peppers, lunch box peppers, okra, bell peppers, fig bread and zucchini bread. We still have a good supply of figs and zucchini but it is starting to dwindle.This week we are cutting back on the supply of both breads to ensure we'll have product in the coming weeks. If you'd like, we can always save one for you, just email me and let me know.
Eat Local!

What's for dinner?

We like growing and sharing what our garden gives us but our favorite activity is eating what we grow. Whether it be a fresh tomato sandwich or a tray of tasty roasted vegetables, this is definitely our favorite time of the year. Plus it's healthy to grow your own produce.
Check out the okra, peppers and other veggies we roasted last night. Delicious and easy to prepare!
The markets were outstanding as always. We enjoy meeting new friends and talking about food and the growing process.

Hot but still picking

With heat indexes in the 105 range, the vegetables are struggling a bit and they need constant (it seems) care. However, we are still picking ample amounts of peppers and okra. As always, we are thinking ahead to the next season of planting and are beginning to prep beds for the upcoming fall crop.
The markets were great this weekend. Always good to visit with regular customers and meet new people as well.  We are already busy gearing up for next week. The support from repeat customers is really appreciated. We look forward to those who walk to our booth and begin conversations like we've been friends forever. Definitely a favorite part of the adventure.
See you soon!!

Prepping for the markets

This week we will have a variety of small batch homegrown produce including banana peppers, hot banana peppers, lunchbox peppers, shishito peppers and okra for sale along with our tasty jams and jellies.
We are also bringing zucchini bread and fig bread. Email me if you want to reserve a loaf of bread or any of our jellies and jams. Hope to see you there! Eat Local!!

A walk through the garden produces......

Thought I'd show you what we picked during a short stroll through the garden the other day.
Though the big tomatoes are winding down, we have several varieties of cherry tomatoes that are still producing. Also, the peppers, including the jalapeños, are just beginning their peak season.

New product alert- Habanero Apricot Jam

At the request of several customers, we planted two Habanero Pepper plants in May. It's the first time we've grown them as Habaneros are usually a bit above the heat scale for most of us. We found a recipe we wanted to try......Habanero Apricot Jam and it was absolutely delicious! 
Hopefully you won't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and give it a taste. Although it still has the quick bite of a habanero the bark is lessened by the sweetness of the apricots and red bell pepper. 

Think cream cheese on a cracker...... YUM!

For this week's markets we will bring a variety of peppers, eggplant and okra all fresh picked. We will have limited supply of the popular Zucchini Bread and Applesauce Fig Bread. Email us if you want us to save a loaf for pick-up. Plus, we do have Vanilla Pear Jam available again as well. 

Tomato Jam

As you can see from the picture below, we are busy turning tomatoes into the delicious and savory tomato jam.
The small batch approach allows us to use our tomatoes during the short "summer window" to produce just enough for us to enjoy and share with others. After the summer season, we'll begin the transition towards other fall crops. Presently though, it's important for us to create a supply so we can fulfill your orders now and in the future.
Both markets in Monticello and Forsyth were outstanding.
We sold out of both of our breads- zucchini bread and applesauce fig bread. We'll have more supply for you next week for sure.

Late July Harvests

Late July harvests are slowing a bit but there's still a good supply of some vegetables. As the summer crops fade, we are already planning with the fall season in mind.
We'll attend the markets this weekend and will feature a variety of peppers including lunchbox and habaneros along with okra, eggplant and fresh picked figs. We'll also have a limited supply of our ever popular Zucchini Bread and a new item.... Applesauce Fig Bread. It's delicious!!!
Those of you who requested special orders, we'll have your orders ready for pick-up when you arrive at the market. Thanks for ordering ahead of time. We appreciate your support.

Monticello market

We had a great day at the Forsyth Market despite being one of only two vendors and closing early to miss the rain. We'll be in Monticello Saturday with Habanero Peppers, Hot Banana Peppers, Bell Peppers and eggplant. Plus our jams and jellies are in full season..... especially the addition of our Whole Fig Preserves and Bourbon Fig Jelly. We sold out of zucchini bread today but are rushing home now to bake a couple of loaves for tomorrow (Monticello). 

See you there!

Markets and special orders

It was another great week at the markets last week. We sold out of several items including banana peppers, tomato jam and zucchini bread. Don't worry as we are hard at work creating more product. Many of our customers were repeat business and we definitely appreciate the support.
Figs are being picked now and they are in abundance as you can see from the pic below. I know many of you, at both markets, were looking for whole fig preserves. Good news, we will have them in limited supply at both markets this week. 
Also, way to go Susan! She emailed Peggy earlier today to request four jars of our fig preserves. Susan waits patiently all season for figs to appear. That's the best way to ensure you won't miss out! 
You can always shoot me an email or respond to the blog post if you need a special order. We love filling special orders when possible. Remember....we are small batch so at times a popular item can go fast.

New products

We have a new jam to share with you and some favorites possible with the harvest of the figs. We created "Georgia Peach Cobbler Jam" based on an old family recipe.   It's peachy delicious! Also, the Strawberry Fig Jam is back as is the Corn Cob Jelly. We will have a variety of peppers and green beans as well as our popular finishing salts.
Stop by if you're in the neighborhood. We would love to talk gardening, jellies or even the weather.

 

Are you ready for some strawberry fig jam?

As you can see below, the fig harvest is beginning. We picked 25 today and there are more on the way. Strawberry Fig Jam, Whole Fig Preserves and Fig Jelly are our most popular items. We enjoy eating them over a variety of desserts.

Vegetables for the Market

Here's just a few of the vegetables we'll bring to the Market on the Square in Monticello Saturday.

Now that's a tomato sandwich

Our first real tomato sandwich of the season.

Also, we will attend the markets in Forsyth and Monticello this weekend. Of course we'll have our jams, jellies and relishes but we'll also have our popular zucchini bread. Be sure to ask us about the new products we created this week.

Produce wise it looks like a variety of peppers,  jalapenos, lunch box, cubanelles, marconi,  sweet and hot bananas and fresh picked blue lake green beans. Egg plant will be there for the Monticello market too. We'd love to see you if you're in the area.

Tomato Jam is back

The tomatoes are being picked every day and with that Tomato Jam has returned! This jam has a savory but sweet taste and is suitable for burgers, sandwiches and as a substitute for BBQ sauce. Processing takes over three hours to bring out maximum flavors and we have created two batches for you this week. Hope you enjoy!

Brandywine Heirloom

Heirloom tomatoes are more difficult to grow than the newer hybrids but every year we plant them in hopes of this occurring.
A Brandywine heirloom weighing in at 19.5 ounces, over a pound and there are more hanging on the vine! I hear a tomato sandwich calling. On the other end of the spectrum, we also grow a variety of cherry and grape tomatoes. Check out how many cherry tomatoes it takes to measure over 2 pounds.

Great weekend

It was a great weekend at the markets. We sold out of some of our more popular jellies and sold much of the produce we had on hand. Don't worry though, we are already working to add more supply for next week. 
Peppers, green beans, cucumbers are in good supply and the tomatoes are moving forward too. In fact, we will make tomato jam this week. We have been out of that delicious jam for a long while.

                                                  Basil

 

Cucumber vines on our back deck

Corn and tomatoes

We picked several early ears of corn yesterday and today we had another good early harvest of tomatoes.
It's always an exciting time of the summer when we start picking these two crops. Sounds like a sweet corn, cucumber and tomato salad tonight.
We will be at the markets again this week. We will bring peppers- Bells, jalapenos, lunch box, shishitos and cubanelles, also squash, finishing salts and our jams, jellies and relishes.

 

The beginning of the two bucket harvest

Today was the first time this season we actually needed two buckets to carry in our harvest. We picked squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, green beans and our first picking of corn.  
(the squirrels are already doing their own version of a  harvest) 
We had a great time over the weekend at the farmer's markets and look forward to returning next week.
Check out how we utilize our fresh vegetables during the summer- eggplant, pepper, basil and tomato pizza. YUM!!

This week

This week we are creating an abundance of jellies and jams, as we begin the vegetable harvest.  A variety  of peppers, cucumbers, eggplant and even tomatoes are beginning to produce.
We've already canned pickles, pineapple jalapeno jelly, pepper jelly and zucchini peach jam. We are also making more of our finishing salts from our dried herbs which have been very popular.
We will be at the Forsyth market Friday and the Monticello market on Saturday. We will have eggplant, jalapenos, banana peppers, lunchbox peppers and cubanelles. Stop by and see us if you're in the area!