New England October 2014

NHGardener wrote:Picked a couple kale leaves to saute for spaghetti sauce.... putting them in the pan when I noticed a nice fat looper in the pan. YUCK. By the time I fished him out, he was brown on one side. EW. I'm wondering how many of those things we've eaten...

It's OK to eat them.  I did the research and posted about it in some thread or other and they are quite healthy for us. 

What a silly storm this is here so far.  Only occasional spitting but strong winds.  I covered my cukes on Monday night, nothing was happening so I uncovered them.  But I did notice today that my Sugar Snap peas blew down off the trellis and are laying across a bed.

I just planted 5 more $1 Concord grape vines - 4 at home for a total of 5, and 1 here at the office.  Hope it rains now.

CC

It's really nasty here right now. Winds are really kicking up. I'm looking at all the wet leaves on the ground thinking: oooooh. Can't wait to get those...

Do you find yourselves eyeing everyone's leaves as you drive around?

I tend to wonder if they have herbicides on them, and which ones. I don't know about New England, but their use is almost universal here in the PNW, so I wouldn't trust those of many people.

Yeah Mark I'd never ask someone for their leaves. But I do look at them.

Me too, but I always tell myself that if it looks too good to be true ... it just might be.

Along with all the cool crops, the summerr crops - cukes, peppers, maters and one summer squash - are still going:






Beautiful day today!  The bees and butterflies are out in droves. We got about 3/4 inch of rain from that 3 day storm that just blew thru.  Knocked my newest sugar peas right off the trellis and now they're all broken.  Too bad as they are loaded with flowers.  

I just finished prepping the garlic bed with compost and bonemeal.  Bonemeal is new for me but I had some left from planting that crazy asparagus bed so figured I'd use it here.  Is that right?

CC

We might get some accumulated snow this weekend, the first of the season for us, and way too early.  Temps are in the 40s-50sF days and dropping now to the 30s and this weekend even to the 20sF at nite.  Brrrrrr, winter is coming early.

By the way, I have a tip for improving the taste of store-bought tomatoes thru the winter.  I don't like to keep them on the counter because they go bad really fast (since they are around 2 weeks old already when they get to the stores).
So I refrigerate them.  But before cutting for salads or to add to sandwiches, I slice them as needed and place them in the microwave on hi for about 8 seconds. That little extra bit of heat makes them taste a whole lot better.  I've been doing that the last couple of weeks, and yes, it improves the flavor a lot.

I put the rest of the stakes, garden pots and water buckets in the garden shed for the winter.  My garden is asleep for the season.  I never got garlic planted, I'm sorry to say.
But I've been busy with my quilt projects.  Now until spring when I have to start seeds again, I'll be keeping busy thru the long winter days doing something I love.  I took over a year off from that and my gardening went downhill fast due to medical issues but now that I'm feeling like a human again, I'm ready to tackle life.

For those in N.E.  that still have winter crops growing, enjoy them.  When you can't grow any more, await the garden catalogs for next spring and make out your wish lists.

Yay QB, that you're feeling back at it!

I plan to plant my garlic soon. Maybe tomorrow.

Kale is still out there. When it goes below freezing, I'll throw something over it and see how long I can get it to last.

Kale likes snow. It sweetens it up.

BUT, cukes don't.  If there's any of the current 8 left, I'll be throwing the row cover over them come Sunday...maybe sooner.  

Picked a few red tomatoes this morning.  Once they soften a bit they will go into the freezer for winter.  Guess I should pick & pull the peppers, too, maybe tonight.

OK, time to hit the road.

Stay warm, kiddos.
CC

Cuke bed with carrots, collards, daikon & chard:

CC, your season seems to be much longer than ours! It seems like it isn't all that different temperature wise, but it stays milder longer.

We haven't really had a frost since those first 2 light frosts, no hard freezes. Once you get the garden past the first light frost or 2, it can last a long time. It looks like my eggplants are still thinking they're going to blossom.

Speaking of kale, does anyone know off-hand how cold kale can stand it before being covered?

NHGardener wrote:Speaking of kale, does anyone know off-hand how cold kale can stand it before being covered?

I don't usually cover my kale but I may if we get a really hard freeze, and put some jugs of warm water under the cover. I have also harvested kale and brussels sprouts frozen off the stalk.

camprn - About what month do you find kale gives out on you?

Also, did you go to the Dover bee meeting? I don't think I saw you there.

NHGardener wrote:camprn - About what month do you find kale gives out on you?

Also, did you go to the Dover bee meeting? I don't think I saw you there.

Cell division will stop under 38 F, so it keeps going until it freezes solid.

No I didn't make the fall meeting. I will try for the spring meeting.

Oh wow, camp...you really kept it going! Pretty basket!  And look at those brussels!  Will they continue thru frost & snow?

Heeeyyyy...is that your kitty?  Maine Coon?