peppers aplenty
Several people in my neighborhood have put their gardens to bed. One has even tilled her large plot and mulched it. You can almost feel the way her energy just kind of flagged given this season of drought and heat and she said “Enough!”
It’s true that last year we had already had an early first frost by now. But on Tuesday it was 95 degrees, a last blast that fried the transplanted spinach in my cold frame and required another long watering session from me that evening after work. I, too, felt weary. The winter squash plants are succumbing to powdery mildew, and I hau
led out the cucumber and zucchini/zapallito vines. Those monsters give new meaning to the word “haul” and prickle the skin all the way to their dumping grounds behind the compost pile (they would overwhelm any compost bin). The dry beans are harvested and shelled, and yesterday I harvested what I got in Polish Linguisa tomatoes (the best roma type ever– just look at the size of this one!) for a total of 7 quarts of canned tomatoes (feh).
I cleaned out the potting/seed starting area in the basement and planted the final greens in the cold frame, joining the beets, carrots and parsnips that are already coming along.
I’ve reduced my beds by three or four, but there’s till a lot of food out there!
This week we’ve been continuing our routine of stuffed summer squash and summer vegetable medleys with a decided Mexican twist to accommodate the poblanos and corn, as well as cherry tomato caprese salads and cucumbers. I picked up a local watermelon.
But a change is in the air and in the harvests. My friend Connie has declared the official start of pumpkin season, and I’ve been folding more spinach and leeks into the dishes. Yesterday, I harvested the first three turnips. A cold front has moved in, making it feel decidedly like soup season.
I went out and got some photographic evidence of the garden in its current state, which I’ll share below.
Beets, parsnips and turnips planted in August for fall harvest
Still a few fuzzy “Red Velvet” cherry tomatoes on the vine
Beans came late and are already slowing, which is really fine… how many green beans do you really want? Meanwhile, the spinach and lettuce bed is doing great. Empty space is where I pulled the fall radishes already.
My happy bed of leeks!
Poblanos are weighing down the vines. The peppers are smaller than last year, but more plentiful.
Cold frame with carrots, beets, parsnips and scallions and soon, greens
Delicata and pumpkin
The tri-color salads with sungold, black cherry and 100s are still welcome!