Happy Fall!

897tgigvib

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Here in my microclimate of barely zone 8 I have other limiting factors besides the average coldest temperature of the year. My garden is in a forest clearing spot surrounded by relatively tall trees. My direct sun reduces in time very rapidly so that by sometime in November there is no direct sun on my garden at all until sometime in February. My zone 8'ness is influenced also by how near to the lake my garden is to the lake and by how much water is released from the lake. This is the high part of the lake, and in some winters it is "dry" out there at this part of the lake. In those years my garden is less influenced by the large body of water.

My garden is still in its stride. The Turnips and Winter Radishes are very happy, the volunteer Peas that surprised me are giving me a second crop of dry peas. Swiss Chard could hardly be happier, Chioggia Beets are ready. The Leeks are the only slow pokes. My Scherazi Tobacco is growing as an early fall crop, lush green, starting their big leaves. I need to give them another tying up, a round of twine another foot up. I did harvest some of the little Hopi Tobacco last night, set up for initial drying.

Most of the Beans are doing a rebloom, one variety after the other. The incredibly productive Rose Bolitas have a few volunteers in their patch I removed. Would not surprse me if I start seeing some blooms on them in a couple of weeks.

I'm actually expecting a long good Fall this year. Our highs have been in the low 80's, the lows in the upper 40's.
 

Carol Dee

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Our HOT summer up and vanished! We are expecting FROST tonight. I still have lots of imature pepper and tomatoes. I must bring in some house plants and cover the garden as best I can. :( Too Early to be this cold. CRAZY weather.
 

897tgigvib

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Carol, some of your Tomatoes can ripen after being picked. Put them in a brown bag in the top shelf of a kitchen cupboard.

Peppers are extra tender picked early. I actually like most peppers unripe. The flavor is super fresh, and they are juicy crispy. <<<Like!

I'm so sorry about the early frost!
 

Carol Dee

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Thanks Marshall, I do plan to get out and pick what I can save, cover what I can and hope the weather man is WRONG again! :fl
 

baymule

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Fall! It is 92 degrees today! I have planted broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce seed and they are up. I planted 6 brussel sprout plants to see if they are as yukky as I remember as a child. :lol: If they are gross, the chickens will get them! I still have to plant mustard and turnip seed, set out onion sets. I have to harvest the sweet potatoes :drool Been working outside in the garden enjoying the "cold" front. :lol:
 

897tgigvib

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Careful you don't get frostbite from that 92 degree cold front BayMule!

:gig
 

Smiles Jr.

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baymule said:
. . . I planted 6 brussel sprout plants to see if they are as yukky as I remember as a child.
I have developed a taste for sprouts over the years. Likewise with cabbage. Isn't it strange how our likes and dislikes change as the years tic by? When I was a kid I could not even get near the smell of cooked cabbage or sprouts.
 

digitS'

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After the frost last week, it warmed up!

The weather sevice has been fairly off-base on predicted highs but that may have to do with smoke cover. Yep, there is a heckuva lot of wildfire smoke in the air around here. Predictions of 90 highs haven't been hit but the afternoons are well into the 80's. Lows are in the 40's and lower 50's.

It is supposed to cool just a little but that's about it. We could really, really, really use some rain!

My vines were nearly killed by the frost. The fruit is maturing fine and wasn't damaged however, I think there is zero chance of the plants making any new fruit.

Elsewhere, things are going okay. The last sowing of corn is ripening. Only 1 pepper plant was badly damaged, all had been picked thru but some of the tiny fruit is beginning to grow large so I should get another harvest of peppers! Same thing in the tomato patch except some of the plants are kind of played out.

There should be fall greens for the kitchen just any day now. The lettuce from starts has begun to be harvested! And, the summer sowings of bush beans are producing by the bucketful!

I've got sooooo many ripe tomatoes right now . . !

Steve :cool:
 

journey11

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My summer stuff is petering out, but the fall crops are just getting started. I spent the whole afternoon ripping all the spent/dead plants out of my flowerbed. I am so relieved to have cleared away that weedy mess! I put down Preen over the area (didn't realize it was "organic" until recently, or I should have been using it all along), then I've got to go back and mulch heavily and set out some pansies for fall. It was a very productive day and a beautiful one at that. :happy_flower
 

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