Mr. Freeze is upon us. Yes, the Twin Cities has already endured the first official hard freeze meaning the growing season has officially ceased.  I had to scramble home to dig up what was left of the carrots, parsnips, turnips, leeks, beets and onions to put up in the root cellar (well the one I set up in the basement) for the winter and try to see if any of the cabbage or cauliflower had anything to harvest when the temps plummeted in late October.  I had plucked most of the green tomatoes at the first frost warning but was disappointed not to have just a few more weeks, especially now we are having this last gasp Indian Summer. 

My second harvest of peas never quite made to blossom thanks to the lack of rain unfortunately, and a bad case of fungus on a nearby squash wouldn’t have helped their quality anyway. 

It was a challenging year for gardening this season. With the very cool temperatures and drought conditions there were many challenges. I had my worst year for squash borer ever, killing most of my winter squash plants. I also battled late onset of white mildew on my zucchini and yellow squash due to all the late watering I had to do, and then very wet fall, so a very disappointing year for squash.

What I lacked in squash I more than made up for in cucumber however.  I tried a new variety alongside my traditional Organic Sweet Marketmore, a Thompson & Morgan Picolino F1 Hybrid Organic, which was a tremendous hit. Incredible producer and wonderful flavour, no bitterness, thin skin.

My peppers did yield but very little thanks to the cool temps and late start to the summer and the fact that I planted too close to tomatoes that grew out of control so they likely didn’t get quite enough light.  I got enough Jalepeno to make salsa, and red peppers to make stir fries so that is good.

My tomatoes were out of control this year.  All of my plants were from seed this year except two, the Amish Paste & Sweet 100 that I picked up at Mother Earth Gardens.  Unfortunately My experiment of trying to get the rainbow cherry tomatoes didn’t work as well as hoped and I ended up with hundreds of red cherry tomatoes. A good thing if you have people to donate them to, but after a while you do run out of things to do with cherry tomatoes. I was disappointed I did not end up with the purple, yellow and orange varieties from the seeds but the plants did thrive well and the Sweet 100 was insane with production.

The Roma, Black Plum, San Marzano, Amish Paste & Roprecco Paste Tomatoes were fantastic though as mentioned before they were delayed, once they finally started to ripen I had a wonderful crop and made wonderful sauces & salsas all summer long and have been canning all fall.

One of the nicest surprises was a new tomato variety I tried, the Matina, another organic Thompson & Morgan seed. Despite the black walnut mystery that baffled me for a while, these were a wonderful early and constant producer throughout the summer and fall.  A great salad & slicing tomato also good for sauces and cooking and even have held up to canning.

This was a first year for garlic for me and was very pleased with the result and am excited to plant again this week! Small bulbs but who can complain when you get both scapes and a fresh bulb from a tiny clove fresh from your own ground?

Onions I did not have as good a result thanks to trampling super-raccoons. They used the place where my onions were planted as their path to my yard and kept breaking the stalks, stunting the growth of the bulbs so I ended up with very small yield for my onions this year.  But have some nice shallots and a few nice ones for cooking.  Will have to address that next season.

Despite a mowing down by baby rabbits (chicken wire fence didn’t keep them out) early in the season my carrot crop is tremendous!  Am going to be making stews and soups all winter long!  There are some spotty nematode affected areas, but have found an organic early treatment product that can be applied to prevent the space alien-type distortion that the harmful nematodes create.

Parsnips and turnips did well too, despite the drought, though the turnips did also have some pest issues. Because it is an organic garden there is little that can be done other than try to introduce some more beneficial insect population.

The rainbow beets have been enjoyed all summer in salads and a second yield will be pickled and canned.  The organic compost mix and tilling I did to the corner plot seemed to be a boon for my beets though the lack of water was a challenge at times.

Being the fine Welsh lass that I am, I am probably most proud of my perfectly straight row of thick pale leeks.  I am looking forward to making a lovely bowl of Cawl with the Yukon Gold potatoes I grew in the bag this year.  The red new potatoes were lovely too, and the bag method was fantastic, such an easy harvest.

The cabbage & cauliflower & broccoli plants did extremely well but did not produce until just now so they are tiny.  I believe it is because there was a big branch of my maple tree that decided to grow over the raised bed this season that seemed to shade that area during part of the day.  It received a great deal of sun but perhaps not for long enough of the day and that may have stunted the growth, or perhaps the growing season was just not long enough this year with the cool weather having grown the plants from seed.  Either way, the plants were disappointing with only a few small cabbage heads and some plants with no cauliflower heads or tiny ones.  Will have to examine what to do with tree or bed next season.

The bush beans and broad beans were perfect for us this season, but did not yield enough to preserve as the drought took its toll on the plants late in the season. Hopefully next year is better.

Japanese Eggplant was stupendous, despite the cool weather, much better than the traditional one, which only yielded one big fruit due to lack of heat.  Will add a Thai eggplant next year I think.

With my added space from the raised beds I’ve found I need to devote more time to preserving.  We are going to invest in a new freezer for next season, though I quite enjoyed canning  it is much greater time investment, so I will split my harvest next year between the freezer and pantry, or find some sous chefs to help in the canning process in exchange for a few take-home gifts of tomato sauce or tomatoes. And I will be buying more Green Bags to keep the fresh items like cucumber and lettuce in the refrigerator longer.

It was a challenging season but the end of the year was wonderful and I am still enjoying my bounty but now it is time to cover up the beds with mulch, put away the tools and start pouring over the seed catalogs to plan for next season.

Lets see, seed starting begins in February, so that gives me three months for planning!

Tucked in for the Winter (Pamz2)

Putting your garden to bed is never a fun garden chore.  I am in the process of doing mine and I speak from experience. But it is a necessary one and there are certain things to keep in mind to ensure a happier spring. Peat Wilcutt, famous is conducting a seminar on proper techniques for putting your garden to bed for the winter as well as planing garlic and other fall crops.   Details of the seminar below:

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Famous Chickens in the City Instructor, Peat Wilcutt, will provide you with the tools to have a proactive approach to perennial and vegetable winter gardening

Date:      Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Time:      6:30pm
Where:      Urban Earth Cooperative
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Topics included:
Winter gardening
setting up a cold frame
planting fall crops such as garlic
cover crops

Space is limited so reserve now for Peats class tonight, October 20th!
To pre-register call Urban Earth at 612-824-0066
$10 for members
$15 for nonmembers
Each student will receive a free heirloom garlic bulb for planting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Urban Earth Cooperative
910 W. 36th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
www.urbanearthcoop.org
612-824-0066

Need something to do?
Check out this video TwinkieJiggles sent me in the middle of the night.

Need a little more to do? Go follow to Public Media Camp or just check the Twit feed #PubCamp. Via @juliaschrenkler

Dollar, dollar bill. Ya’ll

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It kind of feels like Fall, don’t you think?

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I went to a great seminar early this spring to learn how to make a rain barrel.  Lots of great information, and quite simple to make your own if you have a few key tools.  But unfortunately thanks to Mother Nature, until this past weekend’s glorious soaking, it didn’t do me any good without anything to capture.   But at least we can use rain barrels here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, did you know that in Colorado rain barrels are illegal?

Despite our fantastic recent soaking weekend rain,  there is a prediction of a cool dry summer. So what is the best way to keep your garden going in these arid conditions?

You must irrigate your garden yourself, or risk losing all that hard work and money you put into your plants.  The recommendation is to water early in the morning, and it is always best if you can, to water at the base of the plants, using drip irrigation or a soaker hose, less is lost to evaporation so it is more efficient. Watering at night isn’t recommended as the water stays on the plants and can encourage mildew and fungus.

The other thing that is very important in such dry conditions is a good layer of mulch which will help prevent the soil from drying out as quickly. I use a red cedar mulch as it helps deter pests as well, a good half an inch or more, but cocoa bean mulch is also popular, as is straw or pine bark.  I don’t recommend cypress because of claims of over-logging.  Several other people use shredded newspaper, but I find that can get a little too dense.

The key is to water deeply,  at least an inch of water, rather than for short periods, so that it encourages deep root growth once a week.  A good way to measure how much you have watered is to put out a tuna can, and once it is filled, that is an inch of water.  But in this windy weather, you may find that you may need to water twice a week. Just check your soil and make sure it stays moist under the mulch and look at your plants, they will tell you if they need water, if they are looking wilted or lifeless: time to water.

Pots and containers require more frequent watering, some maybe daily, because, although it hasn’t been terribly hot, they have a tendency to dry out quickly especially on these blustery days.

For a guide to garden watering see this handy sheet by The Green Institute’s GardenWorks.

Although this past weekend of soaking rain has helped, without a few more days of it, water bills may be taking a good hit this summer,  another great reason to invest in rain barrels, or perhaps look into how to do a rain dance.

Sunday was:

Wednesday is:

My theory is that either:

a) Mother Nature wanted to one up Google’s April Fools joke

or

b) Earth Hour worked a little too well

Let’s hope the experts are wrong, that the sandbags and volunteers arive in time, and that the new levees hold.

A personal shout out to my brother-in-law in Valley City, ND, one of the towns threatened by flood waters. Stay safe,  Don!

How was your weekend? My Fam took walks, had the windows wide open at the house, and tried to enjoy the weather as much as possible.

The one downside? My basement is leaking water. The unexpected upside? My pool is filling with water.

How did you enjoy the weather?

The zoo? Conservatory? Pan handling? Robbing cars? Reading a good book by an open window?

Do tell.

Watch the Official #Wintryspew Live Stream Here
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If you live tweet the storm, be sure to use the #wintryspew hashtag.

UPDATE: Building on the success of Punch Pizza’s #snowmageddon promotion, local Twin Cities businesses are jumping on the storm-hype bandwagon with special promotions:

• KipsPub: First pint of tap beer free at Kips Pub in St Louis Park. All day 3-10-09. Show this tweet on cell or print. #snowmageddon #wintryspew (LINK)
• TC Hotel Deals: $69 hotel room downtown Minneapolis 3-10-09 Only. Call 612-340-1000. Ask for “Snowmegeddon Rate” #snowmageddon #wintryspew (LINK)
• TC Hotel Deals: $89 hotel – Marriott by @kipspub 3-10-09 Only. Book Online: http://bit.ly/17PjOP #snowmageddon #wintryspew (LINK)
• Punch Pizza: Snownami deal – take out special at Punch buy 1 get 2nd free today only – try par bake, pickup this afternoon and finish at home in 2 min (LINK)

If you know of others, please leave in the comments.

All the more reason to become a fan of the Minneapolis Snow Emergency Facebook Fan Page.

Add me as a friend, and I’ll let you know when a Snow Emergency is declared. When that happens, if you park in the street, you’ve got to follow the parking rules. If you don’t, I might have to have you towed away (actually, your car. I leave you where you’re at.)

I’ll share the info you need to avoid an expensive ticket and tow.

There’s a pretty great video here, too.

[via]