We are being blessed with such a lovely start to the fall season here. It's been a treat to spend hours comfortably in the garden, cleaning things up, harvesting what is left and making plans for next year. Our frosts have been so light that there's really very little damage to things like the basil and other herbs. I think we had the last of our tomatoes this week, and definitely the last of our cucumbers. We're moving on mostly to the root veggies and brassicas now, enjoying bringing all of that in and onto the table. I made a very late planting of peas and radishes (that went in August 1, I think), and though they aren't the hearty and robust plants that grew earlier in the season, it's still a treat to be eating peas and radishes in October!
I sorted, labeled and tucked away just over one hundred and fifty pounds of potatoes for winter storage this week. I'm so pleased - it's more than I've ever been able to grow. And well, you all know how many beans there are. Potatoes and beans? We can do well by those. Add in all the beets and carrots and cabbage and I feel quite satisfied at the end of this season with what we're carrying into the next.
In an afternoon, the kids and I planted two hundred narcissus and tulip bulbs around the house and gardens. I'm so excited to see those come up in the spring - especially since there was a great deal of mixing up the bags with all the little hands helping me. It will truly be a surprise to see what grows where!
We had our first fire in the wood stove just last night. While there is still more to be done in the garden, it is mostly a quiet place these days. I think it's time to say goodbye to these weekly garden updates for the year. Thank you all so much for joining along and for all the great advice and commentary in the comments each week! And cheers, to our 2014 gardens!