Working 8 hrs a day, working in the garden the rest of the daylight hours, and preserving all the food, that's why!
But I have been taking lots of pic's, and later this fall will do a follow-up on lessons learned from this season - to help your first-timers out a bit...
So this is what I have been doing since the last time I posted in July...
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| Tomato Harvest started out small |
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| Then everything started to get ripe! This view is with Sage and Tickweed |
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| Borage (in front) really drew the bees in to pollinate |
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| Rain was predicted last weekend, so picked everything that was ripe |
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| Plenty of sauce still from last year, so have been drying the paste tomatoes |
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| Delicious dried... |
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| But also packing them in oil with garlic and rosemary, and sealing them in a hot water bath |
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| What I went out and picked quickly tonight, before it got too dark |
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| Apple tree produced for the first time - this is the tree I grew from a seed - 13 years old |
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| Enough apples for one pie and one tart |
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| Drying catnip for winter use, and chocolate peppermint for sachets |
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| Harvesting Calendula (pot marigold) seeds. Let me know if you want any! |
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| Harvesting Borage seed - let me know if you want any of these also |
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| Ever-bearing raspberries still blooming in September |
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| Still harvesting berries |
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| Still picking a good handful of berries every day |
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| let some leeks and onions go to seed - found that bumblebees hide up in the seedpods at night to keep warm |
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| Laying down fresh straw for mulch - only a small portion of the garden done so far |
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| Sometimes I just sit close to the sunflowers and watch the finches come into feast |
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| Sunflowers were really tall |
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| A Grey Mammoth ready to harvest |
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| Corn is ready to harvest too - saving some to dry and grind for cornmeal |
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| First ear I harvested |
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| I take the kernels off the cob, blanch and cool, then freeze on cookies sheets and pack in freezer bags |
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| Back yard near last years compost is covered with volunteers - mostly butternut and acorn squash. And a few tomatoes |
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| My oldest daughter and my granddaughter during a family visit |
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| My son hates having his pic taken, which is why I have to post this! This was during my daughters visit from Minnesota |
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| Had to work in a visit to the State Fair - since we live just a few blocks away |
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| Yum - ice cream on a hot day! |
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| One of the amazing quilts on display - all hand embroidered |
It wasn't all animals, food and quilts at the fair. I also was able to make a good connection with some bug people from the Extension Service who will help me get a handle on some of my bug issues.
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| Peas and carrots for fall - and a volunteer tomato plant from the compost. Not sure what kind it is, but plan on putting row cover over it and trying to keep it going till Thanksgiving. |
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Last but not least, we are in full swing with the Grape Harvest!
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| Thompson Seedless |
So if you don't hear from me for another week or so, I am still here. But am working my you know what off processing tomatoes, corn, keeping the garden cleaned up, spreading down mulch, have to put compost on the berries and mulch them, finish gathering the last of the beans, and am cleaning out the sheds ( once we are done drying herbs in there) to make room for the chicken coop. Hope to have more time to blog in detail by October.
Robin
