Can you believe it’s nearly October and the garden is still producing awesome amounts for fruits and vegetables? We had a less than stellar summer here in the Western Washington and I keep thinking we are going to get hit with an early frost or some sort of wickedly bad weather any day now.
I picked a few pumpkins and other types of squash today. I think I’ll go ahead and set everything on the porch to cure while I figure out what to do with it.
I also picked a few fresh beets and carrots.
And more potatoes of course. A day doesn’t go by around here without some fresh potatoes being dug up. 😉 The HH is Irish after all.
Today’s Harvest
Beets, a pound of potatoes, fresh carrots, squash, squash and more squash, heirloom tomatoes and 3 giant zucchinis. Not to shabby for the end of September if you ask me.
Dinner is in the oven.
So what are you digging up these days?
Mavis wants to know.
Jess says
Just picked about 6 pounds of tomatoes and a few straggler beans….. got a bit of frost last night so I am getting ready to mulch everything… waiting on cabbage, pumpkins, and purple onions…. rocky mountains alberta
Cecily says
Isn’t it strange how two different areas in the same region can be so different weather wise. In my SE Tacoma garden we had 23 days of 80 degrees and up. That is awesome in my book ( I still remember the “summer” of 2011 when we only had 2 days 80+). My garden faces south and gets 10+ hours of full sun a day so it’s winding down for the year. I still have green beans, soy beans and corn to harvest and my fall/winter crops of course. Your green zebra tomatoes are gorgeous!
Susan says
I picked a few yellow pear tomatoes and some lettuce. Looks like the 4-point buck that has been hanging around got into the tomatoes! They are pretty much mowed down. It was getting to the end – so no big deal really.
Corn is about done, too. I’ve been picking the overgrown ears and giving it to my chickens. Haven’t dug up our potatoes yet. And still have pumpkins on the vine. A few zucchini are still to be found daily.
Our oldest daughter came down to run a 1/2 marathon this weekend, so sent her home with a bunch of veggies- the last of the pattypans, zucchini, tomatoes and corn. And a few cute jack-be-little pumpkins for her mantle.
Michele says
How do you cure root crops like potatoes and carrots to last longer than a couple weeks? I’ll be tipping over 2 of my three potato towers to see how that turned out but now wondering how on earth I preserve potatoes for an extended time. I’d like to try to grow 100+ pounds next year but gotta learn how to preserve my bounty. Lots of leasons learned this year of how to do gardenig so hopefully next year is MUCH better!
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Michele, I’ll write a post on this for you.
Cecily says
Hi Michele. To cure your potatoes put them on news paper in a cool, dry, dark place i.e. an unheated garage. After two weeks remove any potatoes with cuts or nicks in them and use within a couple weeks. Brush the soil off the rest of the potatoes and store them in a cool, dark, dry place that has good air circulation (I use burlap sacks and store in my wood shed until temps get below 30 then they get moved to the basement).
Sally says
I just had to comment that I live in West Seattle and I thought we had an absolutely STELLAR summer! So many days in the 70s and 80s, for me picture perfect weather with little to no rain. Off my soap box…
brenda says
How do you know when to pick your squash? I planted butternut and spaghetti squash this year for the first time.
Jenifer says
Brenda,
The butternut is ready when the skin is beige (no green streaks) and the leaves start to turn brown and die.
If picked to son (think green streaks) it is ok to eat, but it won’t have much flavor.
Katie @ Life Lived Intentionally says
I’ve been picking TOMATOES!!! I actually was able to scavenge a crookneck to eat in a fajita yesterday (it made me so sad that it was the last for awhile), but other than that, the tomatoes, and a green onion or herb picking here and there, I’m pretty much done for a bit. I think that after the tomatoes, the snow peas will be ready, and that’ll be good. I keep eyeing the produce at the grocery store and I know how second-class it is. I’m hoping I can grow enough things to stay happy through the fall!
Laura says
I picked a few tomatoes, but tossed more than I kept. We have had strange weather, hot then rain, hot then rain, and a lot of them got nasty splits.
I haven’t picked the pumpkins yet, I thought they waited until the vines died back. It isn’t necessary? I have a lot of winter, acorn-type, squash still growing.
The peppers are having a second wind, but I don’t think the weather will be nice enough again for them to mature.
Our frost date is Oct. 3, although it usually isn’t that early. This afternoon was quite cold though, so it won’t be long.