Garden Update

This what I did yesterday with Mr. Man while B worked and the Superstar had yet to return from a trip to a friend's farm...

We picked the beans and threw the plants in the compost bin, picked the parsley to dry for later...

Picked the rest of the carrots and zucchini. I do believe certain young people ate a lot of carrots out if the garden this year, and yes, they are red on the outside, dragon carrots they're called...

Dug up the rest of the potatoes. I made a potato salad yesterday and will make some soup in the next few days... Yum! Fresh potatoes are really worth growing!

These are called Dragon Beans (clearly I had fantasy on the brain when I placed my seed order in the spring). They are such a fun colour but unfortunately they change to plain old yellow when cooked. I frenched and blanched them to freeze for winter today.

I also had the Superstar grate 3 of the zucchini today to freeze in 1 cup portions for baking, stews and sauces later this winter. I tend to throw it in where ever I think I can get away with it. No one knows (or can taste it) and I can feel good about feeding good garden food to the family...

Here are my Hubbard Squash from Seeds of Diversity. I'm so excited about these! I've had the seeds for a few years and finally planted them. I was afraid after our crazy flooding this spring that they would suffer seed rot but they grew. In fact we had to trim back the plants a few times. They were crazy invaders!

They grew lovely fruit, the size of tennis balls to start. The largest one in the picture above is the size of a volleyball.

I have high hopes for the taste of these after they cure a bit. I also plan to save the seeds and offer them in the Seed Savers catalogue for 2012. I love the idea of helping to preserve a bit of gardening past and pass on the genes to the gardens of the future...

This is one of my composts. We have 2 and I alternate which one I fill. This year it's the little one. The big one (you can kind of see it next to the little one) is just sitting all nice and rotting this year. Next spring we'll empty it into the garden and turn it into the soil. Then the little one will sit for a season as we fill the big one.

I do this because I'm a lazy composter... I don't turn them, or water them or follow the "rules":  green matter, brown matter, soil, repeat... I just let them be and magically, they produce lovely fragrant black organic soil, every spring. Seems to work...

This is my rather sad looking garden as of yesterday. I have lettuce going to seed and some parsley still producing. My beets and Swiss chard are still growing well and are so delicious! I'll pick the rest of the beets soon, and the Swiss chard I'll leave until the frost takes it.

My poor tomatoes! I had to cover them in sheets last night. We had a frost warning! Already! It got to 3C (37.4F) with pockets of freezing which is unfair if you ask me. I have lots of green tomatoes that would really like a wee bit more time on the vine, so I'm asking the weather guy to hold off on the frost for just another few weeks. As this is just the beginning of September I don't think I'm asking for too much.

So there you have a fall garden update complete with lots of pictures and lots of rambling. I hope your growing season is still going strong and all the fresh lovely produce you get to pick is nourishing and delicious!

Cheers :)