Winding down in the garden

   Jack Frost might soon be just around the corner, but I say, bring it on. Early Autumn is an amazingly abundant time of year, and we have no less variety in this season than we had at the height of summer. In the Fall, a whole new cast of characters take the stage. Leeks, celeriac, turnips and radishes, cabbages, potatoes, carrots and beets, sweet potatoes and squashes. Oh the marvelous winter squash!  There will be so many inspiring things to cook, most of which would be unpalatable during the warmer times just weeks ago. Soups, stews, roasts, gratins, purées....roasted vegetables and pies! Once you embrace the cool season, you don't even miss the tomatoes. Well, maybe just a little.



Our tomato yield this season has been just wonderful and if these warmer days continue like this week we will be harvesting up to the last blush of tomato can be picked. What will remain of the green tomatoes will go into piccalilli that I make annually.  This morning I picked 30 more pounds of roma tomatoes to roast and prepare sauce with.  We've put up forty quart jars of whole plums and roasted the rest.

The herbs are nearly all harvested and drying for winter dishes and tea, and as I was finishing up today in the garden I decided to sow some last minute bloomsdale spinach and more greens.  The hoop house is now cleared out from the seasons peppers and eggplant, so it was a good spot to plant my garlic for next Spring.
I hope your garden has been as bountiful as ours. Til next thyme...happy gardening.