The Fall Garden

It sort of feels like the garden off-season even though things are still very much growing. We haven’t had much frost to speak of and it is actually in the 80s today. But because most everything is greens and roots, we are simply eating loads of it every day and I am taking a break from the ferment jars and canners. This Cimarron Lettuce, above, is looking big enough for salads now.

We currently have two beds in the Chicken Field that look like this. A mix of radishes, turnips, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, and tatsoi.Tatsoi is this nifty little green that is supposed to be cold hardy down to 15 degrees. We haven’t even come close to that yet so we will see how it fares as winter sets in… if winter sets in. It is tasty, though, and we have been eating it in salads. Though it is of the mustard family it is quite mild.

And then there is this patch we broadcast-seeded with turnips and kale. We ate the turnip greens in salads as babies and now we are pulling the greens for Mabel and the goats mostly. The back half of this picture is the sea of kale we are eating from currently. There is also some mustard and collard greens spread out beyond this photo.

The beets were a major fail this fall and so we will maybe try again early next spring. Abram’s beets are doing really well, however, as are his greens and carrots. I am pretty sure there is something like a green thumb in his bones but I’m wondering, if it was from me, if it didn’t skip a generation.

We are so grateful for fresh salads and greens available daily right now. These beds mostly grew themselves so we are concentrating our energy elsewhere, preparing spring garden beds, finishing up book projects, and focusing a lot on schoolwork. Lord willing, before we know it it will be January – time to start seeds indoors! – and February – time to plant potatoes! – and the garden will sweep us away once again.

Are you still able to grow or harvest where you are at, friends?