The Garden Chronicles

For all intents and purposes the garden is done for the season.  There remains some spinach and a selection of lettuces that are doing fine with the cooler weather and sunshine.  All that is left to do is to till everything under and put it to bed for the winter.

That is not to suggest that there is nothing from the garden to dine-upon.  The freezer is full of peas, broccoli and green beans.  There is sweet corn carried-over from 2019 too. Canned pickles, beets, tomatoes, tomato juice and giant dilled green beans.

There are tomatoes in the garage that continue to ripen and fresh carrots, onions and potatoes that will keep into the new year.  The harvest was good and it is rewarding to take a measure of self-sufficiency in growing some of your own food.  

Beautiful Stuttgarter Onions

One observation that I will share is that I utilized red, plastic row covering for my tomatoes this year.  The theory was that the expenditure or time and aggravation to install it and plant the tomatoes would be offset by the reduction of time spent weeding and and in irrigation.

What I can say for sure is that indeed everything under the plastic stayed damp.  My tomato plants had thicker stems and possibly a better yield.  Nevertheless, when I removed the plastic the ground was absolutely matted with a thick tangle of weeds and moss that I have to deal with removing anyway.

 

I've more of the row covering if I want to do this again in 2021 - but I'll take the winter to think it over.

Vive le Jardin Magnifique!