Squirrelling Habits

The foggy morning yesterday helped confirm we are working our way into fall. After not seeing any squirrels during those hot/dry days we had, we've been hearing them everyday now. In the garden, things have changed from watching the new growth, to managing the harvest. Like the squirrel, we'll want to have some tasty treats come January.

Tomatoes: In the last week, the tomato harvests have become more than we can eat each day. Cherry tomatoes may not be the usual cooking sort, but we've been enjoying them in pasta dishes. So, I washed these and put them in the freezer. This morning, I moved the frozen tomatoes into airtight (vacuum sealed) bags. I love the colors. Maybe I can see a Christmas card design in the next round of the tomato harvest...!

Potatoes: Two of the potato plants had died back so we dug up our first potatoes. The other plants are still mostly green so I guess we should wait a while longer before harvesting those. We'll have some of this harvest for dinner tonight. My friend gave me the starts so I don't know what type these are.

Beans: The green beans have been the hardest for me to stay up on the harvesting. Actually, the happy grower this year has been the purple climbing beans. After my big pick last weekend, I had many more that were the right size for picking. Yesterday, I picked, blanched and froze several bags full. There should be a few more rounds to go, but there are few blossoms now so there will be a final harvest one day.

Carrots: I also harvested two nice size, tasty carrots last night. While I did thin, I could have done more. Some may be too close to grow to their full potential. I'll be looking at them closely today to see if there are some selective harvesting I can do to reduce some crowding.

Pumpkins: Some of the pumpkins are turning orange already! It is usually a rush to get them there by the end of Oct. The early orange ones are a different variety than I've grown before, and probably more of a jack-o-lantern variety. I also have others that are still yellow and green.

There are signs of powdery mildew in places. This time of year, our weather becomes just right for PM. In the past, I've tried to delay the progression of PM by spraying with a baking soda mixture or cutting leaves. I may let it take its natural course this year and see how it goes with the pumpkins.

September Salads

Salads these days are a mix of chopped pattypan squash, carrots, tomatoes and maybe a cucumber. Add some cut up "ribbons" of chard, a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, plus herbs and garden grown garlic. Stir well. I have no zucchini this year, and these pattypans will be back in the garden next year (but haven't decided about zucchini yet).
These salads feel loaded enough to carry over some vegetable serving "credit" through January.

Finally, a day of spring!

After a disappointing Saturday, weather wise, a beautiful spring day popped up on Sunday. And this little pansy also caught my attention. It has popped up in one of the little succulent pots that sit on the fence in the garden. I cannot imagine how a pansy ended up in this spot!
So what did I do with some sun? Turned over the winter mulch in one of the beds and removed more rocks. Then planted carrots, beets and another planting of lettuce and chard. A few spots of marigolds also. The full green bed, above, has assorted perennial flowers. The columbine is almost blooming. The rhubarb is in the right end of the bed. I've finally joined the others of you who have been harvesting it. Made a rhubarb & berry crumble on Sunday night.
I wasn't going to plant the whole bed, but I did, figuring that I could use any nonsprouted parts for succession planning. You can see by the damp places above, that I planted a row down each side of the bed and a double row in the middle. I've tended to plant across the bed in the past, but that didn't work so well when I had to put in the soaker hoses last year.

As watering usually moves around the seeds and the soil, I made a little planting trench for each row, watered it, and placed the seeds. Then, I covered them with soil. It will rain before long and give it another dose. However, tonight, I noticed footprints through the nice, level bed. I'm sure that disturbed some seeds too.

Eventually, I'll place a soaker hose in the bed down the alley on one side of the double rows and back on the other side of the double rows. If anything sprouts, that is.

Let the Lists (& Fun) Begin

Oh, look - I have seeds!

Gift seeds, so they are sure to be extra special.

Thank you, You!

The Rouge vif d'Etamps pumpkins were on my list, after seeing them last fall on other blogs. And nicely named Jeanette F1 hybrid (organic) carrots, too.

And now I need to start the seed & planting organization lists others are writing about. And then get some seeds started and then, oh my!