We’d been dodging the bullet for a month now and as we listened to our weather radio two days ago, we cringed when we heard the “F” word mentioned for Monday night and tonight. Freeze! Frost warning! So Will and I picked tomatoes for a day and a half straight. Then David and his girlfriend, Hannah, came after work yesterday evening and helped pick more. We knew that what didn’t get picked would get frosted or frozen and be no good.
We have been picking, seeding, and canning tomatoes for a month now but suddenly we were in a rush. Covering would do no good; too many tomatoes and it was probably going to get too cold to matter (which it did). So we picked until after dark. Exhausted we called it good with both our enclosed porch and the front porch loaded with tomatoes.
We not only had to pick them but separate the varieties and tag them so we could also extract seed as well as canning them up. That slowed things down until evening when we finished with separate varieties and just picked buckets full of mixed tomatoes, both green and ripe. We found new favorites as we picked, too. We especially loved the bright yellow, meaty Golden King of Siberia, which ran from a heart-shaped pound of fruit to even larger, meaty, and tasty tomatoes that just shone in the dark.
As it’s supposed to get even cooler tonight, we’re headed out to the garden and pumpkin patches with the tractor and front end bucket to harvest squash and pumpkins before they freeze. (Once they get frozen too badly, they quickly get soft spots and rot.) And boy, do we have lots of pumpkins and squash to pull. Last fall, the cows got out and got into the unfinished barn and ate many of the squash and pumpkins stored there. This year we’re not going to take chances so if you come visit, you’ll have to step around them all over the house! — Jackie
Lisa Basso,
You’ve just got to see our house inside! (Next blog, you will.) It’s full and overflowing with squash, pumpkins, peppers and tomatoes. (Not to mention the onions!) And we still have to pull parsnips, carrots and potatoes!) I get full just thinking of all that food!!! What a wonderful feeling. And looking doesn’t cause any weight gain.
Rick Riley,
We were SO blessed with a longer summer this year! Luckily, we didn’t get the downpour of rain you did in August. Sorry to hear it ruined some of your sweet potatoes. Canning up the cracked and small ones is a good idea.
Yep, we hate for the garden season to end. But we, too, are already planning on some things we’ll be doing next year. That’s what we do all winter long, too. All those seed catalogs to go through to see if there’s something we want to try, come spring. It sure perks us up when it’s -45 and three feet of snow outside!
Jackie
Sorry to hear about the F word coming your way… always does, and always seems like a panic! I have been busy harvesting as well (but much smaller scale), but have been listening carefully for mention of the F-word down here… so far, so good. Hoping for another week or so for broccoli and peppers… tomatoes pretty much done here. Well, good luck on harvesting the pumpkins/squash… may God stretch your home to store all the produce! Lisa
Miss Jackie, I had been wondering about frost in your area. We already had it by this time last year, but so far in 2015 it has been warmer than normal in my area. We had much rain in the spring and early summer. Then we ended late summer with more than 9 inches in August, which rotted a goodly portion of my sweet potatoes and severely cracked a lot more of them. When they are in storage for a couple weeks to allow starch to convert to sugar I plan to can the badly cracked and small ones too.
I simply hate for the garden season to end…..I am already thinking what seeds I’d like to start for the new garden, but alas it is long months until that season comes again. SMILES!!!!!! not about the long wait but about anticipation of the new garden season. Rick
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