Some of this post includes things we did in late September. The garden is starting to yawn as fall settles in. We still have peppers yet to harvest tomorrow morning and preserve. Otherwise, the garden has finished its season and we are beyond thankful.

The kids and I spent a late morning taking out the tomato cages and appropriately disposing of each pile: vines to the compost pile; green tomatoes for salsa verde; red and buggy tomatoes to the hens; plastic rings and posts to the shed; and cages around the baby trees. They were a lot of help and I was pleased at how quickly we got it accomplished!

The pole beans were left to dry on the vine. I harvested those today and was pleased to get almost two half bushel baskets full. I haven’t shelled them yet. Some will be for seed, but most for eating!

Unfortunately our broccoli was very buggy. I was disappointed, but thankful I’d taken my mom’s advice and harvested two early heads. They are in the freezer and will be tasty! I’ll try again next year and see if I need a new sprayer bottle for the Bt organic spray.

I was pleased with the amount of butternut squash we harvested, though! We haven’t tasted any yet (they’ve been curing) but I am hoping it is good and ripe! It’ll be perfect in soups as well as pies!

Our peppers are still growing strong. I left the bell peppers on the vine in order to turn their lovely red color. These were called Red Knight and I purchased the plants locally after none of my pepper seedlings lived. I am hoping to freeze some and dehydrate others for paprika! I may have another batch of banana peppers ready for pickling as well.

Finally, as to the garden, my second son and I laid out a tarp my Sweet Husband had on the north side of our garden where we’ve inherited the area my in laws had worked. The tarp is not quite large enough for the entire space, but I hope to shift it and kill the growth underneath before adding manure compost this fall/winter. I will also hopefully be able to spread our own compost around in areas eventually.

I won’t publish a separate blog post for this Salsa Verde, so I’ll quickly mention it here! It turned out lovely, though again, we haven’t eaten any. My main plan was 1) not to waste our green tomatoes and 2) make gifts for this holiday season. It sure looks pretty in the jars! This is a double batch.

I am thankful that most of our garden is already under a layer of mulch. It’s best to have the soil covered, so I’ve read/heard. I plan to plant our garlic next week (midOctober) for over wintering. Otherwise, beyond compost and possible tillage, our garden season is over for 2024! Isn’t that hard to believe? The kids and I have some work to do clearing trellising and t-posts, but we can wait on that until things slow down.

Tell us about your garden! Is your season over? Do you utilize a greenhouse? I won’t be this winter but hope to in the future. Please comment below! I love hearing from you!