We're still in preservation mode here at the Run. It was a strange growing season, to be sure, but our little bit of earth is still producing, still feeding us. Isn't that a lovely relationship? We feed it, it feeds us.
The poor tomato plants look positively sickly...but the tomatoes are bright and beautiful, so that's all that matters. After sharing more than a bushel with the women in my church ladies' group, I'm still buried in tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes. The paste/sauce/salsa tomatoes are the real winners this year and are the only varieties that are still green and healthy looking. So we're drying tomato slices. And there may be at least one more batch of salsa. And possibly some Tabasco-infused tomato juice.
And I'm pleased, humbled, blessed to say that it looks like we may have a late green bean harvest. The short season Italian beans I planted mid-August are about as big as my little finger...and the plants are loaded with blossoms. As long as nature holds off and doesn't surprise us with an early frost, we may just have some green beans to put up for winter. Yes! Thank you God!
The carrots are looking wonderful, as are the beets, broccoli and kale. And for a bit of flavor during the dark, the herbs are doing beautifully this year. I've dried, frozen, shared, decorated with the herbs from the various gardens and they're still producing like crazy. It's fantastic to see the fruits of our labor from years past. The little tarragon sprig I planted a couple 3 years ago is so tall and bushy that we had to stake it and tie back. Not that staking it helped...it just snapped the stake in half. We've also been hard at working putting up apples. Dried apples. Sauced apples. And very soon, canned apples.
A couple weeks ago, BFF Suzanne asked what we did all winter. She said she knew we spent the spring tilling and planting and weeding. Then we spent the summer and fall harvesting and canning and drying and pickling and jellying. But what did folks like me do during the winter?
We eat; and we eat well :)
What are you going to be eating this winter?
3 comments:
Wow, you HAVE been busy. I've got all my canning and freezing done. This was my 3rd garden and I learn alot each year. I wish I'd replanted some late things cuz I think they would have done well. Maybe next year!
Hi Vickie! Great to hear from you. It's exciting how much you learn year after year. Root crops have been a big challenge for me...but after 3 years of practice, I've finally learned enough to produce a decent harvest.
Andrea, it isn't Honeysuckle. Don't know what it is.
meb
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