First Freeze

One last look inside the greenhouse.  It's been a good year.  Our first freeze was forecast for Thursday night, so Wednesday was a big day picking through the garden.

The last of the green tomatoes, more dry beans, a few cukes, my seed cuke, a handful of peppers, the last dill weed, all of the cabbages, a few more peas for seed, a lone broccoli head, and a few cobs of corn.  There are still beans out there, that I never got to, and might not, though I'd like to get them in for seed.  I picked another bucket of beets, though they'll be fine underground as well.  Carrots still need pulling as well, before I can set the turkeys loose in the garden.

Beet pickles, and one final jar of dills.

I'm canning the smaller heads of cabbage for lazy cabbage rolls this winter.  The larger heads will go in the freezer whole.  More salsa to be made, and horseradish to harvest.  Still plenty to do, even after the freeze.

Breakfast of Champions

One nice thing about this time of year- it makes supplementing the turkeys diet very easy.

Three nice buckets of bean plants, a nice bucket full of weeds, radishes, and grass,

a few beats, some horse radish, and a couple of short corn stalks.  It's almost fun to rip plants up in the garden, knowing that they're continuing to feed us, even though the garden is done. 

And the goats like it too, although I wish they'd eat more raspberries.  The bushes in the turkey pen are threatening to take over every available space.

Lots of cool, rainy days right now.  High of 15°C, low of 1°C forecast for the week. 

Still canning beets, pulling beans, digging carrots.  I haven't started canning salsa yet.  Wouldn't you know it, most of those tomatoes I picked before the first frost are turning red in the sunroom.  The plants are still thriving outside, with the small tomatoes I left getting bigger and starting to turn as well.  It almost makes me think I should pick a few green ones earlier in the season and relieve the plants a bit early.

#1, #2, and #3 are all in school.  #4 is still home with me, and catching up quick now.  He was behind on almost everything, basically a late start because we didn't know his eyesight was so bad when he was little.  With just the two of us, mom's individual attention, and no distractions (except Casper, who is back to his old tricks, jumping the fence), he is cruising through his work books.  I'm pretty sure he'll be caught up to his age mates by the end of the year.

Frost Damage

Monday morning, after the frost, but before the sun.  Everything looks pretty much normal still.

A few hours later, once the sun has had a chance to warm things up.  It was a mild frost, only damaging the tops of delicate plants.  I could let these beans live on, until a harder frost kills them off, but I've had plenty of production this year.

One final picking, as I pull the plants up.  It's nice not having to bend over to pick the beans.  The plants are going to the turkey pen for fodder, the beans I sort and pull seeds from the largest ones, and freeze or eat the rest.

The hugelkultur beans are showing about the same rate of damages.  The height did not help them this time.

The squash outside are frazzled.

Inside the greenhouses, everything still looks good, strong and healthy.

Before and After- Perennial Bed Tomatoes

I picked off all the orange and larger tomatoes before the frost, but the plants still look pretty good. 

Even the salsa peppers made it through ok.  I do believe I have a microclimate here.

New room mates in the turkey pen.  No one is impressed.  In our efforts to keep Nanner and Sheila from getting knocked up this fall, we've moved them over here.  They don't like it.  They do like beans though, so it's a trade off.

And these two will be sad when the garden is done.  They've both inherited their grandpa's love of veggies.  Don't leave the veggie bucket on the floor.  They steal carrots!  lol.

Prep Work and the Frost

Just a mild frost.  You can just see the icy tinge in spots (the lighter green grass).  I don't think there should be too much damage, but it'll be hard to tell until the sun comes out and frazzles the leaves.

I picked 10 gallons of tomatoes yesterday, mostly green, and laid them out on the plant stand.  I wanted to make sure I had enough to make salsa if we did get a freeze.  There's still lots of smaller tomatoes if they make it.

Added to the seed collection:  green beans, more northern beans, purple beans, parsnips.

I hemmed and hawed about picking the Lady's Mantle.  It hasn't done well.  Then I looked at the marjoram- just about to flower, and oregano- almost ready to pick.  I decided to dig them out, along with the English Thyme.  Then I got a little carried away.

I dug out a salsa pepper from the perennial bed.  They're just starting to flower, and haven't produced any peppers yet.

Then I dug out the Medusa and Capiscum Anum,

and Creme Red from greenhouse #2.  I'm just not ready for the season to be over for them yet.  So I have a little bit of an indoor garden this fall.  I don't know how long they'll last for, but I figure it's worth finding out.  Next year I think I might leave some of the peppers in pots, so they'll be easier to bring in in the fall.

We filled a wheel barrow with mangel tops for the cows, goats and horses.  We'll keep doing that until all of the tops have been harvested, unless they're too damaged to be used.  The mangels are still in the ground, and they can stay there for another month or so, although the cold room is probably cool enough now to start winter storage.

The big squash is in the basement.  I couldn't find any smaller ones worth worrying about.  It seems the plant put all of it's energy into that one big one.

I harvested 8 cobs of corn from the greenhouse.  If the weather warms up a bit for another month, another dozen might ripen enough to harvest.  I think, if we have time before winter, I'd like to build a corn row greenhouse.  Maybe in the back field. 

The popcorn in the garden needs at least another month.  I pulled off one of the best cobs, but it's too tiny, and white.  At least the beasts will enjoy the stalks even if we don't get any popcorn.

I pulled three buckets of beets yesterday, so I have lots of tops to cut and cook today.

I picked two heads of lettuce, and three cabbages (a bit of overkill there).

Pulling the green bean plants for seed is yielding a bunch of smaller beans yet, as well as great feed for the turkeys and chickens. 

Still lots of work to do, and I'm quite pleased with this year's garden overall.

Preparing for Frost

Chives drying on the plant stand, roughly chopped.

Seeds drying:  yellow beans, peas, asparagus, northern beans.  They need a shake a couple of times a day.

The temperature here took a nose dive yesterday.  8°C right now, with a high of 15°C expected for the day.  A low of 4°C is forecast for Monday.  That's a scary temperature.  The first night we had 4° forecast last year, it actually dropped to -2°C.  So, let's just say, I have trust issues with the weatherman.

Today I will be picking tomatoes.  Not all of them yet, but a good bucket for salsa, along with anything that looks like it might ripen in the window.  I'll pull another batch of beets, for the greens, just in case, though I don't plan to can them today.  And of course, I'll get any cukes, squash, and peppers that are ready.  And I guess I'll harvest what I can of the Lady's Mantle.  I'm not sure if that poor plant did well enough to return next year.  The spring frost hit it hard, and it didn't do well in the summer heat either.  It's about the same size now as when I transplanted it.

#2 closed the side of the greenhouse yesterday.  If we're lucky and don't get a freeze, then the greenhouses should keep producing.  Time will tell.

Preserving the Bounty

A couple of harvest pics.  Beets have done well, with very little vole damage this year.  I'm thinning carrots, which have also done very well.  These were planted early, in last year's potato patch.

These beets are from the patch beside the corn.  They're even bigger, but some have a bumpy surface, potato scabs.  I'll have to add some pine needles to raise the acid levels next year.

Tomatoes are ripening now.  Cucumbers are still coming along nicely.  A few peppers every few days.

More pickles.  I lucked out and got a bunch of dill at the fair.  Exhibits are donated for an auction to raise money for next year's fair, and I bought the red ribbon dill.  I wish I knew who had entered it.  The stalks were about 7 feet high.  It's keeping well in the fridge in a jar of water.

 Yesterday's canning, 12 more jars of pickles, 10 more jars of beets.  I also started tinctures- thyme, speedwell, and pennyroyal.  I froze three bags of beet tops (to eat like spinach).

I need to buy more jars!  I buy more all the time, sometimes leaving the thrift stores with my trunk full.  I had about twice as many this year as I had last year, and I'm down to the last couple of boxes now.  Unbelievable.  What can I say?  It's been a good year in the garden.

We opened a jar of dill pickle relish.  Blech.  Husband likes it- it tastes like salsa to him.  All I taste is onion.  I'm going to try another batch and triple the cucumber.  All I want is a nice, boring, cucumber relish recipe, like you can buy in any store. 

Yarrow is growing in the ditch on our road, so today I'll go out and harvest some to dry.  I dried mint and raspberry leaves for tea, and I have a bunch or parsley drying now (from the fair).

Sunflowers

While out picking comfrey and plantain yesterday, I noticed that the lone sunflower outside had opened.

And Mr. Bumbles was busy pollinating it.

Our weather has really been fantastic this year.  There's no doubt that the garden has been the best ever, but this beauty really takes the cake.  It's the first sunflower I've managed to grow OUTSIDE in the north that's actually flowered.  It's only 3 feet high, and sadly, probably won't have time to develop seed, but I just love that happy yellow flower!

Harvest Monday

We went away for a few days again, just Husband, #3 and #4 this time. When I got home the cukes were waiting for me.

Lots of pickling cucumbers, and 4 lovely Marketmores.  There will be more Marketmores in a day or two.  They're really coming along nicely now, and I really like the flavour and texture.

 I picked a handful of peppers off the plant I thought was the Medusa (sweet green peppers that grow like jalapenos), and a couple off another plant.  It looks like they may both be Medusas, no bite at all from the second batch.  They're definitely a keeper, and I'll be saving seed from them, despite that they may have cross pollinated from the hot peppers.  I'll look for Medusa seed when I order next year as well.  It's nice to have a green pepper that actually produces around here.

One big tomato from the greenhouse, 2 little ones from the perennial bed.  Tomato season may be upon us!  I'm pinching off flowers and suckers ruthlessly now.

I also started deheading squash flowers last week, and came home to find this one had doubled in size.  I have an overwhelming desire to pick it now, but it's still so green.  It's the biggest squash I've ever grown!

 I soaked the cukes for dill pickles (found dill in the grocery store last week), then went out to pick the yellow beans.  #2 had picked some while I was gone, but I thought he must have missed some, since there were only a couple of inches in the bucket.  I didn't find too many more, ending up with just enough for supper and one bag for the freezer.  Afterwards he told me he had picked a full 5 gallon pail- he just ate them all, lol.

I pulled a few northern (dry) bean plants that were starting to topple over and turn yellow.  I think the yield there will be quite good as well, about a pound from just a few plants.

Mom gave me a bag of cucumbers last night, so today I think I'll try a batch of dill pickle relish.

Last week's Cream of Celery soup took a bit longer than expected, but didn't break the rules after all.  The recipe called for chicken stock, rather than milk and flour for the base, so I had to cook a turkey, then make stock, then make the cream of celery soup.  This one will definitely be a winter canning project in the future.  It's nice to have a few jars sitting on the shelf right now though, ready to make Balogna Rolls with all of those beans at a moment's notice!

And one huge fail, just before we headed south.  The freezer in the hallway came unplugged, and no one noticed until it was too late.  Luckily it wasn't even half full, but sadly it did have the last of my roast beefs and corned beefs in it.  I've been cooking it up in my biggest stock pot for dog food, so I can package it in smaller portions.  At least it's not a total loss, but it makes me mad at myself for rationing out those roasts rather than eating them all. :(

Another Garden Update

Because, seriously, what else is there to talk about at this time of year?

The last dill weed.  It hasn't flowered yet.  Lots of sprigs on it though. I think I'll do a batch of cucumber relish with my next cucumber harvest, to give this little dill weed more time to flower.

Peppers are coming along quickly now.  There are at least 3 or 4 on each plant in the greenhouses.  The ones in the perennial bed haven't started fruiting.  Now which peppers did I plant where? I'll have to check my greenhouse 'map'.

Romaine going to seed.  These were transplants.  No signs of life from the ones that were direct sown.

Yellow beans still going like crazy, but the grasshoppers are starting to do some damage.  Some plants have hardly any leaves left.  Spotted a few snails in the hugelkultur bed as well.  Green beans are slowing down.  That does not upset me.  I left the last row to go to seed.

Yesterday I canned another 4 quarts of dill pickles, and 15 pints of yellow beans.  I'm canning beans now, because I have 30 bags of green, and 20 bags of yellow frozen.  That should get us through the winter.  So I figure extras will last longer canned.

I got a great deal on bananas, tomatoes, and assorted fruit on the cheap rack in the grocery store.  99¢ per bag.

The tomatoes I bought to eat fresh, then mom gave me a bag of tomatoes from their garden.  Then I found the peppers.  Now I'm thinking of doing a batch of salsa.  With red tomatoes.  Go figure, lol.  I started canning salsa a few years ago when I had about a million green tomatoes that obviously weren't going to ripen.  Google led me to green salsa, and it was an instant hit.  It almost feels like blasphemy to make it with red tomatoes.  And what shall I do with all of the green tomatoes I end up with at the end of the season?  But I don't think I have enough red tomatoes to do a batch of pasta sauce.

I did do a batch of pasta sauce the other day.  I cleaned out the freezer in the garage and found a bunch of tomatoes from last year hiding at the bottom.  My big roasting pan full of tomatoes resulted in 3 quarts and a pint.  Is it worth the effort?  I'm not a small batch canner.  All of that farting around and all of those dirty dishes for 3.5 quarts?

Hmmm...  Maybe I should just freeze them.  I'll think on it.  While I'm thinking on it, how about another BLT?  Maybe the 'problem' will go away on it's own....

Today's adventure- Jamaica Banana Jam.  If I can get it done before the boys inhale the rest of those bananas.  ;)  And then I want to break a bunch of rules again, and can cream of celery soup.

Gardens and Puppies

My first sunflower, in greenhouse #2, about to blossom.  I am very excited.  This is the first sunflower I've grown in the north to even think about flowering.  Growing them between the cukes though- bad idea.  They're all entangled in the vines.

Smitty, still so tiny.  He packs a wallop though, so don't let that tiny frame fool you.  He'll knock you on your butt (while you're trying to avoid stepping on him, of course!)  Puppies are doing very BAD with house breaking, although I'm blaming that on my very BAD children, who think they're too cute to keep penned up in the sunroom, and then forget that they're responsible to WATCH them while they're roaming the house.  At least they know not to mess in my room.

Pickling cucumbers in greenhouse #2 are coming on strong.  While only enough for a few jars at a time, I'm still very pleased with the results.  The marketmores (eating) cukes in greenhouse #1 are just starting to catch up, and I should be harvesting the first ones  in just a day or two.  Tomatoes are starting to turn yellow, ears are forming on the greenhouse corn, tiny squash abound.  I'd like to see the peppers doing more than just flowering, but all in all, I think it's coming along nicely.

Peas are still coming in the garden, but slower now.  Beans are crazy.  Mangels have nice large visible roots, definitely a success, and their leaves look delicious.

Huggie beans and mangels

We've got maybe another week left of volunteer potatoes, and then I think we'll just continue harvesting to eat the potatoes we planted on purpose.  It's much easier on the back to just dig a bit at a time, even if some of the potatoes are a little small.  Carrots are still sad and tiny, but I'm actually thinning them out this year, eating as we go, so maybe the rest will get to a decent size.

The beats in the greenhouses are doing as well as the mangels outside, but in the garden, they're still tiny little things. 

Garden corn has just started tassels.  The asparagus beans are barely surviving amongst them, and no fruit.  I think they were too shaded too quickly.

Lettuce is still going like crazy, with a few forming heads (that never happens here) and a couple starting to bolt. 

Cabbage has woken up, and is starting to form heads now. A lot of bug damage though.  I don't see any worms, but lots of grasshoppers this year.  Do grasshoppers eat cabbage? Still little happening with the broccoli and brussels sprouts.

A walk in the pasture revealed lots of perfect little puffballs.  I picked a bucket full for supper last night.  Yum!

What's that flower?  Cranberry suggested Jerusalem Artichokes when she was up visiting.  There are two patches- one in the garden beside greenhouse #2, and one beside the woodshed, where a former flower bed was.  (The flower bed also has a patch of horseradish, so anything is possible).  The plants are easily 5-6 feet tall, and just started flowering.  I haven't dug up any roots yet.  Most Jerusalem artichoke on google images shows a more defined, daisy like flower, although some do have more petals.  These do seem to have a lot of petals by comparison.