Harvest time

Driving the dogs to the kennel the other day (another story in itself) and noticed leaves had started to turn at the very beginning of September. Growing season is so short here.

It certainly doesn't help that we don't get full sun anywhere. South side of the property is fully treed, as is the west. Eventually I'll figure out where to put a garden for the most sunshine yet still away from septic, but for now its container planting on the deck.

I started seeds inside this year, then moved them to the little plastic greenhouse, then to pots on the deck. Also cheated and bought some seedlings as well. I plant mostly tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. Some other stuff to play around with. My broccoli flowered the first week it got hot, my cauliflower formed heads (the first time I've managed that at least) but rotted, as did the cucumbers and zucchini because it was such a wet year. Everything was beaten up by the hail storm. All in all, not the most productive season.

Yesterday I went out and picked some stuff to make some salsa for nachos. Neat because I grew everything I needed. It was very delicious, tomatoes were especially good. Heritage varieties that I got as seed from my MIL and seedlings from a local farmers market. Strange to realize how little food I actually manage to grow, and how our yard could easily (in theory at least) grow all the food we needed to be self sufficient. Gardening is more of an occasional hobby for me. Fun, but I don't put enough effort in.

At least my basil varieties turned out better than last season. I love pesto and have started making and freezing my own. I'm thinking I would like to try growing basil and other herbs indoors under fluorescent lights. Nothing beats fresh herbs for cooking, and it will keep me entertained for the 3/4 of the year they won't grow outside. I figure a four shelf wire rack unit with a 3 foot multi-spectrum light at each level would do well. We'll see.