It is Done

Actually the work has been done for a while now. Mostly when I go out to Shelby Farms now I just piddle around pulling up the dead stuff and planning for next year. Today I took out 3 bags of leaves and dumped them with hopes that they will composte over the winter and add nutrients to the soil in the spring when they come out to plow.

I did not walk away empty handed. The butter bean plants still had some pods that I salvaged before throwing the plants on the heap of crap by the road. The green beans are challenged by the cooler weather, but are producing some tiny pods. I got all I could today. Those plus the butter beans probably together will equal 5 mouthful of food--enough for a half serving for a regular person or for all 3 of my boys on any given day. I started picking jalepeno peppers, but quickly ran out of room in my hands. So out came the plant, still covered in dozens of little peppers. I left it on the patio and will try to figure out what to do with them tomorrow. The rest of the haul were: one reg. sized and three tiny beets; two small purple onions; a half dozen of regular looking scallions; and one six inch carrot. So, an odd assortment of food in very small quantities for me to figure out what to do with them. (An incomplete sentence, I know.)

Last produce

The peppers were the last to start producing, but are still flowering out at the garden. I doubt there will be many more harvests out there. Here are banana peppers, jalepenos, and bell peppers.

What worked

Lady peas
Purple hull peas
Corn
Banana peppers
Cucumbers-but next year we'll plant salad cukes
Roma tomatoes--but not so many plants
Arkansas traveler tomatoes--I'd have more of them
Radishes
Carrots--at the right time
Bell peppers--but start them early indoors; they grow do slow.
Tomatillos--a pleasant surprise.

Peas, Out

They are finally done. No more lady peas. Picked about 2dz pods today. It was a good run.

The zinnia seeds I planted a month ago are gorgeous! Should see a bunch of blooms next week. Beets are up, so are a few onions and fewer carrots, but they're always pokey. Basil is going to flower.

Green Beans: Take 2

I'm trying again. I planted bush green beans last week, around Aug. 31. Just a 3x3 ft patch. I'm counting on a mild fall to help me out.

Finishing up Summer

Went by the garden today. I hadn't been in a week. Luckily, the rain we got yesterday made it out there too. There are about 6 tomato plants putting out new growth and blooms. The peppers still look healthy and the butter beans are blooming again. Lordy, the lady peas are still producing--I picked a big bucketful today. Sweet potatoes may be ready for digging up--I took out a couple last week and they looked pretty good.

The onions, beets and carrots were sprouting. And, I think I may see some zinnia blooms next week.

Winner and Champion 2012 garden product is.....

LADY PEAS!

The garden has been a great experience and I've learned so much. Hopefully writing it down in this blog will help me remember better next spring what I should and shouldn't do. One of the 'shoulds' will be planting peas. I have had tremendous success as Steve had predicted I would. They have been producing since early July and it looks like we'll still be picking at the end of August.

Today I picked about a gallon of lady peas and 1/2 gallon of purple hulls (which were shelled and fixed for dinner.) I also dug up my first 2 sweet potatoes. I'm not sure when the right time to harvest them is. I was just anxious to see if there were any tubers underground. When I dug around one plant, they just popped up. One is fist sized, the other smaller. I also worked the ground around the Hhappy Place sign and planted red onion,  2 kinds of carrots and beet seeds. I'm not sure what happened to my green onions. A few sprouted, but so many dill volunteers had also sprouted--those suckers were everywhere! After awhile, I just gave up trying to separate the 2 and proclaimed the green onions a lost cause. I'll try replanting them if I can ever find my packet of seeds.