the october garden~"the end"~502

 

 

The October garden should really be called "The End."

About mid-month I decided I was done. So I harvested the final tomatoes and pulled all the plants. We had a huge pile of plants and brush and since we didn't need all that green for compost we hauled it away to Missouri Organic.

Our beautiful Sugar Maple tree in the front yard provides a bounty of leaves, so the above pile is the first round of mowing and bagging leaves that were hauled to the backyard and put on most of the garden beds.

A few Kale plants are still producing since we have not had a frost, so it's nice continuing to enjoy fresh salads. I will enjoy that for as long as it lasts and then buy the expensive big tub of greens at the store!

Last weekend I planted the garlic, so other than moving some garden structures to new locations my work in the vegetable garden beds is complete for the year.

The final listing of vegetables by pound is as follows:

211 lbs ~ Roma Tomatoes

95 lbs ~ Potatoes

60 lbs ~ Beefsteak Tomatoes

48 lbs ~ Blackberries

28 lbs ~ Carrots

10 lbs ~ Garlic

15 lbs ~ Squash

12 lbs ~ Watermelon

9 lbs ~ Onions

3 lbs ~ Golden Beets

3 lbs ~ Green Beans

3 lbs ~ Cherry Tomatoes

2 lbs ~ Lima Beans

1 lb ~ Cucumbers

1 lb ~ Sweet Peppers

1 lb ~ Tomatillo Tomatoes

502 pounds!

We are quite pleased with that number, of course. However, it would be nice if there could be a bit more of a balance in our numbers. Usually, lima beans, green beans, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers and cucumbers produce much more. Even though we haven't weighed our produce in the past, I don't have any of those items stored in the freezer, so that really is a disappointment. We of course enjoyed them fresh, which was wonderful, but I do like a bounty to enjoy in winter. And although we harvested 15 pounds of squash, I don't have any of that vegetable stored either, which means no squash soup unless I purchase it from the store. 

No gardening year is the same as the last or the next, so we'll just be diligent to plant wisely and hopefully harvest even more next year. It will be interesting to compare numbers since we don't have any plans to add more garden beds (although we always say that!), but I know I could have been more diligent to "baby" some plants that didn't produce well and I hope to adjust the beds to plant more potatoes and squash next year. 

For something that began as a little hobby, it's fun to see how it has supplied our home with such healthy goodness for our bodies.