A busy week here at Becoming Homesteaders and feeling accomplished. We had lots of small projects that we finally finished up. Finally getting a few of the vegetable gardens cleaned up and ready for their time of rest and planting a few items as well. Just a mixture of things going on in this week’s Urban Update #8.
October 27, 2023
In The Garden
Garlic
I worked in the back corner garden this week getting a few more garden items picked and a few more beds cleaned up and ready for winter. This week I really needed to get all the celery harvested and my garlic planted in its place. I ended up with 12 more celery stalks to put up and a nice clean slate for the garlic. I amended the soil with a light topping of compost and planted 4 different varieties of garlic. These were purchased in September from Keene Garlic company. I ordered Romanian Red, German Extra Hardy, Music, and Chesnok Red. A few I have grown before, and a few are new. I am still looking for those varieties that I will continue to stay with year after year.
In total I planted 82 cloves of garlic and I know this will not be enough for us. I will need to plan for more next year, but I am hoping to save some form this year’s plantings to replant next season and continue to grow my supply that way. This is definitely one of those crops we use a lot of and would like to have a nice sized harvest.
Unfortunately, this year’s harvest was not good at all. I didn’t purchase my garlic in time from Keene last year and bought some here locally. I will not be making this mistake again. Keene Garlic Company has always been my go-to for garlic. I always get a good product from them, they always perform well, and I like the option of certified organic or naturally grown garlic. If you are wanting to try planting garlic, I highly recommend this giving Keene Garlic a try.
Peppers
We planted 5 different varieties of peppers, and all did really good to our surprise. Some were definitely late bloomers, but I really need to get used to this here in my Ohio garden. Peppers are always late to mature here. This week we went through all the pepper beds and harvested the remaining peppers and pulled most of the plants up. At this point in the season, it is too late for them to really put on any more growth so leaving the plant just means more work in the spring. And I like to tidy things up in the fall to make planting in the spring easier.
In The Back Garden
In the bad corner garden, we planted Flaming Flare hot pepper and Triple Delight sweet horn pepper. Both peppers did really good given the poor growing conditions I put them in. Pepper like lots of sunlight and warm temperatures. This area of the garden gets lots of morning and early afternoon sun but shade the rest of the day. Not an ideal location for peppers. I harvested a good amount and used the hot peppers for a cowboy candy mixture to preserve up for the pantry shelf. The Flaming Flare peppers I harvested earlier this season I used for hot sauce. This is the same recipe I used last year, and I love it. The sweet peppers I will be chopping and freezing whatever we can’t eat fresh.
In The Front Garden
Up front by the house we planted the other 3 varieties. The California Wonder Bell pepper was one of my favorites and definitely one I will be planting from here on out each year. I harvested the remaining peppers off most of these plants leaving a couple plants in the ground that had a few small peppers. I might cover these with frost cloth just to see if they will hang on a little longer and size up. This is also where we planted the Poblano Peppers. These are also late to mature but once again surprised me and we harvested a good amount from these few plants. I am always surprised how well our harvests are compared to what I think we will get.
Lastly are the Jalapeno peppers. These peppers didn’t do as well as I had hoped but still was enough. I like to make fermented peppers with these and used this last batch with the flaming flare pepper for cowboy candy.
Summer Veggies Left
We still had a few tomatoes hanging on and these were picked. We will be eating these fresh as they ripen up. To my surprise we still had a lemon squash and a black beauty zucchini as well as 2 New England pie pumpkins. Lots of pumpkins this year and I am loving that. I have already roasted 2, baked a few sweet treats, and froze some puree with the rest. I will put the other pumpkins in storage in our basement and process them later in the year when I have nothing else to can up.
Cover Crops and Picking Flowers
I have planted a couple cover crops this year. We have never used cover crops before but after doing research I have learned all the benefits of planting them and I hope to gain some of these benefits as well as continue to learn how to best use them. It is so important to have healthy soil. That is the key to having a good garden and I am just now learning this technique. My parents never used cover crops so this is all new to me.
I have already planted a Mighty Mustard cover crop in my tomato garden but unfortunately, I think I may have planted it to late. With the shorter days now this time of year and the amount of shade my yard now gets it just didn’t have time to mature. I will need to plant this earlier in the fall or start again in the spring.
In the back garden where I had my potatoes, I have planted Winter Rye. This was also planted very late, but I gave it a try anyway. If this does not work, I will plant it again in the spring along with the Mighty Mustards. Fingers crossed.
Flowers
It is the end of October, and we still have not received our first frost. My flowers are all still full and beautiful so I have been picking them when I can and bringing them in the house for a splash of color. I have lovely dahlias and chrysanthemums this week. These were a perfect fall color and just beautiful in my dining room and living room. Both flowers are from the cut flower garden I started this spring. You can check out my video over on my YouTube channel “How to Plant Dahlias”.
The garden didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped but the flowers themselves were beautiful. With all the challenges, bugs and animals, this garden really struggled. Gardening is all a learning experience with ups and downs. This is how we learn what works and what does not. I will be doing things differently next year with this garden but I’m not giving up.
In The Kitchen
Azure Standard
This week I had another very small Azure Standard order. With the holidays right around the corner I want to be prepared for baking. I ordered a 50lb bag of the flour I like, a 5lb block of their cheddar cheese, as well as another bag of cane sugar. Has anyone else noticed that there is a significant difference between the cane sugars Azure offers? I recently switched cane sugars with Azure to a larger bag not realizing that it would be a different texture as well as color and taste. The bigger bag is a larger granule, darker in color, and has a stronger taste. The 50lb bag from Providencia is definitely small in granule, lighter in color, and has a milder flavor. Not sure what the difference is between the two, but I prefer the Providencia over the larger bag which is 55lbs and is also organic but a different company. This is a product of India. If you like larger granular sugar and a more molasses flavor, then this is a good one for you. My family was not a fan, and we will return to the original product we have purchased in the past.
Cowboy Candy
All those peppers turned into cowboy candy. If you have never tried this, it is a sweet and hot flavor and a great way to us those peppers. I love opening a jar and topping a block of cream cheese with it. I serve it with crackers, bread, or tortilla chips. So good. This year I used two different kinds of peppers because my jalapeno peppers didn’t do as well as I had hoped. I’m sure this will be just as yummy as before using the jalapenos along with my Flaming Flares. They look pretty because the flaming flares have red peppers mixed in, so it is a nice red and green mixture in the jars.
Wrap Up
This has been a good week. The weather was beautiful, and I got a lot done in the garden. A feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction getting things ready for the next season. I am looking forward to slowing down in the garden and kitchen and diving into all my new books I have purchased this year. I would like to learn more about seed saving as well as pest and disease control over this slow season we are moving into. That will be in some upcoming Urban Updates I’m sure. I hope your getting all your harvest preserved up and getting ready for a season of rest. Happy Gardening!
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