July is a full-on preserving month and things are looking pretty good around the garden. Here is one day in our farm life for you to enjoy!

The days’ harvest: garlic, echinacea blooms, broccoli, kale, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, blackberries, and herbs. Our garlic is not as prolific this summer because I spaced it too far apart last fall (you plant it in October in our zone).

As we start getting zucchini in, we like to eat the smalls, dehydrate the mediums, and shred the larges. Huge ones go to the hens… actually one year, Sweet Husband grew an entire zucchini crop just for the hens. We have also been drying all of our kale and making super greens powder.

We were out of canned beans and they are something I rely on for convenience foods on the shelf. So, I made a batch of Cherokee Trail of Tears pole beans (when dried and shelled, they produce a black kidney style bean) and also a batch of baked beans using navy beans.

Here are the baked beans. All of our bean jars sealed. Yay! We will definitely be enjoying these in the near future.

As I babysat the canner, the boys and I played Phase 10. I had just introduced it to them and we were getting the hang of it.

Don’t mind the dirty fridge shelf. With our cucumbers we are making refrigerator dill pickles- delish! They last about a month in the fridge and I continue to reuse the brine for a couple of batches. They are out on the table 2-3 meals per day. Three of us like them but everyone tries at least one each time they are served. In this manner, my kids have learned to like and enjoy many different foods. Notice the lovely, homegrown dill flowers at the bottom of the jar?

My oldest son helped me shred the largest of the zucchini and put them into freezer bags, as I was out of vacuum seal bags.

Because the bean canning had leftover beans that wouldn’t fit into the jars, we enjoyed baked beans for supper alongside a pork roast, potatoes, and fresh roasted broccoli.

What a day! Lovely and full. I actually enjoy putting more into my day than I can get done. A sort of challenge for myself. (above: my feverfew plant showing her sweet blooms)