Fig Balsamic Jam

Makes 12 to 14 pint jars
6 Pounds Fresh Figs – remove stem and cut into quarters
4 ½ Cups Sugar
1 ½ Cups Balsamic Vinegar

Use a large pot. Add all of the above ingredients to the large pot. Stir well to combine all of the ingredients. Place on the stove on high heat and bring to a boil. Once really bubbling lower the heat to medium. The sugar will begin to thicken and the figs will soften. Once the figs are soft, about 45 minutes to one hour. Simple test by pressing the spoon against a fig to the side of the pot. If soft and the liquid is thick, then it is probably ready.

Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10 to 15 minutes. Using an emulsion blender, puree the jam. If you like it with chunks, then process less. Jam can be refrigerated at this stage and used within 2-4 weeks. You could also freeze or can your product.

To can: Add jam to each sterilized pint jar leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe around each rim to remove any of the jam that spilled. Put the lid and rim on each jar and tighten, but not too tight. Add each jar to the boiling water of the large pot with tongs and use a canning rack. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Using tongs remove each jar and place onto a towel on the counter. This will prevent the jar from cracking if it hits a cold hard surface. Let cool.

You may hear the lids popping. The popping means the jar is sealed. After 24 hours, check each jar to ensure you can’t press and hear a popping sound. If you do, it means it did not seal. If a lid did not seal, replace the flat lid and re-process to obtain a tight seal or refrigerate and use within 2-4 weeks.


Recipe adapted from http://www.authenticsuburbangourmet.blogspot.com/.

Should You Winterize Your Lawn?

By now, lawn winterizing products are easy to find in the lawn and garden centers. This may give you the impression that the use of winterizing fertilizers is a desirable practice but that isn’t necessarily true in our area.


Both warm and cool season turfgrasses grow in North Carolina and most winterizing fertilizers do not differentiate between the two. While cool season grasses, like fescue, grow during cool temperatures and benefit from fall fertilization; warm-season grasses such as centipede, St. Augustine, bermudagrass and zoysiagrass are entering dormancy during the late fall. These warm-season grasses can be injured by fertilizers containing nitrogen if they are applied in the fall. (Nitrogen is the first number on a bag of fertilizer.)


When applied too late and too heavily to warm-season turfgrass, nitrogen fertilizer will promote shoot growth at the same time the plant's metabolism is slowing. This results in a depletion of carbohydrates and stress on the plant. The new, tender shoots are also less tolerant of cold temperatures and more susceptible to fungal diseases such as large patch. The additional nitrogen will however be available to cool-season weeds and that is the last thing you need. So late season fertilization with nitrogen is not desirable in warm season turfs. However, potassium may be a beneficial nutrient for your lawn. (Potassium is the last number on a bag of fertilizer.)


Potassium plays the key role in winterizing because it has been shown to enhance cold tolerance of turfgrasses. If a soil test indicates that your soil is low in potassium, it can be applied at a rate of 1 pound of potash per 1000 square feet of lawn. Materials available include muriate of potash (0-0-60; use 1.6 pounds per 1000 square feet), or potassium sulfate (0-0-50; use 2 pounds per 1000 square feet). Just remember that if you have been fertilizing throughout the summer with fertilizers containing 8 to 15% potassium, such as 16-4-8 or 15-0-15, it's unlikely a fall application would be helpful.




So the only winterizing fertilizer you need on your lawn is one that contains potassium; and you only need that if your soil is low in potassium. Save the nitrogen for after green-up next spring.