I always think to myself, "Self, you should blog." But there's just not much to blog about with the ol' back 40 feet.
(I should really measure that out some day.)
Today, though I did things. The nights are getting cooler, and we've come perilously close to our first frost, but not quite yet. Folklore in Ireland and Scotland says that you need to get all the crops in before the first frost; anything left after that belongs to some spirit or another (it seems to vary by region) and good grief you don't want to take it from them! That way lies bad stuff.
When I got home, then, I got dinner started (turkey meatloaf...yum), and headed outside. First task was to take down the beans from the poles. There were some beans that had grown since the last picking, so those all went in a bowl. Some may be okay for eating...but the rest I think I shall save for seed. In all likelihood I have more than I need, so if anyone is interested in trading, or just having some bean seeds. They tasted good and vined with very little assistance. If you've been following you know of my very "hands off" (read: lazy) approach to gardening, so the fact they were so easy is a definitely plus. I suppose I should see if I can find what variety they were. I may still have the seed pouch, but I wouldn't be so confident about that.
Next I hit the sunflowers. I managed to get three large heads and one medium sized head that are FULL of seeds. I can't wait to grab those all and roast them for Jim.
Finally, it was time to grab the rest of the brussel sprouts. I pulled all the stalks and cut the leaves off into the compost. (That's where the bean stalks went too.) The stalks are sitting on the porch on the table next to the sunflower heads so I can get the sprouts off of them tomorrow, hopefully. Then the remaining stalks will go into the compost as well.
Now I have a full compost bin, but it is full of greens. I need Jim to rip up the many cardboard boxes in the garage and put those in there.
I left the tomatoes and bell peppers in. I want to pull the green tomatoes off and then see what happens. And, the strawberries have some late berries that will be a nice dessert at some point. I guess that could have been tonight, but time was up.
To review...my second harvest since this experiment began was...lackluster. I did get six pints of zucchini canned, and I have a boatload of strawberries in the freezer to be jam. But I got nowhere near the tomatoes and bell peppers of last year. Similarly, while I did well, with rosemary, the remaining herbs were not so great. I am not entirely sure what I did differently, so I will just chalk it up to the fickleness of Mother Nature. This does mean the home made Yule baskets may be a bit light in the food department, but I think that's okay. The point is to give of myself and what I have, and if that's a whole lot of zucchini bread and strawberry jam (not a bad combination, actually), then that's what it is.
I am already thinking ahead to next year, of course. I certainly want to get with Misty about the grapes, and then talk to Jim about, yes, another bed. I've learned that with some things you can't wait -- if they bolt or get beyond ripe, then you've wasted that garden space, and gotten no food out of it.
The wheel has turned, and the signs of autumn are everywhere. I would like to get some straw (I don't know why...I just do) to cover all the beds with a nice blanket (that will also decompose), so they can be ready to go for spring.
Have a great autumn!
