I know this is planting time for those of you who live in the South, but for many of us it is harvest time. Let's post what we are harvesting from our gardens. You Southerners can do so in the spring and make us all jealous. I will begin. This may not be everybody's favorite veggie, but it is very popular around my house.
Here it is broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, sweetpotatoes, Irish potatoes, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, raspberries, and apples. I could have picked more green beans but that was getting tiresome. I think the last planting was Derby and they dont want to quit.
Fabulous harvest, Indy. Do you have a picture?
No, I don't have a picture. The pumpkins are Big Moon and weigh from 40 to 100 pounds. The broccoli is especially large and delicious.....mostly Triathlon. The early Snow Crown cauliflower is super. and the Nancy Hall sweetpotatoes are always good. The yellow raspberries are great and the Red Delicious apples are just now getting sweet.
My tiny, tiny squashes are going to be a complete loss. That's aggravating after I fussed over them all summer. My broccoli is still going but there are no indications of crowns. I think after the hard freeze next week they'll be goners as well.
I still have over a dozen potato plants. They're still green and growing, but the stalks are drooping. If it weren't so late in the year, I'd leave them until they turned yellow and dried up, maybe another 2-3 weeks. But with the coming hard freeze, I think I'd better harvest tomorrow.
After the freeze, though, is garlic planting time!
I'm going to spend all tomorrow on my knees with my hands in the dirt. People other than gardeners would not consider that a fun time.
I love watching things grow. Most of the iris that I'd already planted have some new growth coming up, so I know their roots have dug in and they're making themselves at home.
Irises are such wonderful plants. You can still wait until your potato tops die off before digging up your potatoes. The first frost doesn't go deep into the ground. I suspect your potatoes will be fine. You can wait until after the tops die off to dig the potatoes, giving them every last minute of growth. They do love cold weather. And don't give up on your broccoli just yet. It also loves cold weather and can take a bit of freezing.
Irises are such a great way to start gardening. They are so cooperative, in the dry climates. People have a lot of trouble with them in wet climates.
Digging in the dirt is so relaxing. I love it too. I think literally touching the earth and getting it to grow things is one of the most satisfying this one can do.
Thanks for the info, Paja. I may do that. After I plant my tons of bulbs and what rhizomes I received (about half what I ordered), then I may harvest one of the potato plants that look the saddest, but leave the others.
After the freeze it'll warm back up into the 40s and 50s for a while.
But I still think a winter parka and wool socks are in order. I'll have to try to find them.
They may be in order. It isn't really cold down here, but it gets colder up there. Winds stronger. Winter has to come, I suppose.
Well, if winter decides not to come, then our bulbs and lilacs won't want to bloom next year.
Although it'll likely be a couple or three years before my lilacs bloom. They're awfully young.
Good point, winter has its place too. You will enjoy watching your lilacs grow and get prettier each year. When they bloom you will be ecstatic.
Those beets are history now. They did make a yummy dinner, though. Today I photographed some of the pumpkins I have been harvesting. I am planning a picture with an entire wheelbarrow load of winter squash, but for now, here is a picture of Galeux d'Eysiene. Can't wait to cook it.
