Veggies and Zucchini

*I started this post on Monday but due to a series of (mostly) uncontrollable events, I'm finishing it tonight.* I was just about to go outside and get some pictures for this post when it started raining. Now that I'm writing the post, the rain has stopped and the sun is coming out. Oh well. On to the veggies!

The current Zucchini count is 5 with more on the way. Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen posted her 10 favorite Zucchini recipes - the one with Spinach and Basil Pesto sounds really good. I'd also like to try making ratatouille.
The Cucumbers and Melons are doing surprisingly well. Cucumbers never grew very well at the old house, and we never tried melons. (These were the free seeds from Baker Creek) I had to put up some chicken wire to keep them out of the peppers, and now they've grown across the path and are growing up the fence. They have a lot of blossoms, so I'm expecting a large harvest.

The tomatoes are growing s-l-o-w-l-y. The current average size is between a golf ball and a softball. The grape tomato has several fruits and is also growing slowly.

Peppers- the sweet peppers are starting to set tiny fruits. The hot peppers are not very happy. The Sweet Cayenne are doing well and each plant has one 5-7" pepper on it. The Santiago are trying to set fruit, but not working very hard. The Hot Portugal just look droopy. Maybe the rain will help them.

The first planting of beans has flowered, I planted another square, but the seeds aren't germinating very fast. I also had to replant more than half my carrots, and I think a bird took a dust bath where most of the seeds were planted.

For some reason I planted my garlic too deep. I have smaller bulbs than I expected, but they will probably turn out just fine for cooking. (Picture soon!)

The Sugar Snap Peas are pretty much done. We got enough to have them with dinner twice. They are good plain, but saute them in some homemade Italian dressing, and prepare to be amazed! I use the mix here and then mix it up with Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar.
That's all for now!
Sarah

You Know It's Fall When...

1. It's hard to find something in bloom
2. Plants appear in every nook and cranny of your house
3. The dirt under your fingernails starts to disappear
   
4. Your hands get so cold you consider wearing gardening gloves
5. Your compost pile gets really big
6. You have trouble finding storage space in your shed or garage (or both)
7. You spend less time in your garden and more time on the internet reading garden blogs
8. The weatherman starts talking about snow flurries
9. You wish you had a greenhouse
10. You're making plans for next year's garden

We really got spoiled with the warm fall. Now the temperatures are in the 30's and 40's and not going any higher. Buffalo, NY is having their first snowfall of the season. A possible accumulation of 5-7" is expected. The forecast for Rochester predicts a possibility of snow every day through Friday.

Yesterday we finally bought some heavy plastic for the cold frame. I put it over the frame this morning and got half the job done, but between the wind, rain and numb hands I had to stop. I'm going to try planting some scallions in the cold frame, along with more lettuce, and maybe a few radishes. I finished harvesting the veggie beds - all that's left is what's under the cold frame. The carrots were smaller than I expected. Half of them had their growth stunted from the bean foliage that sprawled everywhere. I also pulled out the beans, harvested my scallions and some lettuce that managed to survive the cold weather. The scallions are pretty small since the tomato foliage blocked out most of their sunlight.

Farewell, and stay warm!
~Sarah
Sarah