End-of-the-season Evaluation

This year's mailbox flowers were State Fair Zinnias--big, colorful blooms on sturdy stems.  Minnesotans have joked how summer came before spring this year.  This weather did crazy things to our growing schedule. It was perfect weather for peppers, and I have freezer bags full of them.  And I gave away just as many.  However, it was not so good for broccoli and spinach.  Both bolted before I could harvest them.  Maybe I just had bad guesses on when to plant.  Yet I had excellent luck on other plants like  basil, green beans, and carrots.  Our cooler weather has arrived and my plants won't survive this next frost/freeze, so I'm sad to see my plants go.  Normally I keep growing lettuce under a cover until there's too much snow, but we had a very hot day which caused my fall lettuce to go bitter. The gardens are going to sleep until spring.  Oh, and it was a good year for my pumpkins. Yum!

 

New Fiction Title

Please forgive this deviation from my gardening topics.  The Christmas Sisters, my novel, is  available as an e-book at amazon.com for 99 cents.  The story takes place in Minnesota, in Minneapolis and in a fictional small town. Two sisters, Holly and Noelle, support each other through tough times. While the love story is important, the heart of the novel is the family.  I'd rate this PG-13 (shirts come off!). This book is never going to be nominated for a Pulitzer prize, but my goal is to entertain readers with a likeable character who has obstacles to overcome. 

Fall Peapods

Harvesting peapods and pumpkins?  Yes! I planted the peas in early August. With the recent rain and relative warmth, I'll have a decent crop. Next year I'll plant in July so I can have a bigger fall crop. Our weather is predicted to get colder (frost and snow colder), so I've been working to clean up the garden, leaving only those items that can handle a little cold (like peapods).