After three nights of intense worrying about freezing temperatures killing our crops, today is like a beautiful blessing. Some of the trees are starting to turn color but I think it’s partly due to stress from all the dry weather we’ve had. Yes, we had rain, but only a sprinkle or a little more. Not enough to do much good until the one we had on Tuesday. That one was very nice and gave us hope for a good harvest of nice Kuroda carrots, after all.
Yesterday, we hosted a group of folks from Orr, Minnesota, north of us. We toured the gardens and let them sample lots of tomatoes. Even to us, it’s amazing all the different flavors our tomatoes have. A lot of the kids remarked on that as they ate another and another piece. It was so fun!
Will’s waiting for haybine parts again. It seems they sent him the wrong ones — again! While he’s waiting, he’s been out in the woods, gathering up what we call small wood. That’s dead branches that are very dry but have no bark left. And he’s been cutting up our big, beaver-cut logs we had left from two years ago. The splitter is hooked up to the tractor and we’ll be splitting wood soon. Right now, he’s repairing the plank fence of the cow yard and working on the back of the run-in shed. Cows are hard on fences of any kind but stout electric and over the last year, they broke several of the planks on the fence. As we want to get them corralled for a while, until the gardens are harvested, to avoid any break ins, the fence has to be in perfect shape to hold them in. Of course, they’d rather eat green grass than dry hay!
Our apples are wonderful this year. Some of our young trees are starting to bear and a couple of the culinary crabs, like Trailman and Chestnut are simply loaded. I’ll have to get them picked and get busy making apple slices, apple juice, apple butter and applesauce. Today, I’m getting busy and seeding out the kazillion tomatoes waiting in crates out on the porch.
— Jackie
Yes, it has been beautiful, hasn’t it? Winter is coming on and everyone is preparing for the cold. I love your pictures, especially the apples. I will get my canner back out when apples come to our local market here. There is nothing like an apple pie to cheer everyone up. I baked some bread last night and my husband said he could not sleep because the house smelled so good.
Yes, nothing smells as good as baking bread! I’m thinking apple pie, baked apples, apple crisp, apple strudel…..And canned apple recipes too. Yum!!
Our first fall rain was wonderful to experience, though was scant, here in far north California. And the big swing back to the nineties is coming end of next week. Yes, I guess it’s fall weather. Jackie, our trees are turning only because of lack of rain, though we never expect it in summer, doesn’t mean the trees don’t need it. There’s some color, but mostly dead brown leaves falling. God bless you, Jackie and Will.
Thank you Elizabeth. I’m glad you got at least a little rain. That’s how our fall rains started. Right now we’re getting a heavy rain, which has been coming down for hours. I hope you get more but not torrential rain.
The fruit trees here are just loaded this year. I picked pears Monday and even after picking there were so many left on that small tree. It was a friends tree that she let me pick from. The apples everywhere are simply loaded. I’m hoping to find a tree to pick from. I have no fruit trees on my property and with just me, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to plant them at my age. So many people don’t use their fruit, so I feel confident I can get apples. It had been cooler here, but is now warming again and is quite hot in the afternoons. No rain in the forecast and it is very dry. I sure hope the correct parts for the haybine come in for Will. There is so much hay here this year. The bale’s just dot the countryside. I hope its not a harbinger of a bad winter. Sounds like you have a big job ahead with seeding all those tomatoes! Sending prayers for a blessed week.
My apple and pear trees were loaded this year; and the bear was absent! So, the deer, and squirrels, too! So grateful, so thankful. Regards from far north California.
I seeded and seeded tomatoes yesterday. Today it’s raining cats and dogs so I’m inside, cleaning house again. When I can so much it doesn’t take long for my kitchen to look like a vegetable bomb went off. I hope you find plenty of apples. Heck, I’m 79 and am still planting trees. : )
We’re getting another spell of warm weather and it’s great for garden harvest and clean -highs in the 70’s lows 50’s. I’ve got the winter wood cut and split. Each year I think I have enough wood for two years but that never happens. My potato crop this year was the worst ever-? too much rain. It has been a bumper crop of tomatoes. We have cattle and fencing is a constant chore. Beef prices are high and it’s good to have your own meat.
And with the price of cattle at the sales barns, the price of beef is going to skyrocket soon. I can’t believe it! Three day old calves bringing over $1,000! Feeders $5 a pound, on the hoof. Wow, I would have never thought I’d live to see this.
We’ll be hitting the wood lot very soon to split up all the wood Will has blocked up. I love it!!
My early crop of potatoes did not make at all. I checked the irrigation, and at one point, replaced it to make sure, in the whole garden, and those potatoes did not make, anyway. I was wondering why the tops were dying down. It was not for lack of water. I replaced the irrigation, just in case, but that did not help; and then they died down anyway. No rhyme or reason, here in zone 9, hot, dry, far north California.
For the first time since 2018, we need to finally get our store of firewood in. In that year was this area’s Carr fire that at the time was the worst forest fire California had ever known. Then, that same summer, and since, forest fires have been even worse. We had enough burned, downed trees (we got from neighbors whose houses were burned down, and whose land was burned up), that we had enough firewood for seven years! It’s our only source of heat.
Beautiful fall picture. Love the turning leaves. So glad you escaped the freeze! We received 1 1/2” rain! From a severe thunderstorm! No down in the low 80’ what a relief. Canning ketchup tomorrow as harvest enough paste to make a batch! Seems like one of us lose a vegetable and other has too many! Onions did very poorly carrots are a total loss. What a nice batch of apples coming on! Poor Will! Part s break. Then receive wrong replacement. Least he can get started on the wood supply! Enjoy the weather before it changes!
Despite the weather or wrong parts, we always mange to find lots of jobs that need doing. I haven’t dug many potatoes yet as the plants are still green. I’m wondering what’s under those vines this year, as it’s been so crazy.
I’m personally glad to hear about your livestock. Gardening isn’t the only thing to hear about that gives me pleasure. Thanks, Jackie.
We’re due for our first cold front this weekend. Originally they said it would get down to 69 Sunday morning, but they’ve revised it up to 71. Oh well, happy to be out of the 90s. Most days the AC doesn’t kick in till I lower the temps to sleep.
Wow, it’s so interesting to see folks’ cold fronts, who live out of our cold area. We’d be happy for a high of 69 degrees! But it’s been warm so I’m sure not complaining.
While I can’t speak for all of your readers/posters, I wish I could give you a few days of work.
We’re supposed to get close to 90 on Saturday – ugh especially since the humidity will creep up.
Perhaps this spate of warm weather will start the last of the slicing tomatoes to ripen. I hate to admit defeat but the I’ll be composting the paste tomato plants this weekend. I’ll take a closer look at the one slicer plant in case I missed some large enough fruit. Seed garlic should arrive soon. I’ll plant an additional row this year. I have decided to not plant any paste tomatoes next year. So the space will have garlic and potatoes.
I’ll query dad this weekend re: a potato patch at his place. We have access to very reasonable priced per bale of straw which we can use to mulch between rows. My grandparents (his parents) last garden was on the sandy side, perfect for potatoes. Might be a safe hobby for dad – I have a really bad feeling re: another pandemic.
So sorry to hear about your paste tomatoes? Perhaps another variety would do better for you? I don’t know about another pandemic but there sure are a lot of scary things out there right now!!
Miracle Grow for Tomatoes was the bane of the paste tomatoes. Perhaps I should grow them at Dad’s house too.
I’ve made so much powdered garlic from my home-grown, and made garlic, I’m going to skip growing garlic this coming garden.
Selena, maybe you already know: be sure and do not purchase sterilized straw/hay bales as that usually means grazon or glyphosate.
@Elizabeth – that I know. I know the farmer from whom I purchase straw bales.