Two nights ago I got the last of the garlic planted. Even though I know that garlic is a late season plant, it still seems odd to be planting at this time of year, when most things are dead or dying, and when snow has already covered the High Peaks!
If all the garlic comes up next year, I will be well-endowed with the stuff. I'll be giving it away at Christmas! Maybe I'll try to sell it at the Holiday Fair! This is, of course, putting the proverbial cart well before the proverbial horse! Let's see if the stuff grows first, eh?
Yesterday afternoon I pulled up the corn stalks. I had thought of leaving them up to provide some sort of shelter for small birds in the winter, but in the end I just decided to yank them out. Now they are lying on the ground between garden plots, in theory blocking weed growth (ha).
2009 will be another year of weeding. I didn't really keep up with it this year and the buggers took over several beds and most of the "paths" in between. This is what happens when one runs out of mulch.
I've finally given up on the butternut squashes. I had three coming along, but even covered with row covers to protect them from the frost, they just weren't growing. So, I've cut my losses.
Three beautiful Northern Spy apples grace the tree this fall. I am so tempted to pluck them now, but I know that Spies are one of the latests apples to harvest, so I wait.
It is a glorious autumn day here in the North Country and I should be getting home and spending some time in the yard with the animals.
Happy gardening to all!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Fall Plantings
Although I have mostly put the garden to bed for the year, I still have more garlic to plant! The mail order bulbs have now all come in, and I must say that the latest batches have been more inspiring than the first one was! The bulbs that have recently arrived (Inchelium, Chesnok, Kazakstan, and German Hardy, which I suspect is German White) are of good size and quality - almost as nice as what I got in Sharon Springs! So, sometime in the next week or two I must get the last of the garlic planted. If it all grows, I may have garlic to sell in '09!
Meanwhile, I suppose it is about time to pull the rutabagas and carrots. I grab a few more carrots each time I go by the garden, and although they are small, they do mean that many fewer carrots I need to buy at the store!
And with all the harsh frosts we've been getting, it is probably time to actually move the pumpkins inside and set a weekend aside for doing pumpkin puree. I've been using a "recipe" for puree which utilizes the oven rather than the stove (who wants to peel and cube fourteen pumpkins?). It's pretty much the same as cooking acorn squash - cut them in half (and remove the seeds), put them cut-side down in a roasting pan with a cup of water, and cook in the oven at 300-350*F for up to 90 minutes - until "meltingly soft." Scoop and freeze.
Meanwhile, I suppose it is about time to pull the rutabagas and carrots. I grab a few more carrots each time I go by the garden, and although they are small, they do mean that many fewer carrots I need to buy at the store!
And with all the harsh frosts we've been getting, it is probably time to actually move the pumpkins inside and set a weekend aside for doing pumpkin puree. I've been using a "recipe" for puree which utilizes the oven rather than the stove (who wants to peel and cube fourteen pumpkins?). It's pretty much the same as cooking acorn squash - cut them in half (and remove the seeds), put them cut-side down in a roasting pan with a cup of water, and cook in the oven at 300-350*F for up to 90 minutes - until "meltingly soft." Scoop and freeze.
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