October 21, 2011

This growing season is about over.  We had our first freeze, with no warning frosts on the 19th.  We had 24 degrees. Not everything froze.  The marigolds did, and the volunteer cantelope.  And of course, anything left in the garden, which wasn't much. I gave up on the tomatoes weeks ago.  There was a couple more zucchinis, so we ate one in zucchini scramble and the other one is still sitting on my counter waiting to be grated and frozen for zucchini bread. So, I still have flowers to look at, my pansies, and mums, and my petunias in the planters on the west side of the house.

I've been wanting to clean the leaves and cornshucks off the deck and patio, so I did that today.  It was gorgeous, and 70 with no wind.  I brought in all the deck flowers and cleaned up some extra things that live on the deck in the summer so it looks bare out there.  I want to bring the the deck cushions, but I'm going to wait until this very nice fall is over.  We've had some very nice weeks, 40ish nights and 60 and 70ish days. It has been a beautiful fall.

Finally, the mums are in bloom, just in time to freeze, thank goodness they do well in cold temps. 

A few pansies are still hanging in there.  

And finally the mum by the front walk.  Blooming at last.

And it very likely will be goodbye until next spring.

Oh, wait. I picked some mint and dried it to use for tea.  It took just a little bit in the dehydrator, and then I stripped the leaves.

And I planted some nasturtium seeds in my window box in the kitchen, where a basil plant has died.   

October 10, 2011

I haven't done anything else in the flower garden since the last weeding, which was late enough, that there isn't much weed activity going on.  The corn shuck blowing event missed us this year. 

 This is what it looked like last year. 

I guess the wind was in a little different direction.

Anyway, there are bright spots of color around this time of year, and STILL my mum by the front walk isn't blooming.  I better remember to get a photo.

October 6, 2011

I've been busy and it hasn't been with gardening.  We haven't had frost yet, we've had beautiful, sunny, 70-ish days, and they have been lovely.  Today however, is a different story.  We've had 30-35mph winds with gusts to 60 mph.  They corn shucks are blowing off the field south of us and piling up everywhere.  Last year we had a big mess of them on the patio.  We are getting some little tomatoes from our pots.  We get more plant that tomato off those.  I'm not picking tomatoes anymore. They were about done anyway, and Lynette and I went to Wisconsin.  Jim brought in the rest of the peppers tonight, two cucumbers, and three big zucchini.  I was supposed to write down when I planted them, but I think it was the last week in July.  Next year I would like to try middle July.  Our patio flowers are limping along. We've been forgetting to water them.  My big flower garden has been looking nice, but it won't anymore after the wind and corn shucks.  I still have a big mum out there that hasn't bloomed yet!! It is the one by the front walk.  My terrace flower garden has been over taken by volunteer cantelope.  There is one that might be ripe before frost.  I need to check it.

August 11, 2009

This year we are having poor luck in the gardening department.  We picked about a gallon of tomatoes today, but so many of our Romas have spots.  I froze a gallon and a half of beans, canned one pint of dills.  The cucumbers are dying now.  One thing that is doing really well is our red potatoes.  The vines are dying and Jim has started to dig them up.  They are nice sized, and not lumpy and bumpy.  They look like the ones you buy in the store!!

Freezing Corn

We got our corn in the freezer for this year.  We took three days to do it. Five dozen ears, Thurs, July 28th, made 24 pints and took us four hours.  We did 10 dozen on Saturday, with 51 pints, and 6 dozen today, 28 pints.

Last week, I put a couple quarts of beans in the freezer and canned 3 quarts, 1 pint of Caddie Pickles.

Then with my few cucumbers I made 2 quarts of dills.

July 25, 2011

4 quarts, 1 pint pickled beets, 1 gallon of beans frozen a few days ago, Today I put 2 1/2 pints of blueberries in the freezer.  I got them for 1.88 a pint.  I baked two 4" blueberry pies, and froze one and a peach one, made out of one peach.

Canning Starts

5 quarts pickled beets, 6 1/2 pints zucchini relish.


http://newgrammaathome.blogspot.com/2011/07/canning-season-begins.html