What's Growing

With reports threatening our first frost it was a mad dash to the potager and frantic picking. Basil, peppers, tomatoes, were all picked to the bone.

The tomatoes ripened indoors. I should have probably picked the basil a little earlier. It really does not like any sort of chilly weather. I still have pesto for the winter but not as much as last year. I'll have to hoard it.

I no longer have a fear of growing peppers. All the peppers I planted this year grew well. My husband made hot sauce with the Cayenne ... whooo, fire.

Our first hard frosts have arrived. The potager droops. Tomatillos die on the vine. It's time to start clean up and put it to rest. What's left of the broccoli rabe, carrots, kale and swiss chard I'll leave alone. They should grow well into the colder months. I'm not going to have the energy to build a hoop house this year.

Here's where my novelty shows as a vegetable gardener – I did not know I was supposed to cover a cauliflower head with its leaves in order for it to develop. I now have a contorted, monstrous head of flowering cauliflower. It's sort of grotesque yet beautiful.

The cover crops are growing pretty well I think – not entirely sure as this is a new experiment for me.

I managed one last pick before the frosts.