It has been a whole month since the September edition of the Pickleman Family Garden. Who would have foreseen I would have a garden update in October this far north?
One of the more rewarding experiences to share is gardening which happens to be a highlight of my summers after those long Canadian winters. The latest Garden Journal Challenge by 
This is the 6th year of The Pickleman Family Garden series that started as a reclamation of lawn and a simple garden veggie box. These days, it has become an expanding and perpetual yearly tradition of exploration.
Frost is in our short term forecast so this is pretty close to the end as far as harvest goes.
Last month
The last update, I was hanging the horns \m/ in the shadow as the boy ran around the yard in the late afternoon sun.
The garden veggies are a little thinner now but plenty green for it being the fall season.
What's Left to Harvest?
That big old kale plant that sprouted back on its own in the spring continues to produce. I don't eat the filthy superfood myself but I know people who do and I enjoy the different colours of leaves late in the season.
My Ghost Pepper plant was among the biggest pepper seedlings in the spring. I have only pulled one violently hot pepper off this all season but there are a couple left almost ready to pick. When they get red, 3 peppers are actually enough to ruin any sauce with heat so perhaps fewer this year is a blessing.
My habaneros are still popping and I probably have another couple dozen to harvest. They are a little smaller than years past but plentiful and plenty hot as hell. We are starting to ferment them and plan to kick out a delicious yet maliciously hot sauce.
Joining in this sauce will be the other potted plant with habaneros and the delicious Cherry Bomb peppers. I can't wait to ferment, mix and sample and will maybe put up a #snap for that story.
This is probably the last of the cucumbers for the year. I will make sure to pull some seeds from this one for next year as fresh cucumbers from the vine are just divine. I slice them up and put them in sandwiches, salads or even soda water and they are just so satisfying.
Tomatoes
The tomatoes just keep rolling. It seems they take so long to ripen their first one and haven't stopped producing all kinds for the last 2 straight months. The leaves slowly wither but the vines are holding on and there are still so many to ripen.
The black Brandywine tomatoes are kinda neat too. They didn't grow that big but have a slightly thicker skin and taste like concentrated tomato extreme bites.
Blooms
I love still having flowers blooming in the autumn. the first ones that pop p in spring are such a joyous sight but those that hang on through the long summer and brave the cooler nights into fall are special.
My hydrangeas ain't what they used to be and are turning into tumbleweeds but there are still a few fresh green ones growing.
Many of the hanging baskets and deck pots are flowing over with leaves as the flowers thin. Love to see them battle it out and the big dark leaves have their October days in the sun.
Fall Projects
this past week, it was not all fun and games and veggie picking. I signed myself up for some back breaking labour with breaks to throw the toy around they yard for the boy. Turns out someone around the corner was doing some landscaping and put a shit load of Hostas out on the curb. I filled the back of the SUV and brought them home to replant in one of our tree/weed beds. I am not sure if it is too late in the season for them to root and come up next year but we will see. If I can get them watered regularly and protect them from the first of the frosts, I may have a more green and lush bed of all kinds of hostas.
We also planted some tulip bulbs in hopes of some more colour in the front yard. They were chosen by my little one and will come up dark pink and almost black purple in next spring's early editions of the Pickleman Family Garden.
What a Good Garden Season!
We are close to the end of the garden season and the sun sets a little earlier each day. I will most likely pick all of the rest of the veggies and put them on a rack to finish their ripening and get into some clean up and soil prep for a damn long winter. The big bushy tree will be gone as it is wearing on the fence, growing too quickly, pissing my grumpy neighbour off, and stealing just a bit too much sunlight from the garden.
This might be the final chapter of the Pickleman Family Garden for the year. Perhaps an encore of the tasks of chopping down, cleaning up and preparing the beds with mulch and cover for when the snow starts to fall.
Mom started me along my path of growing stuff when I was a kid. Motivated by so many blockchain blogging gardeners, I figured I would plant and share and learn as I reclaim as much grass space as I can. It has turned out to be a fruitful experience and I hope to inspire you to sow and grow no matter what your location or experience level is.
Ibuprofin is good for the garden life.
