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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2015 01:29am
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Every summer folks work towards filling freezers and root cellers.
This last weekend was spent at "fish camp" in the Seabee household.The end goal is to put Sockeye salmon in the freezer. We camped and fished with others all sharing the same goal. Families and friends work together to net, process, package and freeze the meat. Relentless and exhausting while extremely rewarding 😊
Please share local traditions, means and methods of harvesting what nature provides in your area. I have read threads about wild rice, berries, nuts and shrooms. It would be wonderful to include them in one thread.
I am the worst at taking photos but really appreciate when y'all share your photos.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2015 07:51am
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I live in the big city, near San Jose California, in a condo, so I can't grow anything. But the farmer's markets here are pretty amazing, since we are in easy truck distance of many farms. For the last 3 years I have gone to the markets when the fruit is in season and put up raspberries, blackberries, apricots, and plums. One year I bought 4 flats of raspberries and put up about 40 pints of raspberries in one Saturday. Lasted for years. When the berries come in a flat can cost as little as $20, pretty good for a city farmer's market. Some day I hope to put up stuff from my own orchard. If I get that far.
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Gary O
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2015 08:16am
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Our summer harvest this year has been firewood from blow downs.
Cabi does have an amazing first year vegetable garden, of which we've been eating out of (a real stretch with pumice for soil), but the wood, wood has been the ever present 'present' this year, of which we hope to enjoy this fall, winter, and next spring.
Seabee, puhleeez take some pics of those remarkable fish, and the harvesting method.
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hattie
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2015 10:55am
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Our garlic is harvested (first time we grew that and it was a success), tomatoes (LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes), the raspberries are being picked daily (I have made 14 jars of jam, preserved 10 quart jars and Bob has some in the freezer to make wine from), tomatoes (LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes), we have lots of lettuce, tomatoes (LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes), our first batch of onions are drying, tomatoes (LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes) the potatoes look good, tomatoes (LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes), radishes are great, tomatoes (LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes), peas are still being harvested, tomatoes (LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes), beans are great, the carrots are starting to be harvested too, oh and did I mention we have tomatoes (LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes)? We eat tomato sandwiches every day for lunch, I make stewed tomatoes every Wednesday for breakfast, we have tomatoes with our dinners, and we give them away. I've also dehydrated LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes. I think next year, Bob needs to cut back on the tomatoes!!!  Today we're going to pick up some cherries for canning and I have also dehydrated 10 lbs of apricots. Peaches and pears will be canned later in the season. Our plum tree is loaded with fruit, the grape vines are loaded with grapes for Bob's wine (as long as the bears don't get them) and we have a decent crop of apples but nothing like last year's bumper crop.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2015 12:07pm
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lets see.lots of greens for cooking and for salads.no maters ripe yet...but lots of tomatoes on vine.
rhubarb is spectacular.its huge.
squash is growing along just fine.horse radish,mints and catnip is doing good along with cilantro ,sage and other herbs.
thinking since we are going away for a day or two i should pick all my green tomatoes and fry them up or grind into a relish to can.cut all the greens up and dry them...just so the critters wont get them whilst we are away.
picking lots of wild currants and making jars of syrup.
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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2015 10:39pm
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Bldginsp we also visit the farmers market for kale, greens, squash, goods that do not grow naturally. Its a great way to support the local economy and mighty tasty.
I envy Cabingal3, Hattie's as well as others green thumb. Plenty of room on my lot here in town to plant a small garden, my own fault for not having one.
Hattie, you cracked me up with the tomatoes😂
GaryO, no photos of fish from last weekend. I wish I could say we were too busy but nope, the run was slow and I had more than enough time 😕
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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2015 10:54pm
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Raspberries are starting to come in. In another week or so we will harvest to make jelly. I like the ideal of making wine! I will have to look into that.
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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 02:18am - Edited by: AK Seabee
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One method of harvesting salmon is personal use dipnetting. Families have a limit based on family size. 25 salmon for head of household and ten salmon for additional family member.
Basically you place an approved net in the river and wait for a salmon to swim into the net, clip the tails to mark the salmon as personal use and not 4 sale, bleed the meat, place in ice cooler and start over.
A friend fishing with me snapped this photo this last weekend of my skiff.
You can see the nets in the boat as well as boats in the background fishing.
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Gary O
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 05:16am
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N-I-I-I-C-E
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Salty Craig
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 06:21am
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Love it! Nice boat!
Salty
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old greybeard
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 12:59pm
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Freezer is full of raspberries, sugar peas, strawberries, spinach. Canning pickles and beans right now. Picking blueberries soon.
Wish I was close to a place I could catch Salmon. We have a local store that owns their own boat in Alaska, we stock up when they have it to sell. I'd wish they would take venison in trade for it.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 01:08pm - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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AK, is everybody fishing for salmon in your photo?
We have a Starcraft 18ft fishing boat. There are salmon off our camp. Not allowed to use nets. Have to use a downrigger because the fish are down at least 85 ft this time of year. Hoping to buy a downrigger in a few years when we both retire and have more time to use it.
There are wild raspberries growing outside the cabin door. By the time we get up there I have enough to make a few raspberry pancakes.
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 05:26pm - Edited by: turkeyhunter
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in the DEEP HOT south ....canning vegetables and freezing them for the fall. This year I have canned N0 tomatoes.....I guess we had too much rain and had 6 foot plants...and hardly no tomatoes. 
Had a bumper crop of blueberries.
Had lots of plums.
Grapes will be next in with homemade grape jelly.
Then fall I will fill the freezer with deer meat and wild hogs sausage.
And small game if I get it...Organic is all the rage ya know!!! And harvesting wild game is Organic
seebee ~~~nice boat!!! I be those salmon are tasty!!!
you going to get a moose this fall for your freezer??
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Just
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 06:01pm
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A Dipse Diver .. $9.99 take any line down 85 ft
Quoting: silverwaterlady at least 85 ft this time o
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 06:34pm
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Thanks Just..I'll check that out.
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RichInTheUSA
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 09:08pm
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We're harvesting raspberries.... about 3-4 bowls like this, and so many more. I can't tell you how good these were... over ice cream, and also made into a raspberry tort.
Our Pawpaws are plentiful too... but not quite ready to harvest.
Anyone else have Pawpaws?
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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 10:12pm
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Old Greybeard, I live and work in Anchorage so I have to travel to harvest salmon. Well worth it though
Turkey Hunter, I have not attempted to harvest a moose in at least ten years. Friends share meat so there is need. And....... organic is the rage. Wild game is definately preferable to store bought meat although it is impossible to pass up a nice beef ribeye. Also, I grew up on the gulf coast and I do miss the extended growing season.
Silverwaterlady, all of the boats visible are trying to net salmon. In the photo there are not many boats as it was low tide and most were banked next to mine waiting for the incoming tide. Until you buy the downriggers the divers work great for trolling as long as its not crowded. When I troll I like to use a " vibrax" about two feet behind the flasher. Works great! I do like to jig in place with herring though and generaly do well.
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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2015 10:23pm
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Thank you Salty! She is about 15 years old now so well seasoned.
RichintheUSA, I had to google paw paws. Native to North America but require well drained soils. I will have to try one sometime.
Thank you GaryO
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RichInTheUSA
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# Posted: 23 Jul 2015 06:56am
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Seabee... The Pawpaws are fairly new to me also.
I had heard of them and seen them in the past, pointed out by a friend a few years ago while kayaking (so we didn't get out to eat any of the fruit).
This is the 2nd year I've had my cabin property, and last year I was too much of a newbee to know what to even look for on my property. (I'm still no expert)
Once the pawpaws started to fruit, I am now able to recognize the trees... and we probably have 40 or more of these.
Not all of them fruit. Pawpaws have to be pollinated from other pawpaws that are of a different variety. There are also hand pollination techniques (with a small paint brush) that can increase yield.
My wife and daughter spent 4 hours hand pollinating a particular patch in the spring, and those trees do have more fruit than the others. 
The trees like to grow next to creeks, and in the understory. However, they fruit best if in full sun.
Here is a video that i made for my wife after I had cleared a path with my tractor, so that we can get to the pawpaws more easily.
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVQjMXs4YbA
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 23 Jul 2015 09:05am
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well the ground squirrel ate everyone of my green beans.they were up and doing good.i ended up putting hot sauce on every stalk.the little booger ate them anyway.so i have been digging out where the green beans were and putting down garden wrie mesh.gonna put that down and then plant jerusalem artichokes.
also me and the mister dug out the roots from the big trees falling and we are now gonna plant wild flower seeds all in the newly made flower bed.
one nite this week its gonna be 37 degrees.
we are going to see our kids and the critters will probably have a high time in my garden...
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2015 12:50pm
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hattie
Chuckling over your LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes! Perhaps you can perfect and bottle a Bloody Mary beverage to sell in town on the weekends. You'd make a mint!
I'd love to learn how to make wine. Since Juniper trees are plentiful around my land, I'd like to learn how to make gin! I've glanced at some recipes and it's apparently not very difficult. I'm not much of a drinker so these things would mostly be for gifts or sale (if that's possible). Mostly, it would be fun! Now, the wine I would drink my share of. Nothing like a glass with a good meal or in front of a fire on a cold winter's night.
Quoting: AK Seabee I do like to jig in place with herring though and generaly do well.
While realizing that this is undoubtedly a nautical term, landlubber me was picturing a bloke and some herring (standing vertical on their back fins) jigging in place!   
Love, love, love salmon! All kinds of seafood, actually! Do any of y'all have a smoker and preserve meat that way? I've seen a lot of plans for building a simple smokehouse.
Love, love, love nature's candy -- the berries and wild fruit! Can't wait to pick my own!
Hooray for gardens, harvests of all kinds, and the love and labor that goes into them! And for nature that provides!
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hattie
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2015 01:22pm
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Quoting: Julie2Oregon Perhaps you can perfect and bottle a Bloody Mary beverage to sell in town on the weekends.
Yesterday I decided to make and can some tomato juice. It looks really good. I think I'll go that route as we get more than we can possibly eat.
Bob makes a raspberry wine (a sweet after dinner wine), a raspberry liqueur (we call it "shambord" a play on the Chambord brand), red grape wine, apple wine and apple cider. Geesh we sound like a couple of real drinkers (which we aren't), but we don't make very large amounts of any of these. A gallon here and a gallon there. My favourite is the shambord!!!
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 24 Jul 2015 03:21pm
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hattie
Lots of people enjoy the "virgin" Bloody Marys without the alcohol. I think it's tomato juice with a bit of tabasco and some herbs, plus the celery stalk!
Your "shambord" sounds divine! With the proliferation of blackberries in Oregon, I'd love to make some blackberry cordial or wine. Mmmmm! I love blackberries!
Cabi's red currant harvest would make a lovely cordial, too, I think. Add some sparkling soda and ice and it would be a very refreshing drink!
One of my favorite summertime beverages, which I enjoyed on my trips to visit friends in England, was elderflower cordial. I brought some back with me. It's so concentrated that it makes a lot of drinks! So, so refreshing -- friends just loved it. They thought it had alcohol in it at first but it doesn't.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 25 Jul 2015 05:04am
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our neighbors have domesticated red currants.
they brought some over for us.
i ate them all.sour and tart all in one.i am hooked.i want to order some red currant bushes cause that s a spectacular berry.
i have been drying the wild red currants on the picnic table.
i went past only to find a squirrel standing right in the middle of the cookie sheet...munching out on my berries.
ha.
so now i am drying the wild currants in the truck with windows closed on the dashboard.
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Gary O
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# Posted: 25 Jul 2015 11:08am
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Quoting: cabingal3 so now i am drying the wild currants in the truck with windows closed on the dashboard
uh, there is one rather large squirrel that happens to have keys to yer truck...
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hattie
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# Posted: 25 Jul 2015 12:02pm
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Quoting: cabingal3 i went past only to find a squirrel standing right in the middle of the cookie sheet...munching out on my berries.
Hahahaha.....He probably thought how very kind it was of you humans to pick his fruit and then serve it to him on a platter. *LOL* too funny!!!
Quoting: Gary O uh, there is one rather large squirrel that happens to have keys to yer truck...
Cabingal3 is gonna rap your knuckles if you touch those!!!
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 28 Jul 2015 11:53pm
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went on a trip.
heard that nite would dip down to 37 degrees.
can 37 degrees turn my squash leaves all black?
man.i was so sad to see this.
i guess maybe they can come out of it.
also my tomato plants have some wilted leaves on them too.
from a cold nite.
i am gonna ask our woodland neighbors how cold did it get on sunday nite...then i will understand more of what happened.grr.
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toofewweekends
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 01:06am
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AKSeabee, dipnetting is a great way to fill the freezer. I've transitioned to a lazier way -- my son works a setnet site in PWS and is able to send home a couple of coolers of headed & gutted reds. When he worked on a tender last year, they came to me vacuum packed! Leaves me time with a fly rod and one around.
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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 01:46am
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toofewweekends, thats not lazier, it is smarter. I love to fill the freezer and then catch and release. Some folks look dumfounded and confused when you release a legally hooked fish.
I was in PWS last weekend exploring and searching for halibut. Silvers are in but no luck on the halibut.
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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 01:53am
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Cabingal3,
I hope your squash does come back. It is a ton of hard work to plant and maintain a garden. Your reward is healthy organic produce. I am envious of the gardens I see posted on this site. Simply amazing!
Every year I tell myself I am going to plant and then fail to follow through. Summer is far too short. Maybe next year............
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