The fall garden that was planted weeks ago is really starting to thrive. We have had several cool nights in a row now and it is evident the spinach, pak choi and the peas are loving it. The above photos is of the pak choi. We need to make some more wood ash to put around the plants to discourage the slugs from having a midnight snack.
We still have lots and lots of tomatoes on the vine with fingers crossed that they ripen before the first real freeze. But the reddening process is pretty slow. Im thinking I should just pick them with quite a bit of stem and let them ripen in the kitchen window. I know you can put them in a brown paper bag in a warm spot to ripen as well. But I really like watching them turn from green to yellow to orange to red. And I think Zane really likes watching them too...he's my garden buddy these days.
We'll see how many peas actually make it to the table. In the spring, the boys gobbled them up right in the garden as soon as the pods were fat enough to pick. They loved guessing how many peas were in each pod and then opening them up to count.
The mint is growing great guns and looks like it might eventually take over if I dont share some with the neighbors. It apparently likes all of the rain we've had the past few weeks. I love pulling up a few sprigs and hanging it from the shower head with a little rafia. When the steam hits it, the whole bathroom smells like spearmint and it is a great way to wake up in the morning. Right before it freezes I will also dry some for later use this winter.
The sunflowers are done and the birds and squirrels have enjoyed the seeds. But the empty seed heads are still gorgeous to me and make a great fall decoration as a backdrop to the acorn sqash and pumpkins.
And as a thank you for all of your wonderful comments ... a little giveaway!!! I was able to harvest about 5 packages of giant sunflwer seeds before the animals ate too many of them. So if you would like some of them, just send me an email with your address and I will pop them in the mail to you later in the week. Remember, they were the giant variety and ours got almost two stories high. Happy fall gardening!!!