We're getting frost in my area, so I'll be closing my garden soon. I headed out to see what was left, I have peppers and quite a few green tomatoes that need to be picked. I decided to pick what peppers I could. They got a late start for some reason, so my jalapenos and belles are half the size they should be. I'm going to pickle these, I should be able to get several pints for the winter. The chilies, Hungarian Wax and Banana peppers did well.
I'll head out tomorrow and pick the green tomatoes that are a good size and remaining peppers. I plan to can the tomatoes for fried green tomatoes this winter. How do you use your green tomatoes?
I'll probably pull the tomato plants and start cleaning up the garden for fall mulching. I closed the garden last year in early October. I do plan to plant garlic this week-end since it didn't do well this spring. Wish me luck. Have you closed your garden for the season?
I managed to can 7 pints of peaches this week. My daughter and her family surprised me with a visit over the week-end, so I decided to show her what was in store for the baby. I didn't put syrup on this batch as I had planned. We're going to use it for baby food for the new baby due in November, so sugar will not be added to any of the baby's fruit.
The Roma tomatoes are producing nicely. I'm going to freeze this batch, there's just not enough to fill up the canner and create a mess in the kitchen. I have a ton of tomatoes ripening, which I'm so thankful for. My sister was visiting this past week-end as well, so the salsa disappeared quickly. As a matter of fact, it never made it off the towels on the counter, lol.
My peppers are starting to turn. I planted green, orange, and red bell along with the banana, chili, and jalapenos. I have a tone of chili and banana peppers that need to be harvested. I going to make a pickled pepper mix this week-end with cauliflower and carrots. I used the peppers shown over sausages this evening. The red peppers are so sweet. I will planting these again next year.
My squash are producing for the second time this year. I'm going to fry a few more, and than freeze the remainder for casseroles this winter.
This pepper was huge. I somehow missed it while I was in the garden. I was surprised how sweet it was inspite of how big it got.
I've found that veggies get bitter or tough if they're allowed to get too big.
I'm planning to plant peas and carrots this week-end. A little late getting them in, but time has not been on my side this week. I'm planning a baby shower for my daughter Labor Day week-end, so I've had to turn my focus to that. My SIL asked me to plant collard greens, but I don't see that happening this year. I need to extend the garden to have space, and I just don't have the time right now.
What's happening in your garden? Will you be putting in cool weather crops? Leave me a comment, I'll stop by.
