Goods Morning Gardeners and all of you who come by to checkout the photos. We are here every Saturday morning at 9am EST. If you garden indoors or outdoors, we’d love to see photos and hear about what you do. If you’re just dropping by, please say hello! Everyone is welcome. We hope to give a bit of a respite if you need one.
Part of today’s diary will be a tie up any loose ends of my gardening season and some other thoughts in that regard. As with many of you, there were problems, a lot because of the weather. So let’s get started!
I still had some greens left in my garden so I picked some of those for Thanksgiving….
Tatsoi at the top left and some small pieces of Red Russian Kale on the top right (strawbale’s seeds). Bottom are some small white Radishes. Seeds were from a friend and planted late September. The suqirrels dug up the planted area and these were the only seeds that sprouted. The greens were sauted up, too.
More of strawbale’s Red Russian Kale plus Collard greens (High Mowing Seeds, I think). Onion and Garlic are from a local farmer.
Earlier, I had picked the last of….
Bunching Onions! A mix of High Mowing Seeds and some from strawbale.
The High Mowing Seeds Rattlesnake Pole Beans did quite well in spite of the temperatures hitting 90 some days.
A few more pole beans plus Swiss Chard seeds on the left and Uzbek Carrot seed heads on the right. The Carrot seeds did great in a test sprouting. So far, no luck with the Chard seeds but I’ll keep testing. Latest is the damp paper towel/ziplock bag procedure to see if that works.
I checked through all the seeds I have so far for next year. I have a lot! But need to replace some I’ve used up. Will be ordering: several kinds of Arugula, Jade and Haricot Verte Bush Green Beans, Champion Collards, a red/white Radish called Patricia, Spring Raab Broccoli Rabe, Delight Dill, and Greek Oregano. All from High Mowing Seeds in Vermont. I find their seeds reliable and there’s such a great selection. Check out their Blogs, too! Lots of good information. Here are some of the Radishes they have available this season….and,yes, I LOVE a veggie seed catalog in print!
This past season started off quite well for me. I set up some grow bags this year on my kitchen patio. Many of the seeds sprouted were moved to the in ground garden later in the summer (Collards, Kale, Tatsoi) when the trees leafed out and the patio was more shaded. I had a bit of an issue with squirrels and chipmunks digging in the bags so I covered the tops with chicken wire. What really caused problems was when the temperature started to hit 90 late spring. I noticed things grew slower and sometimes failed. Parsnips, however, seemed happy no matter what so I think the patio will be a parsnip farm next year! I’ll try Carrots, too, since they’re in the same veggie family. Bag sprouting for moving to the in ground plot will still work. I also may buy a large shade cloth that will actually cover my whole garden plot as it’s just 9 x12 feet. I have one in mind that I think was suggested by someone here.
I also have the option to plant some things in the nearby community garden plots of two friends. I’m going back and forth on deciding because if it gets hot again and rain is sparse, keeping enough water on the plants may be tough. Will have to choose carefully what veggies go in up there. Probably start them at home and get them to a good size to transplant. So, that’s a maybe, at this point.
Here’s more veggie stuff from the summer and early fall. But I didn’t grow it! I’ve mentioned that my neighborhood has a huge food bank distribution every Saturday. It’s at a big church. The volunteers are amazing. They set up on Friday and run the distribution Saturday morning. I don’t know how they do it week after week other than it’s a real service mission for them. The site gets swamped with people. With the pandemic SNAP and extra benefits ending, more people are in need. If you can donate $$$ to your area’s food bank, please do. They can make a little go a long way, Here’s what I got one Saturday….
Those huge carrots next to the canned goods were absolutely fabulous tasting. Maybe the best carrots I ever had. The bags had no label and there was still dirt on the carrots so I’m guessing those were a donation from a large farm. I’d sure like to know the content of their soil! I share what I get with a senior neighbor…..
I also shop when I can at the nearby community center’s farmers market that runs from June through mid October. Some farmers markets take SNAP benefits so if you have those, check to see if they can be used in your area. This is all from one of the last visits….
The long green “thing” is a Long Pie Pumpkin. Those originated in Maine according to information I found online. I was excited to get those Poblano Peppers!
I can’t end without a few photos from gardens around the neighborhood in the past months….
This one is so fabulous and now I can’t remember exactly where it is!
These White Anemones are from one of my favorite gardens. They lasted quite a while into the fall.
This photo is from the Quad area of the nearby Syracuse U. campus. A big shout out to the grounds folks there. They do an amazing and beautiful job. Maybe a diary late spring/early summer next year just highlighting all the hard work they do.
And lastly, my Thanksgiving Cactus decided to blossom at just the right time!
I hope you all had some great food and relaxing times over the holiday. If you garden, what are your plans for the coming season and thoughts on the season past?