I don’t even know what the date is….the 26th? 28th? I know it is most definitely not mid-month.
September is crunch time for summer preserving. It is the only time of the year I preserve in bulk. In fact, I have preserved very little since last September. Some preserved lemons, a batch of marmalade, and some frozen lemon zest (from my parent’s garden way back in January) are the only things I can recall.
Lettuce and kale for fall and winter. I managed to overwinter lettuce last winter so I’m hoping for a repeat!
Then…pow…September! During the first 2 weeks of September, I preserved (in one fashion or another): 160# tomatoes, 30# cucumbers, 20# blueberries, 20# peaches, 20# strawberries, 5# jalapeños, 1# basil, 2 gallons of foraged blackberries, and 2 stuffed canvas grocery bags of plums.
I picked part of the apples from one of the columnar apple trees. Crisp and sweet-tart. Yum.
Whew. This girl is done for 2012.
Our peppers have been prolific (for Seattle) this year. And I have loads of chard and other various greens to overwinter. Yay!
But the garden? It is on autopilot. Thank goodness. It is safe to say that, in my less-than-stellar disgruntled pissy mood, I am over it for the season. I want to rip it all out and put it to bed. You see, 2012 continues deliver fairly regular beatings. My Dad still doesn’t have a liver. We had to suddenly put our sweet and silly dog to sleep about 10 days ago. And I have had more recent conversations about death, menstruation, and (the musical) Wicked with the intensely curious (and not-yet-5-year-old) Babylady than my frazzled self can deal with.
I am continually blown away by how quickly pole beans mature. They are still going strong!
Anyway. I am done.
Became kraut.
But I’m here.
End of summer harvest and the last of our tomatoes
Coming up tomorrow? The Great Chicken Molt of 2012.
Hang in there, Meg. I know this has been a trying year. In spite of it look at all that you have done! You are amazing!
Loved it!
What beautiful tomatoes and what kind of pole beans. Sorry for the lose of your dog. Sending prays for your dad and liver. And for you!
Thank you! The beans were Velour Beans (http://www.territorialseed.com/product/12908/367) and were fantastic– very prolific!
As another Seattle gardener, I’m interested in which tomato varieties performed well for you. This year I was pleased with Beaver Lodge, Glacier, Pink Icicle, Polish, Speckled Roman, and Black Cherry. A bit disappointing: German Streaked and Black Trifele. Overall, a really good year for tomatoes though.
This year was iffy– I had a gazillion starts and the labels all wore off before I got them in the ground. So I ended up with a ton of orange paruche (a cherry type that was new to me and I loved!) Some speckled romans made it in the garden and performed well. To be honest, this year was a terrible year for our tomatos– because I ignored them, was terrible about watering, and frazzled. I am still searching for that perfect tomato taste in a tomato that will ripen in Seattle!
PS- your blog is great! And, I can’t believe we haven’t met!
I’m sorry about your dad and your dog–and after spending the day canning peaches myself (oh wait, I’m not done yet) I can’t believe how much produce you went through this month! I’m exhausted just thinking about it. You’re going to have a delicious winter, though–I hope that helps with the rest. Take care.