While it’s nice to clean up the garden each fall, it’s also kind of sad. It forces us to think about what we chose to grow this year and contemplate changes for next year.
The Delicata squash plants are out. Bert discovered the ground under the plants was covered with bugs, munching on the roots and plant stems. Considering we ended up with two small squashes to eat, I suspect we won’t bother growing them again. The others rotted before we could eat them! I looked for them at the Boalsburg Farmer’s Market and several growers said they don’t do well. I was able to buy 2, but that grower only had 4 for sale.
The tomatoes are finished and Bert cleaned them out. We had a tray of not quite ripe tomatoes on the counter for a week or so. They finally ripened (and some just rotted!) so I cooked them up yesterday. By cooking batches of tomatoes as they ripened, I was able to freeze them; I then had enough to make my pizza sauce. That felt productive!
I finally pulled all the radishes. They will keep well in the fridge and add zing to my salads for a week or two.
The carrots still look good! We’ll leave them in the garden and dig them up as needed. I did pull one bunch just to see how they look and taste. The largest was about 6″ long. Delicious!!
The second planting of green beans are doing very well…lots of flowers and beans quite visible. I should have beans to eat in about a week!
The sweet potato plant in the pot finally has a few flowers. The leaves are starting to wilt. Soon we’ll dump out the pot to see if we actually got more sweet potatoes! (I can’t seem to import the photo…sorry!)
My last project of the gardening season is to make pickle relish. Luckily, I can buy a box of cucumbers at the Amish market. I need to do that soon!