We knew it was only a matter of time and the weather forecast called for a freeze warning for our area. So, taking no chances, we picked and picked, mostly tomatoes and peppers, as we couldn’t cover them. (Will did manage to cover the ones in the Main Garden.) Now, we have tomatoes sitting all over the front porch, all labeled so I can seed them out when I get time. Yep, it froze — we had 28 degrees F, in the morning. I was up all night, off and on, checking the temperature. I had the Main Garden’s hose out and the sprinkler positioned so I could water if the frost came at sunrise, as usual. Nope. At 1:30, it was 29 degrees and just before sunrise, I went out to start the generator so I could run the sprinkler. No good — the hose was frozen solid. Oh well.
Yesterday, I went out in the morning and picked another golf cart full of boxes of tomatoes and labeled them so I could seed them out. Then, our friend, Heather and her son, Providence, came over to help. We picked sweet corn as the darned Blue Jays were getting into it badly. Heather had bagged the Damaun super-sweet, the bulk of the Seneca Sunrise, but the Jays were getting into the Simonet, down in the Sand Garden, pretty badly. We ended up picking five crates, all totaled, with lots of Seneca Sunrise, Damaun and Who Gets Kissed, protected by bags over the ears. We sent Heather and Providence home with sweet corn, Oka muskmelons, and Leelanau Sweetglo watermelons as well as some Bozeman watermelons. After all, good help deserves goodies!
In between the picking, I managed to get the last of the Dragon’s Tongue beans canned up. Luckily, canning snap beans doesn’t take long! Now, we’ve got the front porch lined with tomatoes and melons. We picked about five 5-gallon buckets full of Oka muskmelons. The darned voles were chewing holes in the bottoms and eating all the seeds and meat. They know a good thing. Of course, we “had” to eat the melons to get the seeds out to save. Ha ha! It looks like the watermelons didn’t get damaged by the freeze, but we’ll keep a close watch on them. Yes, the vines are goners.
Today, I’m tying up husked sweet corn on recycled baling string to hang and finish drying in the house. One year, I hung it on the front porch and both the chipmunks and birds got into it right away. Lesson learned! I got cramps in my hand so am going to switch out to picking more tomatoes, instead. See you later! — Jackie
I hope your employer realizes how enjoyable your blog is and how much people from all over the country read it. Its like a group visit of friends who take a little time out of busy days to share things from their locale and comment on Jackie’s days or on the days of the other contributors. Thank you for all you do.
katherine jordahl
You’re welcome. I enjoy this too!
Love the homyness of your blog. 2 questions, what are the beavers prediction for the winter?And do you have any opinions on Pellet stoves. We live in sagebrush country. Thanks
So far, the beavers have been quiet. I’ll let everyone know when they decide to forecast the winter. Not a fan of pellet stoves. They seem like they sure cost a lot to keep a warm fire burning. I’d go with wood if you can buy it reasonably. If not, maybe propane. It’s not as “romantic” as having a real fire to look at but it is dependable and fairly reasonable.
You sound very busy. Be sure to take some time and rest. Bette
Yep, VERY busy!! We’re trying to get everything done before cold weather closes in.
I’m sorry to hear you did get the frost it was so deep. I lucked out twice and didn’t get below 38. I am thankful because my plants are all so behind from the last of rain. It’s time I start picking squash and pumpkins. But I have all my sweet corn to process today and tomatoes and beans calling my name. I hope you got lots picked! I have a question though, have you ever tried to over winter pepper plants? I am thinking or trying it this time because I don’t have the best luck with them growing super well. I’ve watched lots of videos and have some King Of the North that would be good to dig up as the plants are huge, just never set any flowers. I have a jalapeño that I could try too. Just wondering!
Yes, you can over winter pepper plants. Peppers are really perennials but are grown as annuals here in the northern and midwestern states, where we get freezing temperatures. Everybody has poor peppers this year, that I’ve talked to anyway. Too weird weather.
ouch! had to believe such a hard frost in September(at 90 yesterday an again forecast today) here in pacific northwest. sure glad you got the golf cart! really helped from the look of the loads.
curious about the new plum tomato variety Goat bag . how it pastes up versus the smaller types. it is sure a whopper size! take care out there an try not to overdo the knees in getting everything in!
Goat’s Bag is a very, very meaty tomato, having few seeds. We had one that weighed 2 pounds with no special growing techniques. I’m SO glad I have the golf cart. Yesterday, Will got the solar panels hooked up to the batteries. Now it charges any time the sun is shining. A totally self-sufficient golf care that sure saves my knees.
And the race is really on for you now! What a blessing to have Heather and her son to help. There are just simply times when and extra set of hands (or two) can make such a difference! The corn looks amazing. I am going to try some of those muskmelons next year. They sound delicious! Sounds like with the amount of tomatoes you are harvesting, you may need another room to do the seeding, lol. Prayers for a blessed week.
Here you are in a harvest panic mode and you found time to blog!!!!!!! We love you girl.
Here in TX we have had a cool down…….. Mid 60’s for lows. Highs in the 80’s……. So much better than 115.
You and Will are TOTALLY amazing. You make this 62 year old gal feel LAZY in incompetent! I am always in total awe of the two of you. At least you have some GREAT friends. We have had a hard time finding like minded folks here that want to help……. so many of them are grappling to just stay above water with there j-o-b-s.
Keep up your awesome work!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Jackie. It amazes me how the climate varies across the continent. I’m here in BC Canada and we’re still very hot and no rain in sight. Very beautiful days and also distressing as we head into 5 months with only 3 days of rain and not much at that. The green life and wild life are suffering not to mention wild fires which continue to burn. Good news is that the nights are much cooler now which is really helping the fire fighters and my tomatoes just keep pumping out! I roasted a batch today with garlic and blended to make a delicious marinara. I’ve frozen it in meal size bags which will be lovely come winter. I’ve canned way more than I planned this year. I’m a senior on my own so don’t need a lot, but nice to give to my family and friends who don’t grow their own. Community really matters now more than ever and so we all benefit from helping each other, like your dear friends who come to help with your harvest. God bless good neighbours and friends!
Dear Jackie,
Man, sorry about the early frost but you and Mr. Will respond well to crisis! Just remember to pace yourself and you can rest a little this winter. I just want to take a minute to thank you and all your readers who are growing and preserving their foods naturally. Diseases in our bodies are rampant while the FDA gives approval on canned/frozen items that contain less than ? a certain amount of preservation product that is not considered harmful to our bodies in a small amount. But at the end of the day, you can add up all those little tidbits of poison and it is greatly over the limit for good health. I’ve been preaching this for over 50 years and finally, I think, people are coming to realize that the “good ole ways” are the best ways. Thank you so much for helping all the homesteaders learn. If I wasn’t so far away and so old, I would come help you on days like today.
Your corn is beautiful and I love the picture of your porch. So inviting!
I’m sorry about the frost. Here in MT we haven’t had any on the eastern side of the state. But there’s been snow on the western half. They can keep it.
Here at my homestead in Copper Basin Alaska we still haven’t had a killing frost. Hit 32 briefly the other night and 33 a couple of nights but we have had a lot of rain so potato harvest and fire wood cutting have been real slow! Usual freeze is last week of August! Two years ago we had about a foot of snow on September 21 and had to shovel snow to dig the potatoes! Last year we has 19 inches the first week of October so things need to be done
I certainly don’t save seeds on the scale that you do!
I used to hang the seeds in paper bags from the rafters on the second floor of our garage, which gets nice and warm during the day. Two years ago the mice invaded and ate everything – good thing I try to save enough for a couple of years.
Moving the drying seeds to 5 gallon buckets with screen on top didn’t work well because the sides of the buckets don’t breathe and hold the dampness inside. Then, last summer I happened to be in the cleaning aisle at Home Depot and what did I see but office-size trash bins with mesh sides, made out of metal. They’re probably 3 gallon and a regular 5-gallon bucket lid will fit on top. They have worked perfectly for keeping the seeds fully aired and the mice fully out. Small seeds (dill, caraway, onion) I put in paper lunch bags inside the bins, larger seeds like beans and peas go straight in while still in their shells until they’re completely dry.
No frost here in southern Vermont yet, but we usually have one by the end of September, definitely by the end of the first week in October.
I’m sure it would have been much nicer to have a slower paced harvest , but what a bountiful harvest it was . God is good ! I know my guys seem to thrive on the pressures to get harvests in . I think that is why the good Lord gave us the fall and winter to recoup . good luck getting it all put up and taken care of . God bless you both .
First I must give kudos to Heather for a unique yet not obscure name for her son – I just love it. It also gives me hope for the future as Providence is no stranger to work/helper in “the circle”. While my kids are well on their own feet, no grandkids. BUT have a few kids in my “circle” to whom I do my best to be a good example/be there. Not to get political but it truly does take a village – it is always in societies best interest to ensure the upcoming generation has the support it needs. Please give Heather a shout out from me.
While our first frost date is 3 weeks MOL away, I’m getting another bale of straw for the garden. Will cover the garlic we’ll be planting and also use it to help deter the motivated late season weeds in one of the perennial patches. And of course one to help insulate the strays “cold weather” shelter – pretty sure he remembers it from last year. He’s a tough one – he’s made it longer than any other stray that showed up in my yard/neighborhood.
Without going into much detail, have the pieces in place to start getting the recent land purchase into shape. 2/3 will be pretty much conservation/pollinator friendly. Might be even more conservation/pollinator friendly depending on budget a year from now. While nowhere near inexpensive, what I’m doing will be of benefit earth-wise. And I know the value of hard work and do not begrudge those doing the work. As well as appreciate those doing their best to keep the balance of nature.
And it just might be the right time to approach the new area for tater planting.
You have ramps in your area? After we removed a veritable boatload of invasive plants, I am thrilled with the number of ramps. I’ve dug a very few – mostly those in places where long term survival is *not* good. I know I had a good number of plants with at least three if not more leaves.
Our first historical frost date here in Maine is the 15th of September. This year however, we are prepping for high winds from hurricane Lee. Oh yeehaw! Sorry it did frost already for you. I know this means no break and lots of hustle…hang in there. Pyro
Good luck to you this weekend! It looks like the hurricane will miss us in Vermont, thank goodness – we’ve had no shortage of rain so far this year and we don’t really need more.
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