Spring often comes late to this land, but so does winter, meaning that we normally have a more luxurious and extended Autumn than other parts of Canada.
That means that in late October our harvest goes on. In a good year we can get a solid 6 months of fresh veggies.
There have been at least 3 light frosts so far, but the carrots, kale, beets, and brussel sprouts rode them out. Even the second sowing of peas has weathered the cold just fine, and are currently flowering.
We may not get a second harvest of peas, but now when we ask ourselves, "to plant or not to plant?", the answer is always, "PLANT!"
Our blue potatoes have been boxed in our unheated garage for a while. They will feed us well into winter.
We usually let our carrots stay in the ground until the colder weather begins. Before they come out we will get next year's garlic in the ground.
We did more canning than ever this year, although because we are relative beginners, it wasn't as much as we would like to see.
Our goal is to do more canning in future gardening seasons. Besides what canning we did get done, we also froze a lot of garden produce, including whole tomatoes.
As our harvest goes on, it occurs to us how much work this all is, planting, growing, harvesting, and preserving your own food.
However, the payback is huge in every way, and worth every moment.
I can't think of a more enjoyable, vital undertaking than growing clean, nutritious food for yourself and those around you.
Does your harvest go on?
This year I discovered lacto fermentation and have many different fruits and veggies preserved in this manner for the colder months. I've grown chard for the first time too but not sure what to expect from the taste. Purple curly kale and green curly kale. Plenty of French Breakfast radish... The radish have been amazing and grow so quickly. We eat both the leaves and radishes finely sliced in salads.
ReplyDeleteHere in the South US we have a long growing season.
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