October 3, 2022
We have had fairly light frosts over the last few nights, each morning's temperature a little cooler than the last. This morning......
The sun is rising in a clear sky, after a cloudless night. The stars have taken on their winter brilliance, glittering diamonds in a black velvet sky. The Big Dipper, higher in the northern sky now, rotates on the end of it's handle throughout the night, showing the way to Polaris.
Gradually the gardens are being cleared and prepped for their winter sleep. Each day, as the frost made inroads on more plants, they were removed and composted.
A week ago, on a warm sunny day, I spent the morning cleaning the alliums for storage.
The pepper patch continued to grow, sending up new branches and more blooms. It seemed such a shame to rip them out...but..time was up. This is the last picking off of the plants.
I chose one of the Red Carmen pepper plants, drastically pruned it back, gave it a spray down with soapy water, rinsed it's roots free of soil, then put it in a pot with good potting soil, and brought it indoors. It will be an experiment to see if I can overwinter it. I like the variety, and it is an hybrid whose seeds have become quite expensive, so I'll be interested in seeing how this works out. So far it has shown no adverse effects from the rough treatment.
The first pumpkin, cooked and processed into pie and muffins.
What a great post, Rosalea. Your harvest looks fantastic! I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of frost yet, though, lol.
ReplyDeleteI recently saw a video on pulling and potting pepper plants to overwinter them. I have one pepper plant left and am looking forward to trying it! Nice to see you doing this too.
That frost did in everything except the brassicas, and the greens. I have covers ready for the next batch of cold, which is coming, to try and keep the lettuces going as long as possible. Green, leafy things are the most missed veg over the winter months.
DeleteYour picture of your October 3rd morning looks more like a snow cover than just frost! We've had nothing close to that as of yet. Matter of fact, our temps have been staying in the 50s as overnight lows. Just not normal at all for us at this time of year. I, too, have been spending my days clearing out the garden. It does hurt to yank out still producing plants but, as you say, it's time. I'm so ready to not have things to do in the garden on my daily lists! I put pureed pumpkin in 2 cups amounts in the freezer, too. Just right for most "pumpkiny" recipes.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty crispy, from ground level to tree top. A few warmer nights now, (above freezing), then the temp. dips again. It has been great weather to work outside, although too hot yesterday at 22C (72F) by late afternoon. Feels good to get things cleared and prepped for winter. Prepping for Thanksgiving now, then hopefully some less busy days!
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