Week 22, Season 2016-2017

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as the season winds down.  Just a few weeks to go this season.  I have been doing the final activities to help the crops finish strong; a little fertilizer here, some weeding there, a broken drip tube, etc.
We still have corn and beans to finish and they are looking nice.  Cantaloupe and some new squash types are a few weeks away from finishing along with the new cucumbers in the greenhouse.
Strawberries are still doing well but the size is getting smaller with the heat.  I checked the sugar level and they are at 10% which is still very high for this late in the season.  I would love to do a sugar test with berries being sold in the store to see what you could get commercially.  It would be great to see how we compare.
The seed bugs are beginning to take over.  These guys live in the plants and eat the surface of the fruit and cause a bronzing to the surface.  It doesn't seem to alter the taste but makes the berries look like they are bad.  I've sprayed them with pyrethrins in the past but it just seems to slow the bugs down for a week before they are back.  Since we are so late in the season, I am going to leave them alone.  Having a week off allowed the Steed household to produce six quarts of jam and two and a half quarts of jelly (of which I will not be making again in the future due to the low yields and extra fruit and work that is needed). I have also tried making dried fruit and fruit leather.  The fruit leather came out good and is super easy.  Just blend up the strawberries after stemming them.  Add a little lemon juice and sugar if you want.  Then pour over a plastic lined baking sheet and put the oven on low at 140 degrees.  It took all night for it to set but it tasted great and the kids liked it. I sent it to school with them for a snack.
The potatoes are yielding great and will pick for about four weeks.  Leeks will pick for the first time this year.
Hopefully a good finish to a great year.