https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:48:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/09/01/holy-cow-do-we-have-tomatoes/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/09/01/holy-cow-do-we-have-tomatoes/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:48:50 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11775 Will and I went out to the Wolf Garden yesterday evening to check the watermelons. We picked more of those, and yes, more Sweet Granite muskmelons, and some tomatoes to seed out. As we checked things, Will picked 12 more muskmelons that were very ripe. Then we found a nice big Leelanau Sweetglo watermelon that […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/09/01/holy-cow-do-we-have-tomatoes/feed/ 3 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/27/were-having-a-beautiful-late-summer/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/27/were-having-a-beautiful-late-summer/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:31:25 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11768 Fortunately, we’ve been having some periodic, gentle rains that have actually been measurable, as opposed to those rare .017 of an inch, formerly this summer. And the temperatures have been nice too — in the 70’s during the day and low 50’s at night. The gardens have sure responded well. Will said in two weeks […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/27/were-having-a-beautiful-late-summer/feed/ 24 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/24/boy-is-the-harvest-ever-coming-in/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/24/boy-is-the-harvest-ever-coming-in/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:58:33 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11762 Yesterday, I spent the day mowing big weeds (yep, we sure have those) with the riding lawnmower, in between plots and down paths, not to mention those growing in areas we’re leaving fallow due to earlier drought and then rain, then more drought, killing corn and plants in other plots. Whew! I’m talking about two […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/24/boy-is-the-harvest-ever-coming-in/feed/ 21 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/20/finally-i-got-the-chokecherry-jelly-done/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/20/finally-i-got-the-chokecherry-jelly-done/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:41:28 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11754 Since Will went down in the basement and easily found the Mehu Liisa steam juicer I couldn’t find, yesterday, I not only seeded out some more tomatoes but got busy and made my first attempt at Bronco cherry jelly. I added the jalapeños to the steam juicer with the chokecherries. I didn’t seed them, but […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/20/finally-i-got-the-chokecherry-jelly-done/feed/ 27 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/17/its-chokecherry-time-on-the-homestead/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/17/its-chokecherry-time-on-the-homestead/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2026 21:18:37 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11747 After watching our chokecherries hanging on their trees every single day and having enough vertigo to not want to go leaning out of the solar powered golf cart to pick them, I’ve been pretty frustrated. (I can’t stand in one place for very long as long ago, I broke my back and a few years […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/17/its-chokecherry-time-on-the-homestead/feed/ 33 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/15/our-harvest-is-coming-on-gangbusters/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/15/our-harvest-is-coming-on-gangbusters/#comments Sat, 15 Aug 2026 17:29:39 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11740 Earlier this summer, we wondered if we would even get a harvest with all the heat and crazy weather: too wet, drought, etc. Finally, the weather has cooled down some and we did get some rain. The gardens responded better than we expected. This morning I was all set to go out and pick our […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/15/our-harvest-is-coming-on-gangbusters/feed/ 26 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/10/im-buried-in-green-beans/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/10/im-buried-in-green-beans/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2026 23:28:52 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11734 Holy cow, I only planted one 50-foot row of Provider green snap beans this year during a very hot and dry spring. I figured maybe I’d get enough to can up one batch after son, Bill and his family, had picked half a row ahead of a rainstorm, a couple weeks ago. So far, I’ve […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/10/im-buried-in-green-beans/feed/ 21 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/06/harvest-is-approaching-fast/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/06/harvest-is-approaching-fast/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2026 19:41:06 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11728 All of a sudden, our crops are starting to come in. We’ve already eaten a few ripe tomatoes and picked a bunch of Provider green beans to eat with supper and can up. I’ve got a whole lot more out there for me to pick tomorrow. They come on so fast and keep producing all […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/06/harvest-is-approaching-fast/feed/ 20 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/03/well-we-saw-our-seeds-go-down-the-driveway/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/03/well-we-saw-our-seeds-go-down-the-driveway/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:47:00 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11722 On Saturday, August 1st, as planned, we transferred our seed business, Seed Treasures, to our friends, Lynn and Jesse Frey, who own Life Root Farm in Wisconsin. Our friends, Dara, Mike, and Sherri came over on Friday and helped us pack up all the seed bins, getting them ready to travel. That sure simplified things […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/08/03/well-we-saw-our-seeds-go-down-the-driveway/feed/ 36 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/07/28/yep-its-still-hot-and-humid/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/07/28/yep-its-still-hot-and-humid/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2026 20:47:00 +0000 https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/?p=11717 We did get some rain, but only enough to keep from raking the hay that has been down for several days now, driving us crazy. But the humidity! Holy cow, you sweat buckets just walking around. I finished up weeding the pole beans in the Sand Garden and am now moving on to trimming the […]]]> https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2026/07/28/yep-its-still-hot-and-humid/feed/ 35