The Garden in October

My poor neglected garden. I planted my fall crops, and then school and school activities filled in the time that was once spent in the garden. I would occasionally stroll through the small garden to pick caterpillars off the broccoli, but other than that the plants were left to fend for themselves. I hadn't even visited the large garden in weeks.

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day, and I declared it a work outside morning. I surveyed the big garden, and found that I had waited too long for the tomatoes. They were almost all rotten. ~sigh~ Lots of peppers were harvested though. Okra pods were collected for seeds, and bean pods were collected for soup beans. That is the end of the summer garden. All that remains is to till it up and plant a cover crop.

Next to check were the fall plants, turnips and radishes that had been planted and forgotten. Their lush greens took me by surprise. They were easily three times bigger than the last time I laid eyes on them. Turnip greens were harvested, though the turnips themselves are not quite ready. There were lots of red radishes poking out of the ground. those neglected beauties were about 4 inches long with a mild peppery flavor. We devoured them at lunch.

Little remains to harvest or to do in the garden this time year. Soon the entire thing will be put to rest, and it will be time to evaluate this year's garden and plan for next year.