Rainfall
- 12th: 0.55"
- 14th: 0.33"
- 16th: 0.01"
- 20th: 0.31"
- Total: 1.2 inches
Temperature
- range of nighttime lows: 38 to 59°F (3.5 to 15°C)
- range of daytime highs: 59 to 84°F (15 to 29°C)
Weather Notes
About mid-month the mornings were getting cool enough to switch to my winter work schedule. That means I do my garden and outdoor work in the afternoons. Mornings are indoors. That's when I used to do most of my writing, but now I mostly weave and sew (which I talk about on my other blog).
According to the weather forecast, a cold front will push through any time now. Our first frost looks extremely likely after that.
Planted (all early in the month)
- carrots
- daikons
- turnips
- lettuce
- kale
- Egyptian walking onions
It's been pretty dry, so many of my seeds sit dormant in the ground. Maybe they'll make for an early spring garden.
Transplanted
- hazelnuts
- chestnuts
These are saplings I traded hopniss tubers for.
Harvested
- greens: kale, turnip, daikon
- turnips
- cherry tomatoes
- slicing tomatoes (which don't want to ripen)
- sweet peppers
- sweet potatoes
- first sweet potato squash (the others are still greenish)
- peanuts
- pecans
- quince
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| 1st quince |
I planted two little Chinese quince trees back in March of 2021. I've kept an eye on them for fruit, but missed this one entirely. I found it on the ground! I have no idea what to do with it yet, but I'm looking forward to learning.
Okra and green bean plants are fading but still manage to put out a few. I'm letting these dry to save the seed for next year.
Salads, of course.
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| Kale, Swiss chard, daikon greens, cherry tomatoes, green pepper, and aged goat feta. The dressing is a commercial chickpea dressing. It's tasty, so I want to experiment with trying to make my own. |
Things to do before first frost
- Harvest sweet potatoes
- Harvest sweet potato squash
- Bring my potted ginger indoors
- Try potting one of my green pepper plants again this year. Last year's didn't make it, but I didn't have a good place to store it. This year, I have the greenhouse, so I'm hoping for success.
Parting shots
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| Not much fall color this year, but the forsythia bushes never disappoint. |
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| Spotted this little guy on a leaf of one of my potted chestnuts. |
Garden Notes: October 2023 © October 2023
10 comments:
I'm jealous of the quince trees. They make the most delicious jelly. My best friend from high school would bring me jelly her grandparents used to make from their own trees.
Kristina, quince jelly is definitely on my list to try! Not sure I can do it with just one, but at least the trees have made a start. I did read that they are related to apples and high in pectin.
We had a hard freeze last night so our garden season is officially done though it was done well before then thanks to the local deer population. I hope to make it down to the farm garden yet to mulch the plant remains up to make it easier to till come spring and I hope to still work a pile of mulched leaves into our urban garden. Other than those two things, I'm taking a bit of a breather and then will start another big project indoors.
Ed, are you going to keep the farm garden? At least for awhile? You all have put a tremendous amount of work into it. On the other hand, having the garden in the backyard is so much more convenient.
You are facing first frost...this morning we had first snow. It was a couple of inches but melted fast and is pretty much all gone now. I didn't save a pepper plant this year to overwinter, as there isn't much window real estate here. The best ones are too close to the stove and too hot. The salad looks delicious and that is a very cute tree frog.
Rosalea, overwintering pepper plants doesn't seem as easy as some folks say. Maybe this year I'll succeed!
I doubt we've ever had a snow in October! It's usually a one day event in January or so. I'm glad yours melted quickly. It's pretty, but it can be a nuisance.
Leigh, we had our first "cold" snap (down to the mid-40's) last night, so I suspect the sweet potatoes will be coming out soon. Garlic is planted and has started sprouting. Wednesday through Sunday are supposed to be warner and sunny, so I will try to get the rest of the seeds in.
TB, do you generally have a mild enough winter to plant this late? Sometimes we do, and sometimes we don't. I always plant anyway, just in case.
Sorry I didn't come back to read your question sooner. We will probably keep it another year but then no longer. There are some reasons which I haven't discussed publicly for this that make keeping it longer not really feasible.
Ed, I know you all put a lot of work into that garden, but I think having it closer will be a huge benefit. So probably the best decision.
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