Every spring my dad planted a garden to supply fresh vegetables for our family. Lettuce and radishes were the first to be harvested, followed by green beans and onions, potatoes, corn and tomatoes. He also planted peppers, but always harvested them before they fleshed out. When the first frost hit, that was the end of the garden.
For some reason Dad never planted a fall garden. Maybe he was too busy farming or maybe he didn't know it was possible. No one else in our little town planted one either.
When I started gardening I did it just like Dad did, but I kept reading about fall gardens. Finally the idea of fresh vegetables in the fall overcame my doubts about planting a garden in the heat of August. I planted some fall greens. Oh, they were delicious! Now a fall garden has become traditional for us.
This year's garden is a spot of rich green in an otherwise ocher and russet landscape. The plants have shrugged off several nights of temperatures in the twenties and kept right on growing. The white cloths are row covers that we will use to protect the plants when night time temperatures fall even lower. Yesterday, November 2, I took these photos.
Beyond the parsley are the cruciferous vegetables, then arugula and turnips.
Little Brussels sprouts are forming along the central stalks.
Cauliflower leaves are curling inward, indicating that a head of cauliflower is forming.
Elsewhere, spinach and lettuce crowd the cold frames where they are protected from freezing nights.
We've been harvesting fresh vegetables for nine months now and expect to continue through this month. Both Dennis and I were fortunate to grow up in homes where gardening was an integral part of life. Our dads set us on this path, for which we are thankful.
4 comments:
Doug and I were just talking about when one could expect to see good looking brussels sprouts in the market. The ones in the supermarkets are looking pretty old. Your photos of the greens are great and make me hungry!
I know where you can get some in a week or so. In exchange you might share your favorite way of preparing them. I'm a Brussels sprouts novice.
Beautiful and yummy!
Everything tastes delicious with butter, so steam up those brussels and drizzle on some butter baby!
Love you!
1) Just like Jayhawk Fan, but first I cut and deep X in the bottoms so they steam more evenly in 5 minutes of steaming. When they have softened but are still bright green, I add either butter or olive oil to the pan with a bit of salt, put a lid on and shake like crazy for two seconds.
2)My daughter-in-law adds crisped chopped bacon, some vinegar and a pinch of sugar. I think that's Pennsylvania Deutsch.
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