Remember the snow from last week’s post? And I had to scrape frost from my windshield a day or two later. No, I didn’t cover anything this time.
How do you spell relief when you are a gardener in MN?
FROST.
Yep. Killed pretty much everything not related to cabbage. This picture is from the vantage of the potato bed. Not a great shot, because I dug potatoes weeks ago. It does look pretty desolate though.
The peppers and the zucchini are now wilty versions of their former selves, along with all the remaining bounty. It was a great year for peppers; I finally stopped picking them because, well, how many stuffed peppers can two people eat?
My seasonal favorites weathered the cold just fine.
I’m finishing off the last of the beets, and brussels sprouts are next on the menu, I think. Or kale. Or both. The sprouts did really well this year. I have had some already, but after a frost they tend to sweeten up a bit. Kale, too.
The biggest task now is to clean out the garden and till it. I like to take all the raked-up leaves (when I feel like raking them, because with a grove, it’s like cleaning up kids’ toys just before they roll through again; looks like you didn’t do anything š ) and dump them into the garden before we till it in.
We’ll leave the sprouts and kale alone. They’ll be fine for a while yet. Oh, and another bonus we get almost every year:
I suspect it’s the variety, but we usually get some berries in mid-summer, then another crop in fall, depending of course on how cold it is. The raspberry flowers are some of the few flowers still around for the bees. When I was picking peppers a couple weeks back, I checked out the raspberries. So many bees! I don’t think I’ve seen that many bees in one place all summer. They weren’t the European honeybees, though. They were wild bees, which are furrier then the European ones, but not as big as bumblebees. So. Cool.
The chickens are all laying eggs now, or at least most of them are. And the flock likes to follow us around; a couple of the black ones are really keen on being shadows.
We keep discussing letting them out of the pen for a few hours (putting the dogs in the house, of course), but hubs said he heard a coyote during the day earlier this week. So, probably not letting the chickens out to roam. Not now, anyway. I feel bad because there isn’t any vegetation in the pen (hubs and son “re-landscaped” the area when they redid the pen this spring). I throw tall weeds in the pen for them; its’s a great use for those weeds that are too close to the garden fence to mow.
And more homework! I’m revising my next chunk of my WIP to send off to my writing teacher. I want to get the draft done before NaNo starts. A dream, unless I whisk off to an isolated cabin with heat, internet, wine, and chocolate for a week or two. Still, I’m going to try. Even without the chocolate š
So, as Dory says:
Have a great weekend!
October 19, 2019 at 6:58 am
Love your photos. Looks like you had a really nice garden. My parents had chickens when I was growing up. Hubs and I haven’t tried it. Our jobs keep us too busy to properly care for them. My brother does have a small garden on our property. Getting some fall peppers and such. NaNo is coming soon! Looking forward t it.
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October 19, 2019 at 7:19 am
Thanks, Joan! By this time of the season, I’m anxious to put the garden to bed (except the sprouts and kale š ) Another thing off my list! And yes, waiting anxiously for NaNo!
Have a great weekend, Joan!
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October 19, 2019 at 7:08 am
Thanks for sharing those great ‘photos, Julie. It is nice, in a way, when that first hard frost comes, and you can start to put the garden down for a nap until the weather warms up again. It sort of helps you move, I think, from one season to the next. And to focus more on that writing homework. I wish you well with it!
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October 19, 2019 at 7:22 am
Yes! Moving on is good, and a big sigh of relief that another season is done. I love autumn, but this year Mother Nature seems to be a bit neurotic, with tropical summer, winter, autumn, winter again, now back to autumn. Best part, though, is the beautiful trees. I often wish I could just sit and watch the trees change, and embed the colors in my mind. It’s like the Grand Canyon: pictures don’t quite capture the wonder of all those wonderful colors.
Have a great weekend, Margot!
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October 19, 2019 at 8:31 am
Youāve put raspberries in my mind. Iām going to see if any of my local markets have any now. See ya!
Neil
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October 20, 2019 at 7:12 pm
Hope you find some–they are tasty!
Have a great week, Neil!
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October 19, 2019 at 9:27 am
Interesting post. My sister lives in Indiana, rural, and does much of what you do though it’s just not as cold. Plenty cold for me though!
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October 20, 2019 at 7:14 pm
This weekend was a treat–highs in the 60s. Of course, it’s also short-lived: we’re back in the 50s and 40s this week. Sigh. It was so nice while it lasted! š
Have a great week, Jacqui!
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October 19, 2019 at 3:07 pm
“A dream, unless I whisk off to an isolated cabin with heat, internet, wine, and chocolate for a week or two.” Ugh! Please take me with you on that dream! And the cat. Always bring the cat.
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October 20, 2019 at 7:16 pm
LOL! The cat would enjoy it, or at least curling up by the fire. Come to think of it, the cabin should definitely have a fireplace. And lots of firewood ready to go. š
Have a great week, Betsy! (and say ‘hi’ to Panther and friends for me š )
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October 19, 2019 at 3:32 pm
My garden is down to kale, kale, and a little more kale! Ha ha. The cold weather is coming to stay, Julie. Happy Writing!
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October 20, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Thanks, Diana! I cooked up some kale today, and picked sprouts to roast tomorrow. This weekend was beautiful–in the 60s (our usual is 40s-50s). This coming week we’re back to average. Sigh.
Have a great writing week!
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October 20, 2019 at 5:27 pm
I love the photos. Your garden is so cool and I have developed an instant soft spot for the speckled hen.
Does Zoey hang around them?
DH and I were talking today about how hard it is to find good Brussel sprouts. Maybe we should consider gardening again, LOL.
Looking forward to NaNo, Fingers crossed we both rock it!
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October 20, 2019 at 7:38 pm
Yes! I think we will both take our writing to frantic levels (that’s my plan, and I’m sticking to it. Really š ) I have found decent sprouts at Aldi for a reasonable price. They have frozen ones too that work in a pinch in the winter. There is something about fresh, though. We had a light frost last week, so that should sweeten the sprouts up a tad bit. I picked some today, and plan to roast them tomorrow. Love them roasted! Especially with sweet potatoes.
Have a great week, Mae!
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October 21, 2019 at 9:03 am
They are so good roasted. We’ve done them with squash and mini-potatoes. I also love them on the grill. And now I’m hungry, LOL!
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October 20, 2019 at 10:12 pm
Glad you still a couple things going on in your garden, Julie:) I still have my kale, too. When we had chickens we used to let them roam at first, but all the forest critters figured that out quick. I miss having chickens. Maybe someday, if we get a stronger coop built. Hope you have a productive week!
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October 21, 2019 at 6:26 am
There was a point a few years ago when we could let the chickens roam, and the dogs (miracle of miracles) wouldn’t bother them. Something happened one day, and one of the dogs decided it was open season on the chickens. We haven’t let them roams since.
Have a great week, Denise!
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October 21, 2019 at 4:27 am
So much for my last comment about the snow! Wow! Your garden veg looks so delicious and can’t believe you’re discovering raspberries. Your write so affectionately of the bees – I imagine you’ll be on first-name basis with them. As for coyotes – I always think of wild west films when I hear of these animals. Please keep your hens safe and penned in! Enjoy the autumn days and have fun with the leaves! š
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October 21, 2019 at 6:57 am
I’ve been bummed–haven’t seen a lot of bees this summer, not like in years past. I know the European bees are struggling; haven’t seen many of them at all this summer, but I’m so glad to see the wild bees. It’s tough because we are surrounded by farm fields that grow corn, which is wind-pollinated (and the chemicals they use are no good for any bees, I’m sure). We don’t mow most of our land, so there are some wildflowers, at least. And coyotes! For years we never heard them. Now this year we seem to be hearing them much more often. Hopefully once the fields are harvested and don’t offer them any cover they’ll move on. Then again, we have a ton of rabbits, and only one able-bodied dog, so maybe the coyotes will stick around and take advantage of the situation.
Have a great week, Annika!
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October 24, 2019 at 10:13 am
The end is in sight… Even your cat looks happy about it. š
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October 25, 2019 at 7:37 pm
š š š
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