FALL IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

 Over the last few weeks I have concentrated some of my gardening time( just an hour or so a day is still all I can manage) on preparing the vegetable and herb garden for the fall/winter growing season. Arguably the variety of crops that can be grown successfully over winter far out-number those grown during the spring/summer season, although some of the fall plants will mature during the early spring.

 Before I could even begin to prepare the beds I had to first remove much of what had been growing in the pathways all summer. This included the many grasses, blanket flowers, gomphrena, pink, purple, strawberry and 'Fireworks." I am always torn between having flowers spilling over the pavers and the neat and tidy look of having nothing to impede moving around when working out there. When I clean everything out in the fall I know this is the look I like but then when they all start growing in the spring I like that too. How to balance this with the hours spent removing them is the challenge at this stage in my life.

Even now I have left a few to enjoy the last of their blooms.

Then I had to tackle the beds themselves, removing the layer of cedar mulch that had been been on there for 2 years saving it to either mulch another area of the garden or return to the beds after planting. Each bed got one bag of new 'garden soil' purchased from a big box store. 

 

We decided that because our gardens are so difficult to access that it was more economical on the body to move them by the bag. Plus we no longer have a truck to transport bulk material. 

 Weeks ago I started some winter vegetables inside, under grow lights.  I find they stand a better chance against snails and caterpillars if they are a decent size when planted outside. 

broccoli, baby pak choi, kale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

red cabbage, parsley

Beets and carrots were sown directly in the ground. They are now up and growing well. One of my weaknesses is my inability to pinch out plants but with the beets as soon as they are big enough to add to the salad bowl. I promise I will!

Kale, pak choi, broccoli and cabbage are now all big enough to go into the ground.

I have a few packets of seeds including Napa cabbage, lettuce and radish which I will direct sow over the next few weeks. 

Peas are struggling with the heat. I probably planted a little early. 

 

We kept the citrus trees out on the driveway this year, mainly for ease of transport into the garage during periods of freezing temperatures. All that is except the smaller kumquat and the orange. The kumquat was a rescue citrus and it was a few years before I even knew what it was. Last year was the first fruiting which has increased this year. It makes great marmalade.

I see the beginnings of ripening on one of the fruits.

The orange tree has not done so well. One last chance to improve itself!

DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS

You may be dreaming of a white Christmas or there may be visions of sugar plums dancing through your head. Over here we are thinking of lots of greens. I am having a really super winter vegetable crop year. With only 2 frosty nights and lots of warm sunny days and a sprinkling of rain it must be perfect conditions. I even have peas! The first successful fall planting.

There's lots of this. Napa cabbage.

Although the the first pick doesn't have a very tight head I'm not complaining. You can see what dish I made at the end.

Homegrown broccoli is so tender there is no need to peel the stalks.

And lots more peas in the making.

This particular snap pea is called Cascadia. It is tender at all stages even when the peas have fattened up in the pod. You'll find it at Botanical Interests.

Delicious peppery arugula. Cut and grow back again.

Dinosaur kale, delicious stir-fried in olive oil with garlic.

More peppery mustard greens.

Beds of chard and broccoli.

Multiplying onions, from Bob and Renee. The lemon tree came out of the potting shed today and received a root pruning. We lifted it out of the pot, amended the soil bringing it up to the right level and pruned some of the long straggly roots.

I finally got around to thinning a row of the beets the other day, putting the trimming in a green smoothie.

So this is the salad we had the other night  using the Napa cabbage. It is Asian style with a peanut sauce. You can add whatever you have on hand. I used cauliflower, carrots, radish and bean sprouts. Topped with scallops and shrimp it makes a delicious meal. I have  Renee Studebaker to thank for the recipe, which she shared in the Austin American Statesman years ago. It's one of the reasons I grow Napa Cabbage.

Now to go outside and pick dinner.

BOUNTY FROM THE GARDEN

Today I picked the last of the beets from the garden. They were a second crop planted some time in March and I wasn't even sure if they would produce that late in the season. Now I wish I had put in more rows. We love pickled beets. You know what will be on the table tonight; beet tops with roasted beets. Tomatoes are in abundance and I am managing to keep down the numbers of leaf footed bugs by giving them the creep and grab treatment. These will probably be the last of the patty pans as the plants are going into a serious decline......and not due to the squash vine borer but the heat and humidity.

The Italian romas are all going to be roasted and frozen for use in the winter.

I have two kinds of yellow tomato. The first is the yellow pear which I picked up at Garden a Go Go at Diana's house. I can't remember who gave it to me but thank you anyway. It has been a great producer. Maybe I will be serving some them next Saturday for Garden a GoGo at my house!

The second I have no idea. It produces medium sized round fruit which have a strange translucent look; not terribly attractive. They are quite tasty although the heat is causing the skins to become a little tough. I probably would not grow this one again- even if I knew its name.

Either way it all makes for a great insalata caprese.

Or stuffed squash with beet tops/beets.

Yesterday I pulled out all the garlic and it is drying out on the gravel. Not the greatest crop but enough to keep us going for a few weeks. I think the garlic is better suited to sandier soils and mine might be too heavy. So the beds will mostly lay dormant until later in the year when the fall/winter crop will go in.

These are the reason we garden behind walls. Mama and baby eye me through the cedars. There is also another mama with twins.

This lone deer is a regular visitor behind the back garden. Always looking for a handout.

"Green tomatoes, red tomatoes, tomatoes with blossom end rot, beans, beet stalks..... I don't care. Just send them my way. I'll compost them for you"

Otherwise I'll just have to eat agave!

FIRST AND LAST

This is what I had for dinner last night. The first patty pan squash of the year and the last of the beets.

There was only one which was a good job because it was just me for dinner. Stuffed with sauteed garlic, chopped squash, yellow peppers a little ham and cilantro. Topped off with parmesan cheese. Beets were just dressed with some pomegranate vinegar and citrus olive oil. Orange and beets go so well together. Yummy. It was a timely meal because today I went out to look and see how many more squash were in the offing.

Good job I did because the squash vine borer moth has been at work. In fact it may even be multiples. I removed 37 eggs! I have perfected my technique using a small knife to scrape the egg and then squashing it on a smooth stone. I have never seen so many on one plant before , but that would go along with the huge number of caterpillars we are seeing this year. These moths have wintered over in their pupal stage in the soil to emerge and lay their eggs before disappearing back into the soil at the end of the season. I am going to call this one my trap crop, which I started earlier in the greenhouse. I have several others, started in the ground, and growing under netting, which I hope will foil the moth. Nevertheless I will be out there every day on my knees looking for those eggs. No housemaids knee for me, only gardeners' knee.