What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

I forgot, I also brought a basil plant in to try to overwinter it. May try to dig up the jalapeño plant that has produced so well this year too. Have to see if it got cold enough in the wee hours to damage it or not.

I have mild enough winters here mine are all perennial they have stayed solid growing 8 years here

 

[Elyrian1]

Temp fence up. I really didn't get everything done that I wanted to. Ah well. The baby was super clingy today so I was limited. But I got the best cuddles! Priorities

 

[littledog]

I did notice one of my chicks has feathered legs

The mother hen and three babies I brought home last week, I just noticed two of the chicks have feathered legs. No idea what the mixture of breeds are, except they're all standard sized. I do know that at one time they had a silkie rooster in their flock.

I ran into my neighbor last night - they've moved out-of-state but are back and forth renovating their house for rental. The chicken I never found, my neighbor told me the coyotes were around the other night and took that hen as well as the rooster. My neighbor was brokenhearted, since she'd meant to take the rooster back to her new place - but she was really happy to hear I took home the two red hens, since she'd assumed those were coyote victims too.

Lucky me, three laying hens and three babies for free! The only one I think might be a rooster is the mostly-white baby. But we'll hang onto him or her for now, our current rooster is about 7 years old, and it won't hurt to have another up-and-coming rooster among 12 hens.

I divided off the outdoor run by spreading out a 3-foot-high puppy run with a gate, attaching it to both sides, and installing netting up to the roof. Our current chickens have their normal coop and half the large run, and the new ones have the other half that includes perches under cover, and a little house with a nest box. Everybody seems happy (and illness-free) so far, and the new ones are really friendly and seem used to being handled. I can't wait until I no longer need to quarantine them - I bet integration will go fine since there are seven current ones and six new ones, so hopefully nobody will get picked on.

s he pulled the old plaster down THOUSANDS of acorns came pouring out! T

LOL, last year I bought a little electric car for local commuting, due to my workplace offering free charging, so I could extend the life of my F-250 by only using it for towing and big loads. A couple weeks ago I was getting ready to tow the trailer, and the truck wouldn't start. Upon opening the hood, every little space in the engine compartment was stuffed with walnut shells. Apparently the squirrels decided hiding their nuts in my truck's engine was easier than digging holes to bury them and trying to remember where the nuts were.

We still haven't gotten frost, but we're getting so close. My tomatoes are still producing, and I keep picking everything that has even a bit of orange on it and ripening them in brown paper bags. I've been getting lazy though - tonight I planned to can a load of stewed tomatoes that had been cooking in the crockpot since last night, then I discovered there was freezer room in the small soda fridge - avoided canning for the time being.

 

[Sally PB]

I think I'll be picking all of the habaneros and any other peppers this afternoon. I want to dig one of the habaneros up, to see if I can overwinter it for DH.

 

[Sueby]

Summer is def over - it's chilly out there! I see 30s for the end of the week. I have one little that is much slower to get her feathers in, she needs to hurry it up!

I will pick the green bradywines & bring them in & take those plants out today.

I have to look up how to treat the strawberries - I think I need cover them with straw but maybe wait till the leaves die back? I still have to go get straw, I tried yesterday but the feed store was closed despite google saying it was open. That'll teach me not to call first.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Sorry I haven’t checked in a couple months, all the rain we got this summer made it impossible to keep up with the weeds and I got burned out around the end of July. I’ve really missed being in here and seeing what everyone is doing though! There’s also been a lot of work and family stuff that’s been going making it a rough few months. I’m finally starting to get back into the garden and clean it up for fall. It was cold this morning 39F no frost that I know of though.
Nearly everything is done producing in the garden just some snow peas a tomato plant and a pile of luffa left. Hopefully will be able to get the garlic in the ground next weekend and finish cleaning up the strawberry bed.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

For all of the people wanting to grow peppers/etc. in their basement. I just want to say that you will have to hand pollenate all of the blooms if you are wanting peppers/etc.
That is all...

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Chilly this morning in the mid 40's. Fall has definitely arrived in New England. Turned the pellet stove on, most likely for the season now, There's also about a half inch of leaves and pine needles covering the yard. Still busy with other stuff today and tomorrow. Laundry, bread making and baking a birthday cake. I did pick more lima beans this morning. It was a bit uncomfortable at 45F and windy in the garden. The chard and carrots are still growing and looking good. The kale looks like it may make a comeback and the rutabagas are still hanging in there. I'm glad the new chickens are working out for you @littledog. I don't blame you at all for skipping the canning and putting the sauce in the freezer. My freezer at the moment is a nightmare. There was a time I had it organized. Not so organized now. I blame it on the abundance of sliced peaches and green beans. It's hard to find anything other than the beans and peaches. The only canning I think will happen anytime soon is when I make another batch of applesauce and after that the canner and all the excess jars go back into storage in the basement. I'm starting to come up with a rough plan for next year's garden. I have plenty of time to mull it over. Here's my contribution to the green tomato salsa verde collection.

Green tomato salsa
Salsa Prep Time 45 minutes Cook Time 50 minutes Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes Yield 6 1/2 US pint jars

Ingredients:
3 1/4 lbs green tomatoes and chopping coarsely. About 7 cups / 12 medium .
1/2 lb peppers (mixed, such as jalapeno, Habañero or Scotch bonnet peppers.
3/4 lb onion (peeled and bout 2 large.)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped) 125 ml lime juice (bottled.
1/2 cup coriander (aka cilantro. Fresh, finely chopped and loosely packed)
2 teaspoons cumin (ground)
1 teaspoons oregano (dried)
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Wash the tomatoes. Blanch the tomatoes for about 60 seconds in boiling water, then plunge immediately into very cold water. Cut off and discard the peel. (I don't peel my green tomatoes) so you can skip this step) Add tomato to a large pot. Wash and prep the pepper, onion and garlic, and add same pot.
2. Add the lime juice.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Add in the remaining ingredients.
5. Lower heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
6. Spoon into 1/2 US pint jars.
7. Leave 1/2 inch headspace.
8. Debubble, adjust headspace.
9. Wipe jar rims.
10. Put lids on.
11. Process in a water bath or steam canner.
12. Process for 20 minutes; increase time as needed for your altitude.
13. Best after at least a month of jar.

Also from my Ball Canning cookbook the following salsa recipes

 

[Sueby]

That corn & cherry tomato salsa @Wee Farmer Sarah posted is delish, I must say. I love that stuff & always get compliments on it.

 

[BReeder!]

I think I'll be picking all of the habaneros and any other peppers this afternoon. I want to dig one of the habaneros up, to see if I can overwinter it for DH.

My habaneros had a lot of roots. Just FYI. best to get a good sized pot. Probably 2 gallon. I believe it's suggested to heavily prune the plants as well if potting for the winter. Our plants were every bit of 3ft tall and heavily branched. If yours are similar, prune them back.