Garden Update

Well, summer is officially over. Autumn came breezing right in. We are rounding the bend out there in the garden. It’s just about done. My dad gathered all the butternut and hubbard squash.

And dug up pretty much all the potatoes.

The beans are about done—some large ones were left to dry out for shelling beans.

There are still a couple radishes, beets and a little lettuce.

Once the first frost hits, we can harvest the kale.

Then, come December 1st, we can plant our garlic. We picked some up locally and the farmers said they always plant on the first of December—which gives us time to figure out where we are going to put them. Raised bed, perhaps? It’s our first time growing it, so any tips would be greatly welcome!

Before we left for work this morning, my Mother asked me if I was sad or relieved that the garden is about done. Like a great many things, it’s bittersweet. I’m grateful I don’t have to do all that work. And I feel happy and accomplished. But there have been (very brief) moments where I wondered what I will do with myself now that my free time isn’t so wholly consumed*.

I say brief because I quickly remember how much more I have to do. I sat down last night and wrote up a list of things I want to sew. Lets just say I ended up with a cramp in my hand and alternating feelings of being overwhelmed and excited.

I’m also worried about the lack of responsibility the garden brings. It demands your attention. If you don’t go out and pick that zucchini, by tomorrow it’ll be too big. If you don’t weed, the little carrot shoots will get choked out. I’m hoping I can bring that kind of discipline and urgency into my sewing again. It’s about making habits. I’ve decided I need to go into my studio everyday for at least twenty minutes, even if spend it ironing scraps of fabric.

*Honestly, I don’t understand people who say they are bored. I’ll admit there are times when I am too tired to do anything or too anxious to focus enough to do anything. But bored? Never. It has a lot to do with how I was raised. I think once in my life I sighed and said I was bored and my father responded with: I’ll find something for you to do and promptly handed me a list of chores. Needless to say, I learned to keep myself busy. Or at least never admit to boredom.

Anyway, I think this will be my last weekly garden update for the season.

How did your summer go? Was it bountiful? Did you learn any significant lessons? Planning anything different for next year? Are you excited about Autumn?

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Garden Update

One of the hauls this week. Seen above: Radishes, celery, green beans, lettuce and peppers.

As you can see, the celery I planted in the garden did really well. It doesn’t look like the pale, thick stuff you find in the super market but it’ll do for drying. I decided to harvest some of the stalks around the edges. Stalks and leaves, which I washed off and dried in the dehydrator for things like soup. I’m thinking of making some celery salt. Do you know of any good uses for dried celery? I came across this article offering good info on growing/keeping celery.

Another round of radishes are producing nicely.

We also harvested one (of about two dozen) butternut squash to eat the other night. Can’t wait to harvest more and make soups or just slather them with butter and cinnamon and maple syrup.

How does your garden grow?

(Head over to Homesprout to see what others are hauling from their garden! Or add your photo to the flickr pool to join in.)

Stay in touch at: Facebook | Ravelry | Goodreads | Pinterest | last.fm | flickr

Garden Update

There really isn’t anything new or exciting to mention in regards to the garden. Lots and lots of beans. Peppers. A few radishes. A few tomatoes.

Sometimes, I fear my outfit posts are a little deceptive. I tend to take photos when I get dolled up (which is when I go into town or just feel like fancying up my day a little—and have the time and energy to do so.) This is closer to what I look like most days. Jeans and a t-shirt. Hair up and frizzing out like crazy. Glasses on. Bean leaves embellishing my shirt. Muddy boots. Sporting really poor posture. Exhausted but content. Same old, same old.

We bought about 100 ears of corn and did that up for freezing on Friday night.

All the mums around here are looking lovely. I must say, they are quickly becoming a favorite flower of mine.

What have you been growing?

(Head over to Homesprout to see what others are hauling from their garden! Or add your photo to the flickr pool to join in.)

Stay in touch at: Facebook | Ravelry | Goodreads | Pinterest | last.fm | flickr

Harvesting Coriander

Back in July, our cilantro plant bolted and went to seed. I’ll admit, I didn’t pay much attention to it after I was turned off by the realization that cilantro smells like stink-bug.

However, not one to waste: I did a little research and found that cilantro seeds are simply coriander seeds and harvest-able. So I let the plant die off and dry up a bit. Then, based on info I found on the web, I snipped the stalks of seeds off and put them in a brown paper bag. You can shove the whole plant in a large paper bag but since I only had a little one on hand, I cut it into smaller, more manageable pieces. That bag was then hung in the basement to dry out the seeds for a few weeks. Just a week or so ago, I remembered it was down there and spent some time removing the seeds from the stalks. I’m not sure how often we actually use coriander (I personally have never used it—sounds like it’s often used in Mexican and spicy foods) but it was a fun learning experience.

I hope you all in the states here have a labor-less day. It looks like the rain is going to excuse me from my regular chores today.

Garden Update

It’s kind of nice how things come in stages. First we were hauling up an unreasonable amount of summer squash, then it was tomatoes. Now it’s the beans chance to shine. They are the most abundant vegetable in the garden right now. All of these came from the pole beans–which are finally starting to produce a decent yield. (Which makes hunting in that jungle worth it.)

Our melons didn’t do too great this year. Almost all of them rotted away on the bottom. I’ve been rotating them each day, so the water moisture pooling at the bottom can dry out. The ones above were picked early for fear of rotting away. They would have been tastier if they vine ripened.

My Mom canned up a ton of tomatoes. Most were from our garden but some came from a friend’s garden.

In other news: I’m ashamed to say that I had let my mints get a little worse for wear. I tended them best I could, watering them and keeping them out of the intense heat but it came down to the fact that they simply needed to be re-potted. The roots were crowding themselves out and the soil was pretty depleted. (I just used top soil—which will work for a little while but not long term.) So I removed them from their containers, cut off a healthy looking chunk and re-potted them with fresh soil. I’m happy to say after a week or two, they are perking back up.

How does your garden grow?

(Head over to Homesprout to see what others are hauling from their garden! Or add your photo to the flickr pool to join in.)

Lately.

Hopefully I’ll get back to some regular blogging soon but for now, here is a smattering of photos of the going-ons, garden happenings and other what-nots.

This may very well have been the prettiest thing I made all summer. And it was mighty tasty too—though, honestly, how can you go wrong with homegrown veggies topped with cheese? Here is the recipe.

Harvesting herbs, here and there.

The second planting of bush beans are doing very well.

The overall harvest is dwindling but still producing enough to please me. (We got so many peppers this year!)

Been bringing my ginger in on these cooler nights.

Curious critters are always following me around outside.

And the morning light. Oh, the morning light.

I cast on. (More details in a future post.)

I splurged. (Again, more details in a future post.)

What is life like by you?

Garden Update

It’s tomato season. That’s for sure. I’ve been hauling in baskets full. Unfortunately, they aren’t the prettiest things—many are rotting and splitting and many are plopping to the ground prematurely (which is why you see green ones in the photo.) Even though we make an effort to space the plants out a little more each year, they still end up too close together. My Mother asked how I get amongst the plants to pick the tomatoes. I replied that I crawl on my hands and knees. She laughed. But I was serious. You know how they say a true photographer will do anything for a shot? Well, a true gardener will do anything to salvage a worthy tomato. Pure summertime gold, they are. (There are beans and peppers and cukes hiding in those baskets too.)

We’ve been digging up potatoes here and there.

There are a handful of melons growing.

And at a good dozen butternut squash (as well as some hubbard—not pictured.)

And gourds.

And the those two pepper plants they were giving away outside our local health food store? They moved from their containers to a flower bed and one is producing a lovely pepper.

The things we don’t grow we pick up locally at established farm stands or side-of-the-road set-ups. Mostly eggplant, peaches and (the above) corn. We have a decent local farmer’s market in the neighboring town but since we have such a big garden we don’t bother going much. My parents stopped in for the first time this season yesterday. We are thinking of going again next week because there is someone selling milk and cheeses we might want to splurge on.

We are still harvesting a ton of peppers. The cukes are dwindling a bit. The older squash plants are all done and ripped out but we have a new short row that should start producing soon. The new bush beans are producing! The pole bean plants are crazy-huge. (So huge that when we got the edge of a storm last weekend, the winds and heavy rains were enough to finally knock down the one pole. It was bowed and weak from a knot to begin with.) Monday night Papa and I went out to fix it. However they aren’t producing fruit as well as I remember from previous years. I think too much juice has gone into growing the plants. Dad said that could be too much nitrogen.

What have you been growing?

(Head over to Homesprout to see what others are hauling from their garden! Or add your photo to the flickr pool to join in.)