Around the garden

This time of year in the garden always feels a little overwhelming. We feel filled to overflowing by all the wonderful vegetables calling out to be harvested and processed right now before they rot and mold and get chomped by slugs. We feel  exhilarated and a little mind-boggled by the planning required for next year--which beds will we sow with a cover crop, which will harbor greens through the winter under cover, which will be spread with manure and leaf mulch. We feel awestruck by the fecundity of the flowers going to seed, by the fig tree heavy with fruit. With all this abundance, I've gotten behind on weekly garden posts. Here are a few highlights from the last couple of weeks...

Do you remember the photo I took through this window back in April, when Dan was tilling up the lawn? I had high hopes for this spot, but never really thought it could turn into this:

 We are so dang happy with our decision to replace the lawn with tomatoes and green beans and leeks and kale and cilantro and marigolds and carrots and basil. Our full bellies and freezer and pantry are thanking us!

The flowers are spending themselves and I've been collecting much of the seed--I'm hoping to do a separate post on seed saving soon.

We planted another round of carrots between the leeks a while back...I'm not sure they'll be ready this year, but maybe they'll overwinter and provide some early spring snacking. We waited too long to harvest many of the carrots we sowed in spring--they got woody and the roots split.

The second sowing of kale is ready for harvest now, and we just planted one more round of greens (spinach and mild mesclun mix) this weekend, in hopes that it will mature before the days grow too short and cold for growing.

 On the left there are daikon radishes, which we've never grown, but seem to be thriving. Next are the old carrots, some green onions, and the very last sowing of new carrots, from just a few weeks ago. We're doing a lot of experimenting with succession planting this year. It's tricky to do in a small space, though, as there isn't much time after harvesting one crop for the next crop to mature before the end of the growing season.

 Those itty bitty butternuts have grown enormous! I wouldn't be surprised if this one weighed 10 lbs (maybe I'm exaggerating a little here...but only a little)

 More cucumbers climbing up their trellis, mingling with their black-eyed susan friends.

And...drum roll please...

We have ripe tomatoes! Didn't know if it would happen this year, but August gave us two whole weeks of hot summer weather...just enough to ripen a few of these beauties.

I've been freezing the tomatoes we can't eat or give away. I learned this trick from a neighbor and it works great. No need to blanch--just wash, core, and cut up the big ones if you want, then throw in bags and freeze. They're wonderful in soups and stews. Or you can heat them and puree for sauce later.

Blessings on the harvest to all you gardeners and farmers out there!