Got Away Garden

      My original garden over at the park got out of control this year, and try as we might by pulling all thistles on three occasions, we were never able to bring it in line.  I hope the winter cold will knock down the weeds and then I might be able to stay ahead next year.
      I had planted three Dr. Martin lima bean plants on a sturdy six foot tall by eighteen foot long trellis.  Brownie at the park had given me the plants, and he said they would need lots of room.  So only the three plants in such a large space.  All three survived transplanting, then were basically ignored.  Never watered, seldom weeded.  Never picked a bean because they never seemed full.  There were lots of dry pods, some even split open.  Before pulling out the three vines, I picked the dried pods.

Dry Lima Harvest

Here are some beans still in the pods

      This last shot shows the total harvest of good beans in the saucer, the not so appealing beans in the left corner, a handful of fresh green pods, and a huge mound of pods to go to the compost pile.  All those beans from only the original three seeds.  I will keep maybe twenty beans to start for next year's crop.
      We have never cooked with dried lima beans before, but sure are going to try this winter.  Anyone have a yummy recipe they would like to share?

Peck of Peppers

      I am not sure exactly how big a peck of peppers is, but I just picked a heck of a lot of peppers before the colder weather sets in this weekend.  With shorter day lengths and cooler temperatures, I doubt there is any benefit to leaving the peppers on the plants.

Peppers picked October 29, 2014

      At the top are unripe green cayenne peppers and red ripe ones from the same plant.  Then left to right are poblano peppers, green bell peppers, lots of green jalapeno peppers, cubanelle peppers, and last on the right are chuska peppers.  Regarding hotness, the Scoville heat scale lists these peppers from least to hotter:

          Green Bell       0
          Chuska           0
          Banana           100 - 900,  grown this year but not pictured
          Cubanelle       100 - 900
          Poblano          2500
          Jalapeno         5000
          Cayenne         30000

      The cayenne are about as hot as we need to go.  A friend gave me a plant the I believe is a scotch bonnet pepper, over 100,000 on the scale.  I am afraid to touch the plant or peppers!
       I tried making hot sauce from the green jalapeno peppers, and it is worth a repeat performance.  That recipe called for refrigeration, which I prefer to the work of canning.  In any event, we need to eat a lot of peppers, or find ways to store them.  Anybody have recipes to share?

      Update 10/30/2014:  A friend emailed me that a peck is two gallons.  The critter keeper in the following picture is nearly 2 and 1/2 gallons, so I did pick a peck of peppers!  Thank you Lee.

Peck of Peppers

       

Gaggle of Gourds

      Two days ago I decided it was time to harvest the various winter squash.  The squirrels had gotten to a buttercup that had fallen and chewed a hole into the side as big as a tennis ball.  Well I got involved with something else, and....  You guessed it.  They got one of my only two remaining buttercups.  Duh.
      So I just picked everything.  Just to be safe.  I don't know if squirrels eat swan gourds, but just tasting them would ruin the gourds.

       From the top left: five round gollo squash (round zucchini), a buttercup squash, a small pumpkin, a hardened crook neck squash, a squirrel nibbled Marina Di Chioggia, and my five swan gourds.

      This harvest was added to other stuff previously picked.  Hope the squirrels don't get mad and chew through the screen.  Would be a bonus to find something hiding in the garden as I pull the vines.

Firmly Into Fall

      Today is October 1st, so even the summer like month of September is behind us.  But the weather recently has been quite nice, in the 70's and 80's usually. The tomatoes are unfortunately winding down, though the cherry tomatoes still give a rewarding pick upon entering the garden.

      Most of these came up as volunteers and are probably Sweet 100's.  Next year I think I will plant the Sweet 100's, Sungold, Chocolate Cherry and maybe a couple of other cherry tomatoes along this trellis.  It is certainly welcoming to pick and pop a couple of little beauties as you enter the garden.  I was given some yellow pear cherry tomato plants this spring.  The tomatoes had little flavor, so will not be a repeat next year.

      The pole beans are still producing a delicious crop for dinners.  There are only two plants, one is the pole Rattlesnake bean and the other is a pole Blue Lake.  The Rattlesnake has been producing for weeks, and the Blue Lake are just starting to come in.  I will try to expand the number of plants next year, as it is a whole lot easier to spot and pick standing up rather than "standing on your head" to bend over to pick bush beans.  I know one thing I want for dinner tonight.

      The squash trellis has certainly been fun this year.  On the left on the white bucket is a swan gourd, an ornamental that is not edible.  A very edible Buttercup squash is on the ground to the right, and to the far right on a bucket is the delicious Marina Di Chioggia.  The swan gourd is still producing good leaves and is even setting new gourds.  Not that the new ones have a chance at ripening before frost.

      If the swan gourds are allowed to hang free from the trellis, their weight will insure that the neck is straight.  In order to a get a bent neck, you have to support the bottom of the gourd to make sure that the neck will bend as the squash grows longer.  Here I have put the gourd in a hanging basket.  I am afraid that the plastic will break at some point and then snap the neck, or that the supports will leave a mark on the gourd. So I have started to rip old bed sheets into sections to make supportive slings.

 
      I would suggest that the sling business is a two person job, as it is very difficult to balance the heavy gourd on your shoulder while you are trying to clumsily tie the sheet in a knot while stringing it over a support.  I intend to cut the gourds from the vine the day before first expected frost.  Probably within two to three weeks from now.

      The flowers in the garden are still doing well, and we are still visited by butterflies, hummingbirds and lots of different bees.

Autumn Joy Sedum and Cosmos

American Beauty Bush

Volunteer Salvia

Volunteer Mexican Butterfly Weed

      Well we really can't leave before we look at the rest of the veggies.  This is the start of the cold frame for winter use.  The screens keep out the birds and squirrels from digging and uprooting the small starts.  When we get to colder weather, glass will replace the screen.

      This is a shot of the sweet potato cuttings that I started in a topped off compost pile.  The vines are gorgeous, yet I have not found any potatoes when I have sunk my hand into the pile.  Bummer.  The red flowers are salvia that have grown from the compost pile.

Cubanelle peppers

Hopefully late broccoli crop

Unusually late and healthy zucchini plant

What a Bonus!!

      So that's what is happening out back on the first of October.  Quite a lot actually.