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.

What's Growing

Now that the weather is cooler, I sure am savoring every bite from the garden. How I will miss all this fresh-picked produce. I am still considering making a hoop house over one of the raised beds. Hopefully I can pull it together by the first few hard frosts.

I've let my mustard go to seed. I hope to make some of my own fresh mustard once these seed pods start to dry.

Greens, peppers and garlic have so many possibilities. Sauteed up with some white beans pan fried – recipe idea courtesy of Heidi Swanson – yum.

I wanted peppers and boy, do I have peppers. My husband plans to make his own hot sauce with the cayenne.

Sweet Pimento Lipstick

Early Jalapeno Chile

Cayenne 'Ring-O-Fire'

Another stellar basil crop! I've been making lots of pesto and will make a huge batch to freeze for over winter. Pesto and sauteed cherry tomatoes topped with a little toasted pine nuts on baguettes make for a great appetizer.

Veronica Cauliflower is beginning to form.

I have a few soybeans to shell. I plan to make edamame and give a try at fermenting my own miso.

The tomatillos are sprawling all over the garden. I made a batch of fresh green salsa and salsa verde. I plan to make a really big batch of salsa verde to freeze for winter. Nothing will be better to warm us up on a snowy night than slow cooked organic pork (from a local farm), pulled then folded into warm corn tortillas and topped with salsa verde! We tried it the other night just to make sure ...

Quite a carrot crop this year. Delicious raw but also just in time for soup season and one-pot meals.

Dragon and Sunshine Mix Carrots

My parsnips never took off. Two seasons I have tried to plant them. I will be trying a different seed next year. I have planted new crops of lettuces, spinach, radishes, beets and carrots in one of the raised beds (that will hopefully be covered by that hoop house). Something new I am trying this year is a fall cover crop – green manure. Next month we'll see how these newly planted crops are doing. Until then I'll be "stocking up" on fresh produce as much as I can.