Salvage effort

The tomato plant, alas, was beyond help so I cut it down this evening and made some chutney from the green tomatoes (about half of a jam jar). I think I used a bit too much vinegar so the chutney is quite sharp but with a good piece of cheddar it'll be fine.


The leaves of the potatoes fell victim to slugs and snails so I guessed it was time to harvest them. A good handful of 'Anya' which, considering didn't spend a penny on seed potatoes, is not too bad. Haven't tried them yet but I bet they will be delicious.

Disaster!

One of the Red Pear tomato plants got a bit too heavy for its cane. I noticed it leaning a little bit last night and couldn't resist trying to fix it. Instead it flopped over and it seems to have almost snapped off at the base. Curses! I propped it up again but today it's looking all wilted already. Green tomato chutney may come earlier than I thought...

Lost and found

The sky cleared and I took the opportunity to clean up the garden, in readiness for shutting it down for winter. I am still leaving the tomatoes out in the vain hope of some ripening before the first frost. The raspberries are nearly finished too and I need to read up on when I am supposed to cut the canes back. Gave up on the beans.

As I was clearing the patty pan away I found a few that are just ready for a stir-fry and a larger, weird-shaped, yellow thing. Also a stray cucumber and some very green tomatoes, which are now nestling next to a banana in the kitchen.


The thyme has gone a bit crazy. Since I loathe running out after dark and into spiderwebs just to get a sprig or two of herbs, I am going to try drying it. The oregano didn't grow as big but I think it got a bit smothered by the thyme.


With everything put onto the garden compost heap and the canes put away, it suddenly looks empty. Plenty of space now though to put my home-grown guinea pig compost down! Soon, planning for next year.

starting to clear up

The season's end is here. Everything should be cleared by 31 October. I started on that yesterday.

A trip to the garden yesterday revealed no more cucumbers but again a few zucchinis. Harvested all the remaining green tomatoes - excellent as salsa and I will try fried green tomatoes tonight. More carrots. I also removed the few little ears of corn that were straggling, for use as guinea pig food. Only the rainbow chard and collards remain for harvesting. I left a few tiny winter squashes to see if they do something over the next week or so.


I took down the beans and removed all the rest of the plants, which generated an additional compost heap. Unfortunately, I missed the garden clear-up in the morning during which Parks & Recreation got rid of unwanted material with their truck.


Even at mid-afternoon the light is dimmer and the shadows longer. I've really enjoyed having this garden and I will miss it over the winter months.


This morning I had some delicious scrambled eggs (traded with produce from the garden) with zucchini (from the garden), mushrooms, neuf-chatel and spring onions and a side of sauteed Rose Finn Apple potatoes (also from the garden). I haven't really had to buy any vegetables from the supermarket recently (except lettuce for the piggies) and it'll be strange to be doing that again.

first frost warning

... FROST ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 9 AM PDT SATURDAY FOR THE COAST
RANGE OF NORTHWEST OREGON... CENTRAL COAST RANGE OF WESTERN OREGON... LOWER
COLUMBIA... GREATER PORTLAND METRO AREA... CENTRAL WILLAMETTE VALLEY...
SOUTH WILLAMETTE VALLEY... WESTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE... WILLAPA HILLS...
I-5 CORRIDOR IN COWLITZ COUNTY... AND THE GREATER VANCOUVER AREA...

Which meant a quick trip to the garden to rescue what is possible before everything dies. Surprisingly, there were some good-sized zucchini and luckily they did not succumb to blossom end rot which happens so often when it gets damp and cold. Tomatoes are not ripening anymore but we harvested lots of green tomatoes for making chutneys and fried green tomatoes. There may be another batch of green beans (the ones that weren't forgotten and therefore grew to monster size) but I think it'll be only a small handful next week. I also nipped off the aubergines at a very small stage but they will be super in some stir-fry instead of being lost to a frost or rotting. Harvested enough large-ish carrots to actually get a taste of them before the guinea pigs get through them, and some more cucumbers. Got about 6 small ears of corn, which have now become the favourite piggie treat, husks and all - just as well, since there is not much on them.

The garden definitely has seen better days. I wonder if I get to harvest a winter squash before shutting teh garden down for the winter, they seem so small.

In the end the predicted frost didn't materialise in our area (although it dipped below freezing just outside Portland) but autumn is definitely here. Getting out to the garden before it gets dark is getting more difficult during the week. It was cold and my fingers started to get numb.