If you are a gardener or grower of any sort, you should post your #gardenjournal with the other green thumbs here. If you are in the southern hemisphere, now might be a good time to start telling your gardening story as us northerners are heading into winter. What better way to journal your garden and swap stories & lessons with gardeners across the globe?
I had no idea I have not posted a Garden Hive post in months! Makes sense when I recall how much adventure I packed into the last few months of summer. Anyhow, this will be my last garden post of the year as November is not great for gardening in Canada.
Closing time
Seems a season ago we were watching all of the growth preparing for the equinox and their strongest growth. Plenty of green and some mid summer fruit harvest.
At the beginning of this bright fall day, we had been frosted a few times and it was time to shut the garden down.
Last Harvest
There were so many tomatoes toward the end of the summer that we made plenty of sauce and jarred them for the winter. The plants kept growing and producing with the warm early fall so there were a few dozen left to pick as we tore down the frost-licked veggie portion of the garden. Some calendulas in there with seeds that needed to be harvested for next year too.
There were plenty of hot peppers still to turn orange and red. My better half was extra pleased with the couple dozen large jalapenos ready to go. A few of them were even red!
After a couple hours picking, chopping and seeding, we came away with quite a stack of peppers and tomatoes. Some epic sauces coming up on the menu now and I am going to cherish the last of the garden fresh veggies in my sandwiches for a few months. The store-bought ones just aren't the same anymore!
Fall Flowers!
The hydrangeas are still showing brave faces. not as big and fluffy as the ones in the peak of summer but nice to see them outlasing other flowers and feediong the critters before hibernation/migration.
Then, we have our super fancy bouquet! Actually it is just our parsley plant hanging with a couple weeds we stopped pruning. I never cared for parsley before having fresh stuff to chop and add to dishes. Now I will miss it 'til next spring.
As the sun was setting, only the horseradish and some morning glories and calendula were standing. Almost wrecked enough for a winter of snow cover and neglect...I mean rest. One last mow for the season and the garden is finished for 2025.
Just in time too as this is what the garden looked like a week later! At least a few months of no mowing or watering!
Just putting this here for next year. Neat project and maybe some good companion planting strategy for plenty of fresh herbs next summer.
Cheers to all the Hive Gardeners growing and sharing food.
This marks the end of the 7th season of the Pickleman Family Garden. It will be a long winter before I can plant again next year. 'Til then, I will live vicariously through the garden posts from the southerners!
Mom started me along my path of growing stuff when I was a kid. Motivated by so many blockchain blogging gardeners, it has been great sharing and learning 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.