Homesteading in the armpit of the Cape

ggplants roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your carrots.
Yep, garden is still producing.














We got a few sad, small heads of cabbage.












We have some basil to harvest.










And there are baby eggplants out there. Wait, what? These guys are troopers, we may get some harvestable eggplants if we don't get a deep freeze.

ale soup is a favorite of mine and we have a great recipe for it. I harvested another batch of kale today. I also picked some gooseberries and found yet another hidden squash out there, this time a tiny sweet meat. Gavin food most definitely.

ust when you think you got the last squash in the garden is when you find a big one you missed. Here is a nice green striped cushaw. Maybe it will be a pumpkin pie, those great pumpkin cookies Sarah makes, or a pumpkin cream roll. It may just end up with some pie spices broiled in the oven. Some of it will probably end up in this guy's stomach, he seems to like it a lot.

The garden was disappointing this year. Some things did well, and others just horrible.

First it was the onslaught of the slugs. I couldn't get enough beer traps in my garden to trap them all...just horrible. Devasted my cabbage, hurt the beans at first, ruined mid season kale.

Beans did awesome, should have planted more. Planted the pole beans in the wrong place, did poor. More shaded this year than it was last year.

Peas did ok. Didn't plant a ton.

Squash did ok. More romanescos and patty pans then ever before. Not a single eight ball. tromboncino's were not as prolific. Better than usual for green striped cushaw. Not so great acorn squash crop. Decent start to sweet meat squash then borers got in and they didn't get a chance to grow very big. Kousas didn't do well at all, still a blossom here or there but the fruit gets the blossom end rot.

Early kale was awesome, mid season kale was not worth picking due to slug holes. Looks like I'll get some more good harvests late season.

Turnips look great, harvest soon.

Eggplants just now have decided to blossom...too late guys.

Cabbage is eaten all to heck. Was looking forward to homemade sauerkraut.

Gooseberry crop is just starting and it looks to be a good harvest.

Tomatoes were awesome, then the early blight hit. Looked like we were past that and tomatoes starting coming...then late blight hit.

Got some hops, pretty good for first year.

Got one small potato from the grocery store potatoes that went to seed.

Carrots don't look to be too good. A lot of greens then just little tiny carrots.

Lettuce did great but there were a few species in the mix that were bitter. Try for some head lettuce next year.

No sunflowers again this year. I don't get it.

Amaranth did well, didn't plant enough though.

Chocolate mint did great for a first year planting.

Dill did very little.

Sage did very little.

Basil did alright, the early wet and lack of sun stunted them a bit. Need bigger pots next year.

Note for next year:
Slug control early and often.
Treat for blight early and often.
Plant pole beans in more sun.
Plant more beans with less dense planting. Stagger plantings.
Expand garden bed to use both sides of the trellis I built.
Spread squash plantings out more.
Plant gooseberries together in a bed with a trellis.
Treat for vine borers.
Thin kale patch out a little.

Tromboncino squash, two sweet meat squash, and three acorn squash, and a baby in there somewhere.

I did some garden work today and that reminded me of a funny story Sarah told me the other day. Sarah took Emilyann to Red Robin (yummmm) to spend her free burger for her birthday coupon. Being the big meat eater like her mom, Emilyann got the kids burger. At one point during the meal she picked the seeds off the bun and told Sarah that she needed to save them so daddy could plant them in the garden and grow yummy hamburgers.
We’ll have to can them...

Well, gotta go...I’m collecting beer caps....just in case.