Friday, November 21, 2008

Cold sets in

As we have had a few mild frosts, I am protecting my tomato plants in main bed with a frost blanket. I wonder if I will get any tomatoes before it is too late... I'm thinking that the ones in the greenhouse may be much safer. I may need to pick my eggplants out because the weather is supposed to get colder still.
The snap peas have made a couple of little pods and I got one snow pea yesterday. There will be hundreds of them soon. I guess I better get busy thinking of stir-fry possibilities.
I'm gearing up for Thanksgiving. I managed to get a turkey from the Cranks last weekend, it was beautiful. I got sweet potatoes from a roadside seller in Hempstead, an old black guy who barely had a voice, but he seemed sweet. I have a small pack of cranberries that Vicki got on her trip to New England. I have a couple of butternut squashes from Vicki, a few onions and peppers from Alysha and Vicki. I have some herbs in the garden and a shopping list for tomorrow's Farmer's Market. I don't know if I will get oranges in time to make fruit salad, but I still have apples from http://www.organicfujis.com/ so, I guess I have a good beginning. Hopefully I can acquire green beans, broccoli, potatoes, more onions, sage, carrots, and eggs tomorrow. We'll see, I have too many stops to make on my route, but I'll do my best.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Update

I'm not sure if I can keep everything alive...I have a bit of a pest problem in the garden. The tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, carrots, herbs, snow peas, snap peas, beets, radishes, garlic, etc. seem fine, but all of the cruciferous vegetables are hit pretty badly. I may try some conventional stuff to kill the worms or perhaps some pyrethum(sp?). Vicky had beautiful broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage--so I know it must be possible. My broccoli starts in the greenhouse are not affected. I may keep them in there. The kumquats are ripening, I have tomatoes forming in the greenhouse and in the garden. I bought a frost blanket to try to keep them going in case of frost. The lettuce needs a replant, as does the spinach to keep it going. I may start over with some of the plants...the cabbage at least because the leafing is compromised. Anyway, I guess that is what happens when you work more than fulltime and try to keep a garden...but it is in my heart to continue in spite of this set-back.