After having unusually cold weather for the past couple/few weeks, we may get temps that climb into the 40s (a real heat wave, no?) this coming week.
And I can finally report that the garden is now completely put to bed for the winter.
No snow yet on the very tall asparagus ferns but rain, wind and frost have bent them down so Papa Pea can no longer claim they are blocking the view of vehicles coming in on the driveway.
After our summer of lots of (sweat producing) hot days, I thought my Red Kuri squash would have matured more than it did. Even though many of them don't have the intense orange-red color I look for, I have prepared two of them for us and they are good; just not as "sweet" as I would like. No fear that they won't get eaten.
Our potato harvest was small. But what did I expect when I planted only about half as many as usual?
A couple of years ago we had trouble with wire worms (ugh) in the potatoes. The next year (spuds planted in a different spot) the problem was less prolific, but still in evidence. So last year, I decreed a ban on potatoes in the garden. We purchased a couple of twenty-five pound bags from an acquaintance who had a great crop. From those bags, I saved small ones to plant as seed this year.
The result was no wire worms (yay!!) but a smaller yield and not the largest spuds we've ever seen. Our total harvest was eighty-four pounds which will keep us going well into the winter months.
I can't think of potatoes without remembering that my dear grandma immigrated to this country from Scotland with her family when she was fifteen. She related the family had spent more than one winter living on nothing put potatoes.
That story makes me extremely grateful for our bountiful garden harvest which has filled our freezers and pantry shelves. We certainly have a plethora of good food to supplement our eighty-four pounds of potatoes.
14 comments:
Do you bring herb plants in or just dry what you harvest? I bought a new basil and thyme plant for inside. The ones outside are spent. I’m debating about digging up one of my rosemary plants. Sometimes they do well, sometimes not. Roasted potatoes with rosemary are great.
84 pounds is pretty good! My ancestors as well, told stories of surviving on spuds and turnips. My spuds have scab, but strangely, the 'volunteer' potatoes have none! A gardening guru says to lay pine needles in the planting trench and scab will be gone, so am going to try that next year. May I ask what is roughly the circumference of the Kuri squash? (hard to tell how big they are in the pic.) I am thinking of giving them a try. My Butternut squash are HUGE, and a lot for just the two of us.
Well you have done a great job! With my little first year garden I played cheater for provisions. I recently enjoyed living on a stock tank full of fresh radishes. Delish ! I purchased a 1/4 of grass feed grass finished beef from a fifth generation cattle man and his sweet family from church. I bought two flats of yummy peaches and made jam plus froze about five 4 cups each and already used one bag for a cobbler at the home of my now new friends who did the work on my little cabin.
I am making my own kombucha starter courtesy of same folks. I grabbed a large bag of sweet red onions who will spend this week in my Nesco dehydrator. I have beans, peas and kale plus next years garlic in the raised beds. The peas aren't exciting but the beans are doing great as is the kale.
And I still need to dry my lemon balm , marjoram and thyme. So even though I am not the grower of all I will have I am in much better shape than this time last year.
Which is good because even though the Creek fire is still burning the air is mostly decent. But we are looking at rain and low 30's starting the end of this week. Cross fingers for our rain I am sure Cal Fire would like to call it a done deal.
Isn't this the best time of year?
Try growing a green mulch crop of mustard where the wire worm problem exists and dig it in before planting main crop potatoes to make the area unpalatable to the worms for a season.
So nice to read about your winter prep chores being done. Do you cut back the dead fronds from your asparagus? That's very good to know about wireworms! Dan tried container potatoes this year, but the results were disappointing. I do love potatoes though.
I have occasionally grown potatoes in containers, so switching over to all grow bags was a natural progression. Such beautiful, blemish free spuds! Last night I made mashed potatoes and I usually leave the skins on anyway. I so enjoyed polishing those pearly white potatoes! They were beautiful.
P.S. we got an inch of snow last night, after a raw Sunday of cold rain and wind. Supposed to be near 70 this weekend which will be very much appreciated.
Yes I think winter is definitely here more or less. We're supposed to have 75 degree weather in the next day and then it's going to plummet back down 30 degrees by Thursday with rain in the forecast. Crazy weather here! Sounds like you did a good job at the potatoes sometimes you just have to figure out different ways to do things. Your squash a really pretty!
I slept in this morning (9am).. It was already 43 degrees. BRRR! Our younger dog whelped 10 pups until 3AM. Two of them died during the night, no fault to her or us. She is still learning how to mother them, but is doing a good job considering.
ah, yes, the stories of our ancestors. They were much stronger stock that what we have today.
Katie C. - I've never had good luck bringing herbs in for the winter. My daughter is much better at it than I am. All that happens in my house is that I watch them wither and die, so other than the peppermint that is a perennial and winters-over outside, I either start or purchase whatever herbs I want to grow each spring. :o\
Rosalea - Great tip for keeping your potatoes from developing "scab." I'm entering that in my garden book. Re the Red Kuri squash, they are much smaller this year than I usually can grow. If the flavor is good, though, that's not a bad thing because I know they can be individually so big that they're just too big for two people. The two smallest ones I have left now measure 20" and 16" around. The others are a bit bigger than that. When I bake one that is too much squash for us for one meal, I save the remaining meat and either heat it up with a little water for another meal or mix it in with mashed potatoes which is very good. The ones that Michelle grew this year were much smaller than mine so it seems to depend strictly on the weather of the growing season.
Goatldi - No, you can't call yourself a cheater at all this year. You've made a darned good start on your garden plots and have taken advantage of things you didn't grow this year by getting them locally grown which, I think, is a very good thing. And nobody did the canning or preserving for you, did they? You were the one who did that hard, but worthwhile, work. Sure hope all the fire hot spots can be contained soon. Just not a good situation. Our lovely fall weather is gone, the environment is colorless and drab and we're waiting for our first snow cover. Hope we get it soon!
Tigger - One more excellent gardening tip to go in my garden book! Thank you.
Leigh - No, the nursery where our asparagus roots originally came from advises letting the old fronds/ferns just fall down over the bed because that give the soil and roots some protection over the winter months. (Would probably be different in your locale?) Then in the spring, I have to clean off all the dead growth before the new shoots start to appear.
SmartAlex - Good going on your potatoes this year! Snow and then temps in the 70s? No thanks! I really don't like that drastic of a fluctuation. Can't be good for the trees, perennial plants, etc. Besides which, I never know how to dress of a given day!
Nancy - Sounds as though your weather is as fickle as SmartAlex's! It's crazy all over though. The Red Kuri squash isn't as uniformly attractive as it usually is. You really want all of them to be that deep orange-red. But if the flavor is okay, I'll not complain. Much.
Cockeyed Jo - Well, no wonder you "slept in" until 9 a.m.! Ten new puppies from your mama dog. Now that's a good night's work. For the dog . . . and you!
Retired Knitter - You can say that again. At fifteen my grandma started waitressing in a cafe, met my grandpa there and married when she was barely 17. They raised seven children (on practically no money) and supposedly Grandma had so many miscarriages during her child bearing years that she lost count. Can you imagine just the cooking one would have to do for a family of nine? Good thing Grandpa loved to fish and hunt. That was the mainstay of their diet for much of the time. He also kept a huge garden and, of course, Grandma preserved it all. Hardy stock, for sure.
If getting herpes cure was that easy then why do people still suffer from herpes? I was diagnosed of herpes back in 2014 and i was also told it has no cure,I have been leaving with it since then, but i kept praying and doing everything possible to get cured, so i never stop doing research about finding a cure,I came across testimonies about people getting cured through herbal medication and i have always believe in herbs and its medical properties, after doing so many research about it i found DRASHAOSEMUDIAMEN and I discovered he was a professional in herbal medication and he has also helped many people,I contacted him through his mail: DRASHAOSEMUDIAMEN@GMAIL. COM, and +2347052021645 we talked on phone and i confirmed he was genuine,I did all what he told me to do, i received the medicine,use it as he prescribed,and glory be to God almighty i am completely cured, i went back to my doctor to confirm it.do not be deceived THERE IS A CURE FOR HERPES. He is also good at saving you from any kind of diseases like Herpes.HIV/aids.Gonorrhea.Cardiac problem.cold sore.Hpv cure.Cancer.Watering sperm.Womb fertilization.Penis erection.Witch craft attack.S T D diseases.Internal heat Rashes.Fibroid.Low sperm count.Dairy.long sickness.I promise I will always testify for your good work. drashaosemudiamen@gmail. com or whatsapp +2347052021645 GOOD LUCK. https://www.facebook.com/Drashaosemudiamen
https://dr-asha-osemudiamen.webnode.com
Merci à M. Benjamin de m'avoir aidé à acquérir mon prêt hypothécaire VA. C'était formidable de recevoir mon prêt de 900 000 $ US de ce prêteur. Je m'appelle Krasimir Todor, je suis belge. J'ai obtenu mon prêt auprès de ce prêteur réputé le 20 novembre 2019 et je souhaite utiliser rapidement ce support pour dire à tout le monde ici que vous pouvez acquérir n'importe quel prêt auprès de cette société de prêt crédible. Un prêteur de prêt VA n'est pas facile à trouver et il doit être recommandé par le ministère des Anciens combattants. M. Benjamin vous accordera des prêts à des taux d'intérêt bas de 2% et très rapides. Obtenez vos prêts à Email: 247officedept@gmail.com ou sur le numéro Whatsapp: + 1-989-394-3740
God is Good!I promised God that I would share my testimony on this website. I had all the signs of STD Virus but I was not too sure as to which one. I did a lot of online research and scared myself straight for a whole week before going to see the nurse. She took one look at my genital part and first said that it could just be the anatomy of my body, then she said it looked like genital warts and that I MAY have herpes. I was devastated. She gave me some medicine for the herpes and some cream for the warts. I was also tested for every single STD including herpes. I went home and cried searching the web for all sorts of cures for herpes and awaiting my results. I saw a post whereby Dr. ibhafidon Blessed cured Herpes and other diseases, I copied his contGod acts out and added him on whats app via +2348152228377. The next day my test result was ready and i confirmed Herpes positive. I told Dr ibhafidon Blessed about my health problems and he assured me of cure. He prepared his herbal medicine and sent it to me. I took it for 14 days (2 weeks). Before the completion of the 14 days in which I completed the dose, the Blisters and Warts that were on my body was cleared. I went back for check-up and I was told I'm free from the virus. Dr. ibhafidon Blessed cures all types of diseases and viruses with the help of his herbal medicine. You can reach Dr. ibhafidon Blessed via his email address on ( dribhafidon96@gmail. com ) or call him on +2348152228377 and whats app him on same number for more info mail me directly on.dribhafidon96@gmail. com ..
Post a Comment