If your schedule is anything like mine, mid to late summer brings an onslaught of things to do.

Many things ripen in the garden on a daily basis and the rush is on to harvest at the peak of perfection. I have said many times the biggest problem with a large garden is utilizing the harvest in a timely manner so that none goes to waste.

You would think that giving away fresh produce would be easy, but most people are used to the sameness of size and color they see in the super market and feel that organic food, because of its size and color variations, is somehow inferior. Most people don’t realize that in the last 50 or so years the heirloom varieties of vegetables have been supplanted by the hybrids which all ripen on the same day and can be harvested by machines — forget the taste.

The excess from the garden must still be dealt with. I can do it by canning, freezing, pickling, drying, making jelly and jam and also by making fruit leathers and their cousins, butters and spreads.

While we talk of the garden surplus every summer, we can not forget the surplus in outlying fields, abandoned orchards and in woodlands along country roads. There are many apple, pear, peach and crabapple trees at old home sites just waiting to be harvested. Walnut trees give us their bounty we only have to pick it up. Acorns, hickory nuts, pecans and butternuts are there for the taking.

I decided some years ago that if my jams and jellies were to be organic, then I would have to make my own pectin. That much was easy, but the kettle full of cooked down apple pulp needed an additional use, otherwise too much waste. Since pectin can only be made using very green, unripe apples. This recipe will work well whether or not you make pectin.

Jellied Spiced Apple Butter

Start with about four pounds of tart, green apples. Wash well, but do not peel or core. Slice into one-eighths. Place into a large kettle and barely cover with water. Simmer for 20 minutes without stirring, then strain off the juice. (Use as is or mix with other juices as a beverage).

Put the pulp through a food mill to remove seeds, cores, and skins. To two quarts of the pulp add six cups sugar, one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Heat slowly until sugar melts, then boil, stirring constantly until it starts to “plop." Store in wide mouth shoulderless jars so it can be unmolded and served. If keeping for a while, use a boiling water bath for 15 min.

For apple butter that is truly exotic, make this recipe with Hopa ornamental crabapples. The Hopa is red all the way through, and the product is worthy of royalty. In addition to apples, butters and spreads may also be made from pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, bananas, pineapples and any other fruit of your choice.

When you are going to use freshly made butters within several weeks, you may store in the refrigerator and skip the boiling water bath.

Around the holidays each year, many of the larger supermarkets have selections of raw nuts in their produce section. English walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, filberts, almonds, etc., or you can gather your own black walnuts, hickory nuts or butternuts, to make nut butters or spreads after cracking and removing the shells, roast the nut meats at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, turning often to prevent scorching.

When the nuts are toasted, place in a blender or food processor, and pulse until they are chopped very fines. Use one-fourth cup of the chopped nuts to one-half stick softened butter, and mix well with a fork. Some of the oilier nuts, such as the black walnuts, should be pulsed for a shorter time to avoid an oily paste.

Pat Biggerstaff is the gardening columnist for the Daily News. She lives in Middlesboro. To comment or suggest topics for future columns, e-mail editor@middlesborodailynews.com