Still More Fall Planting

I've sown rutabagas and turnips for fall and winter harvest. I'm not sure if we really like them, so I didn't put in too many. I still have to find a place for spinach.

Going on the advice of Craig Lehollier, the Tomato Guy, I dug up four of my pepper plants that weren't doing much and put them in five gallon plastic pots. We'll see how they do.

We're very close to having our first Stupice tomato. And I picked all the remaining Ubileen pears. They've been falling and have been eaten by squirrels. I assumed the squirrels caused them to fall, but I checked and they are ready to pick. There aren't may of them (twelve), but they're huge.

Super Rutabaga!

Today I pulled my first rutabaga, to add to the soup stock pot.  I don't think the others are this big.  It must have hit a concentration of fertilizer. But even so, it wasn't at all tough or woody.

The last of the three beds has been taken out.  I pulled out the remaining beets and carrots. Now I just have to figure out how to remove the asparagus.  Even with a shovel, I can't budge it.  Maybe after we get some rain it will be easier.

I've transplanted all the dahlias into the bed the tomatoes had been in.  This will be a bed for cutting flowers.  Next spring I'll put in lots of annuals.

And the parsnips have finally all sprouted.

Lots of Happenings

The battle of the stink bugs continues.  They have started in on the beans, so I've pulled out the bush beans a bit early.  The pole beans are still there, although we haven't picked any yet.  I'm trying to keep them clear of the little beasts.  Here is where the bush beans were.  I've now sown some kohlrabi.

And here is where the bush beans are, along with lots of stink bugs.  I'm hoping they'll all bake, and then in a few days I can dump them into the yard waste.

My plan for next year is to grow only bush beans, maybe three small plantings, and cover them with netting. 

The black zucchini is not looking good.  The leaves are turning yellow and drying.  I would say maybe they aren't getting enough water, but the yellow squash is very healthy.

In the last couple of days I've started rutabagas and parsnips in the bed where I harvested the garlic.  I've also started several more rows of carrots and four six packs of kohlrabi.  I've finally picked some ripe tomatoes (Stupice) and there are lots of peppers.  There are also a couple of Japanese aubergines that look ready. 

The Beckyberries and boysenberries are finished, and the blueberries are winding down.  They all ripened earlier than usual with the heat we've had. 

Garlic Out, Rutabagas In

The garlic has pretty much died, so I pulled it out.  There were 32 heads, most of them huge.  I have 18 of last year's left, exactly half of what I planted, so I think 24 might be the magic number next year. The garlic is now drying in the garage.  Then I added some fertilizer and compost to the empty spot and planted rutabagas in about two thirds of the row.  I'm hoping to find some parsnip seeds and plant them in the rest of the row. 

I've also planted a row of snap peas, in the same place as the spring crop. 

I'm hoping to find some kohlrabi starts.  It's a bit late to start them from seeds.