November Garden

It's looking a bit dreary out these days. The season is coming to an end and now it's just a matter of waiting for everything to die back so I can chuck it in the compost. I think it was pretty much the height of summer the last time I took progression pictures.

Anyway here's the summer shot.

Now you can see the tomatoes have been pulled along with all the peppers.  The fall season cabbage is peaking their little heads up over the side of the beds now.  I don't think I planted the red cabbage soon enough as it still hasn't grown much or even attempted to form a good head.


Again the summer shot:

You can see the marigolds are even more vibrant now and aren't minding the cold one bit.  The pole beans on the other hand are done.  I need to pull them but just haven't gotten around to it.  The kale and lettuce (to the left) are doing well.  Actually the lettuce was much nicer this fall as I didn't have nearly the slug issues I did this spring.


The summer picture:

Now: Those towering parsley flowers are all gone now and the asparagus is turning a lovely golden color in preparation for a long winter's nap.  I have a few weeds I need to pull out of that bed - grrr.  On a happier note you can see where the little shoots of garlic are coming up on the front left.  And tragedy has struck once again.  When I was inside I heard a loud CRASH just out my window.  I went to see what was going on and there were crows all over the back yard perched in various places all squawking as loud as they could.  They'd somehow managed to break the glass on the cold frame.  Bah!  I still haven't replaced it.  I wonder if I should use a clear plastic?  At the rate we're going I can't afford to replace the glass twice a year.


The summer shot

Now:  All the cucumbers, corn and squash are long done now.  I didn't plant any fall or winter crops in this bed.  The only thing left is the morning glory vine on the fence.  Once it dies back I'll throw it into the compost too.  The tomato cages are just hanging out there for the winter.  Not sure where all of next years crops will go.  I'll plan that out after the holidays.


The summer shot:

Now:  The funny thing is, this got even crazier before it mostly died back.  I'm going to have to prop up the daliahs better next year as they completely smothered out the sage and thyme.


The pretty fall colors of the blueberries


The compost heap that's heaped high! Next spring when it starts to warm up I'll move it all to the center bin, add some cottonseed meal, water and give it a good toss. (And look for my thermometer which I accidentally buried under all the foliage.  Ooops!)


And a picture of the peach tree that I planted yesterday.

Fall clean up

Ah, it's been too long (again). I really cannot believe how busy, busy, busy life is. I was also down for the count last week with the flu so now I'm just playing catch up. Annie's Granny did have *excellent* timing as I received some bean seeds from her in the mail while I was sick. That so cheered me up. (Thanks dear!)

Today I finally planted the peach tree*! I also managed to pull all the tomato plants, the last of the corn stalks, a few straggler onions, the pepper plants. My poor compost bin is bursting full. I still have my pole vines that need to go into the heap. When I'll get to that I'm not sure. I also cut back some of the daliahs and other bulb flowers. I lost one of my artichoke plants this year. Looks like I'll have to sprout another one next year. Speaking of, the garlic has sprouted and is about 3" tall now. Hope I don't get hit with fungal issues like I did last spring.

The highland blueberry bushes are starting to turn colors - a beautiful deep red. The geese were flying in V formation overhead in a cheerful honking parade. The sun was low but warm on my face. It was nice to be outside all day today. It's shameful I didn't take any pictures.


*This required me to move a cubic yard of dirt by hand. Good times.

Garlic and Basil

Pulled all the basil out of the garden today to either make pesto or just to blend with oil and freeze... depends on how motivated I'm feeling.

Also planted two (new to me) different varieties of garlic, Inchelium Red and Spanish Roja. They went into a different spot then last year. Hopefully I won't have the same fungal issues I experienced last spring with these kinds. Still looking for the "perfect" variety.

Apples!

Foo. I thought I was going to get an apple tree today but I changed my mind on what kind I wanted and they didn't have what I was looking for. I'm so indecisive! I thought I wanted a Honey Crisp which is a beautiful fresh eating apple. They had loads of these trees. However it's not the best for baking. So I was thinking what would I do with a whole tree full of of apples? Why, I'd bake with them of course! I'd be ill trying to eat so many fresh apples at once. So perhaps the honey crisp is out. It's a sweet apple and not firm enough to hold its shape when baking. (Which is what makes it such a wonderful eating apple.)

My neighbor is getting a Spitzenburg apple tree. Our deal was we both wanted apple trees but you need two different varieties to properly pollinate and set fruit. She'd already picked the Spitzenburg variety which is both a tasty fresh eating apple in addition to being one excellent for baking. I thought I might change to a Jonathan apple (which was a cross pollinated variety with Spitzenburg being one of the parents and so has many of the same qualities and is also quite good.) I'm wondering then if I can even get this tree because everything I've been reading has mentioned that the Jonathan's be pollinated with a Red or Yellow Delicious or an Early Harvest variety, not a Spitzenburg. Gah! I don't know.

The other choice is to go with an Elstar apple (a cross between Golden Delicious and Ingrid Marie apples) which is sweet/tart and good for baking and cooking/sauce making but it doesn't keep fresh for very long. It also only sets fruit every other year which would be disappointing as I have only space for one tree.

The Rome Beauty has similar characteristics to the Elstar apple but is sweeter. (And according to wikipedia has democratic leanings Heehee.) Though I've also read other reviews that it's mealy and easily infested by worms and not so good for eating out of hand. ::sigh::

I guess I don't need to make a decision this minute but it sure would be nice to just buy a Spitzenburg and make my neighbor get something else! Ha! If only...

It'll be apples tomorrow but today...

...somebody bought a peach tree!
*Squees*

A beautiful fall day

I got the fall clean up started in the garden. I pulled out the pumpkin, winter squash and cucumber vines. I pulled out and cut down the corn stalks. I raked the gravel paths and threw half a yard of dark aged fir bark into the blueberry bed to help protect their roots during the winter months. I also managed to at least mow the lawns though they still need to be edged and aerated. I cleaned off and deflated the swimming pool, rubber ducky, blow up balls and stored them all away for the winter. The last, a bitter sweet task.

It was a glorious fall day full of cool air and warm sunshine. The birds were singing and the work satisfying. I found loads more winter squash then I imagined I had as they were hiding under the large broad leaves and some were growing behind the fence and others were tucked away in the flower bed covered by the daliah's. Needless to say I also filled up my compost bin. I hope it all breaks down a bit before the next round of plant matter needs to be tossed on. All the weeds and powdery mildewed vine remains went into the municipal compost bins. It looks much tidier!

I only wish I had the time to do this every day until the yard looked perfect (and I could then ignore it all winter) - Ha!

Finally took some pictures!

So a whole lot of these:


Turned into a little bit of this:


I also have a bunch of these:


That I think I'll turn into a roasted red pepper spread. (But dang it! I need another pound of tomatoes and I just used them all to make the tomato sauce. Maybe my neighbor will take pity on me, she has loads of tomatoes left.) I went to Powell's Books today and picked up Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving: 400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today. The Roasted Red Pepper Spread recipe comes from that book. It was either that or Pickled Roasted Red Peppers and hubby voted for the former.

My other option is to use these with the red pepper spread:

I went and harvested all the grape tomatoes on my Sweetheart vine and there's got to be at least five lbs of em! They filled up the entire colander. I was thinking I'd dehydrate them though to use in sauce and on pizza this winter. When the family moved Grandpa out of his home (to a care facility) earlier this year and cleaned out the house he'd lived in for 60 some-odd years I inherited the dehydrator. It's only 10 years old and might even still work; I'm kinda afraid to plug it in. Grandpa never threw *anything* away. Oh. Except for the manual. I finally found it on-line but I don't know that I can get it clean enough. I don't think it was ever properly cleaned after being used so I'm a little... uh... Ew. At least the racks can go in the dishwasher... Then again for food safety sake it might be worth it to just go get a new one. At least I'll know where it's been. We'll see how clean I can get it by tomorrow first.