Boo!

Happy Halloween!

The big guy got a face over the weekend. We had him lit each night in the living room until white fuzzy stuff started coming out of his eyes yesterday. Now he's on the balcony with a little battery powered tea light in him. Hopefully he holds up through the night. He was a little smooshy in the face area. Ew. 

Pumpkin Season

As you may know, I love pumpkins. Pretty much as soon as the last boat is taken out of the water on Labor Day, I'm thinking about when and where I can get a big winter squash.  This year we waited a long time to visit the local garden store to pick up these two beauties.  The big guy weighs in at 34lbs. The little one is just such an adorably small Long Island Cheese squash that I had to have it. And in a month, that one may become soup or pie.  

Why did we wait until the middle of October to get some pumpkins?? It's been warm. I have yet to put away my shorts and take out my sweaters. It hasn't really felt like fall. I don't think the leaves are going to put on a very good show this year. 

But I couldn't take it anymore. It's almost Halloween. Soon there won't be any pumpkins left. Soon the stores will all be pushing red and green instead of orange and brown. 

We have tentative plans to visit a proper pumpkin patch this Friday in Sussex Co NJ. Hopefully that will help boost our pumpkin numbers around here a little. 3 is sort of skimpy for me. We don't even have any gourds!

2012 Pumpkin Review Spectacular

I have a modest collection this year. What it lacks in numbers it makes up for in personality. The dark warty specimen is new for me. Last week I ate a few of the smaller varieties before documentation so you'll have to imagine an acorn and a delicata on the mantle.

What do you think of that big stem?!

Orange and Red

Pumpkins

Tomatoes and Carrots

Racing Frost, Ripening Tomatoes

We're at the end of September and I haven't done anything in the garden lately except some occasional harvesting and trimming of dead foliage. Yes, there are still some things growing but they've all slowed down at this point and I'm just playing chicken with the weather. I'm hoping to harvest a bit more before the frosty nights arrive and then I'll get to the annual soil maintenance (which I never got to last year).

What's growing and what's left? The remaining chard is beginning to look a little haggard from some kind of bug damage but there's probably a couple salvageable bunches in there. I've got a couple dozen carrots that are in various states of ripeness. Half a dozen beets are still in the ground but last I looked they were almost too small to bother pulling. My cherry tomato plant is semi-loaded with small green fruit that may or may not ripen. The yellow bell pepper might be turning the slightest shade of yellow. My volunteer tomato plant is loaded with plum sized green fruit. One or two heads of escarole popped up that could be pulled for salads.

I'm waiting on those tomatoes. The volunteer plant has more fruit on it than any tomato plant I've ever babied in the plot. I've also got loads of anaheim chillies and jalapeno peppers in pots by my front stoop. Salsa may be in my future. Or another batch of hot sauce.

Here's what the garden looked like this morning with one of the resident kitties looking on (and probably waiting to poop in my plot):

A very large spider had made a web beside the gate and was awaiting breakfast.

What's next? Pumpkins of course. My count is already up to 6. I picked up a sack of mini white pumpkins at the store last week.

Collecting Pumpkins and Stretching the Harvest

Three additional pumpkins were acquired at a coastal Jersey farm last weekend.

Mao Mao inspected the minis as soon as they arrived.

Late ripening Mortgage Lifters are resisting late season blight and slowly turning pink in the garden.

There are a couple inch long cucumbers forming on these vines but they'll probably need some doomsday-type global warming for any chance of maturation.

I do think we'll have one last eggplant harvest this season. And yes, we still have plenty of hot peppers. See them hanging out in the background?

A Few of My Favorite Things

First Pumpkin of the Season, Money's Farm, Middletown, DE

Cowtown Rodeo, Salem County, NJ, August 28th

Pumpkins on My Mind

A nice visual list of pumpkins and winter squashes can be found here. I like to look at all the photos and dream about planting a pumpkin patch one day. Personal favorites? Boer, Futtsu Early Black, Goldkeeper, Jumbo Pink Banana, and (of course) Rogue Vif d'Etampes.

Last Days of Summer

First Pumpkin, Melick's Orchard, NJ

Josh and the Spotty Goat

Peek-a-boo!

Where are the peaches?

Mini Garden Harvest

Today it's 68

Now that it seems like Mother Nature is pushing fall weather upon us, I'm starting to reflect on this season's gardening exploits. It was a funny year (again) with an early summer, a VERY hot July, and almost no rain. Now we're near the end of August and it feels more like the end of September. It's been rainy, windy, and no warmer than 70 the past two days. I can't help but think about pumpkins. In fact, I think they're going to come sooner than expected this year as well. When we were out and about looking for cars last week (actually two weeks ago) we passed several pumpkin fields and in all of them I saw orange peeking out from beneath the leaves.

My own squash pursuits failed again this year. First the squash vine borers chewed up my plants and then an army of pill bugs took over the destruction. I pulled out my last plant last week and called it quits. No home grown squash for me. I will need to move my operation to some fresh land for that dream to come true.

Tomatoes have also proven to be a struggle this year. Hot and dry conditions in July really beat up my plants. I got a few Mortgage Lifters a month ago and then the plants began dropping their buds. Now everything is rebounding slightly, but the cool weather may prevent them from doing very much. And once again, the cherry tomato situation has been a disappointment: very few buds have survived and when they do turn into a tomato, they ripen so sporadically that my harvest is usually 1 or 2 half inch fruits at a time. I should also mention that a nice Boxcar Willie tomato that I was waiting for to ripen was stolen at some point. Since I'm doing a little complaining, I mind as well mention that I have some late blight popping up now with a couple green fruits rotting from the bottom up. Two years ago I had more cherry tomatoes than I knew what to do with. Those were the days.

I should mention that the eggplant gave me two delicious little eggplants last week that we cooked up for dinner so it isn't all bad news. The hot peppers are also doing fine and I've managed to give away many of the ultra hot specimens. I've got a happy looking escarole and two happy musk melon plants. Last week I threw in a row of cucumber seeds and peas under the trellis. Maybe I'll get something out of them before frost. Another round of radish and bush beans also went in. I might try some more lettuce if this cool rain continues.

My plans for the fall are to amend the soil and to see if I can't find a way to treat the pill bug situation. I will try to plant garlic at the end of November for next season but other than that, the soil will be thoroughly worked and improved in time to rest over winter. Next year I might do all flowers over the summer. I seem to have the most luck with spring vegetables anyway. We'll see. If I get an impressive late season harvest of tomatoes I might change my tune.

Cha Cha Hard at Work

Eggplants, Peppers, Greens, and Basil

Cat Action

A quiet afternoon on the couch

Cha Cha discovers the great outdoors

Mao Mao inspects one last pumpkin

Some of the Mao Mao Kitty followers ask me how the cats are doing when they don't see them here for a while. Everyone is doing well, looking forward to Christmas in the country, and enjoying the warmth of built-in fur coats. Lucky kitties.

First Pumpkin of Season Succumbs to Rot

I will spare you the grisly images. When I tossed it in the trash this morning the top third slid off like butter on a stack of pancakes.

Guess we'll need to get another. Oh darn.