It's Finally Fall

Recent events have put made updating my blog a low priority. The Autumn Equinox and the full moon of September have come and gone, and now it's finally fall. It feels like fall outside too, but by Texas standards, which means it's only in the low 90's. We've had some of our first cold fronts come through, and last weekend we got a whopping 5 inches of rain.

I think fall is my favorite season, because that's when we can breathe a sigh of relief that summer is over, and start indulging in things like pumpkin pie flavored everything.

 

The rows of tomatoes in the front garden look like this now. On my to-do list is to pull out what's left of the tomato plants and till it up. I've decided to build raised beds out of cedar (with my husband's help!), and I think I'll start here.

 

The butternut squash that survived being eaten repeatedly by deer are still trying hard to make some fruits before it freezes. I hope they have time.

The peppers are doing great, and have started making more fruit. These are all peppers that survived last winter. I wonder how many years I can keep them going.

 

The eggplants are doing great too. I really need to cook some of them. A lot of them are getting overripe before I get the chance.

 

In the back, the Tatume squash that survived the summer is also making a comeback with lots of flowers. Most of them seem to be male flowers, but I might be able to get some summer squash to eat from them before it freezes.

I've gotten a couple of okra pods from my three healthy plants, but not enough to make much of a dish out of. The watermelon probably won't manage to make a fruit before winter.









The sweet potatoes still look good, at least aboveground. No telling what's going on below until it's time to harvest them.

Meanwhile, I'm just starting to plant fall crops. Here are my fava beans starting to come up in the back garden. I planted two varieties from Baker Creek to compare: Broad Windsor and Aquadulce.

Here's the nice trellis my husband put up for the Tall Telephone peas. That should work much better than the netting I used last time. TT is a big variety that needs a sturdy trellis.

The brassicas, chard, fennel, etc. are still in pots. I brought them in the garage because something was digging them up. No idea what it was, but some critter was obviously digging them up out of the pots. I would find the poor plant lying beside the pot and kept having to put them back. I hope now they can recover soon so I can plant them in the ground.

I also finally got the garlic I ordered from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I got three varieties this time: Red Toch, Lorz Italian, and S&H Silverskin. The first two are ones I've already grown before that did pretty well, though I still haven't gotten a harvest anything like 2010. Then there was bad weather the next year, then the move, then I made the mistake of planting the garlic in the shade. Well, this time I'm not moving, and I'm going to plant them in an ideal spot with plenty of compost and mulch, so it's just up to Mother Nature to do her part