Autumn Garden

25 Sept 2011: This afternoon's harvest.

Autumn has arrived.  The evenings are crispy and the mornings are shivery.  The temperature is in the low fifties when I drive to work at 7:20.  Being new to the world of gardening, I wondered how these changes would affect our vegetable garden.

25 Sept 2011: Ed sought out the ripe tomatoes after we got home from church.

Two of our tomato plants have died, but the other six are hanging in there and continue to produce loads of beautiful tomatoes.  I now understand why the task of canning was invented, so the surplus could be enjoyed throughout the winter months.  Ed regularly gives away tomatoes to our neighbors and friends.

Ed was convinced our 4 Anaheim chili plants wouldn't produce anything before the first freeze, but I'm happy to report that they are all putting forth lots of lovely chili peppers.  I can't wait until they are big enough to harvest and enjoy! 

The bean stalks stopped producing beans for a week, but when the weather turned chilly they suddenly began blooming again.  We are slowly finding more beans on the plants.  However, as you can see in the photo above, the leaves are beginning to die.  So are the cucumber plants in the foreground.

Sadly, our cabbages were attacked by some unknown invader, which chewed little holes through all the leaves and stunted their growth.  They are dying off without having completed the development of their cabbage heads. 

Well, one head of cabbage does remain.  It's very small and Ed sprinkled it with insecticide to stop the plague of aphids that moved in after the other invaders went away.  Neither Ed nor Dylan care much for cabbage, so when it's ready for picking I plan to wash it really, really well and then make myself a big bowl of fresh, homemade cole slaw! 

We still have some nice cucumbers, but I think their days are numbered since the plants are starting to thin out and turn yellow.  We also have a nice, long row of onions that Ed says will be safe even after the first freeze, so he's waiting to harvest them then. 

My husband feels his first garden in the White Mountains was a failure (he has major plans to do it differently next spring), but I think we've had a beautiful season.  We will continue to enjoy it until the first frost comes along to finish it off.  I hope that is a long way off!

By the way, yesterday morning Gonzo found his voice.  He crowed and crowed for the longest time!