gardening ~ october 2019 {tucking in}

Just as the leaves began to show off their radiant, autumnal colors we were given a dusting of snow, yesterday evening through the early morning. Having this pending weather foreknowledge I began to put "clearing vegetable beds" on my To Do list, and since I am a bit obsessive {although I try to keep perspective and focus on diligence not obsession} about crossing off my tasks all the beds did get clear. Trimming branches and clearing flowers is doable in any season, but vegetables that sit in the wet weather get a bit cumbersome to clear so I'm thankful that I was able to do that work in the preceeding weeks.

The final harvests are in and I didn't even make it to 350 pounds, which surprised me, but tomatoes do buffer my statistics and I didn't even make it to 100 pounds. We will feel the pain of this when I begin to use canned tomatoes for sauces and soups. We are definitely used to the standard taste of home grown tomatoes. Spaghetti sauce will not be the same, as I have already been told my one of my children. However, we do have variety stored in the freezer, which is such a gift for stirfry and savory pies.

I have no complaints. We still have stash of most of the produce listed below. Smoothies frequent our lunches and most days we eat vegetables from our own garden. What a {tasty} gift! I am thankful.

2019 Produce Totals ~ 341 pounds 8 ounces
Strawberries ~ 72 pounds
Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard ~ 12 pounds
Snow Peas ~ 10 pounds
Green Beans ~ 21 pounds
Beets ~ 7 pounds
Cucumbers ~ 26 pounds
Cherry Tomatoes ~ 5 pounds
Sweet Peppeters ~ 7 pounds
Garlic ~ 1 pound 5 ounces
Roma Tomatoes ~ 63 pounds
Beef Steak Tomatoes ~ 10 pounds
Onions ~ 3 pounds
Blackberries ~ 3 ounces
Carrots ~ 12 pounds
Squash ~ 19 pounds
Potatoes ~ 73 pounds