Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Winter Bounty from the Summer Garden



'Bounty' is definitely the wrong word here, because it denotes 'abundance' and 'plenty.' I am thrilled, however, that the cool season crops I planted in late August yielded enough red beets for me to pickle. I canned six jars of them this week, not a bounty, but my late planting of cool-season crops, a 'first' for me, also resulted in an abundance of lettuce, radishes, and spinach. In spite of benign neglect, partly due to time away from home, and partly due to the little rabbit who removed the tops of so many vegetables in the springtime, my kitchen garden produced more than enough food for the two of us. You will find green beans, snow peas, rhubarb, and shredded zucchini (for zucchini bread) in my freezer. We ate the last cabbage with dinner last night. Plenty of onions, red and yellow, await my culinary efforts, plus those six jars of pickled beets in my canning cupboard. Our favorite root vegetable, the parsnip, grows sweeter by remaining in the ground. Surely, many of you have a bigger bounty, but I'm happy with mine.

Read all about my 2014 kitchen garden by clicking here.

Cool weather crops: beets, lettuce, spinach, and radishes
I prepared the bed for the first frost.
Fleece protected the crops until I harvested them.
Just a small tray of beets, but enough for me to can.
Only 6 jars, but better than none.
All onions are harvested now. I dig up parsnips as needed as long as the ground isn't frozen.
Last week I picked the last of the spinach for my son-in-law who loves it.

Dee at Red Dirt Ramblings, Carol of May Dreams Gardens, and Mary Ann who blogs at Gardens of the Wild, Wild West started a virtual garden club for everyone growing their own food, flowers or herbs. Click on the 'Dear Friends and Gardeners' badge in my sidebar to learn more about it. I'm joining too late for this year, but I am all ready for 2015 when I plan on writing monthly postings about my kitchen garden.


Speaking of Dee, I must tell you I received some exciting news this morning: I won a fantastic prize for participating in a cyber book party that I first learned about on Dee's blog. The party, thrown by Fran Soren at Gardening Gone Wild, celebrated the 10th Anniversary and re-release of her groundbreaking book, Digging Deep. I'm reading Fran's book right now and recommend it for all gardeners. I won Prize #1 – Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds — 19 handpicked varieties of veggies and flowers- valued at over $50. PLUS, a 3-pack selection of Authentic Haven Brand Tea, a premium soil conditioner. An early Christmas present; how fantastic! I am overjoyed! When the seeds arrive, I will begin planning my 2015 garden and will post more about the competition and prize.

Now back to writing Christmas cards, wrapping gifts, and decorating the house ... busy, busy season. Have a wonderful one!

Pamela x



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15 comments:

  1. Congratulations!! What wonderful things to win! My vegetable garden didn't give me a lot of veggies this year, as I still need to condition the soil more, but we did get a good number of snow peas and tomatillos, and I just dug up the last of the carrots the other day. It's so exciting to can things out of your garden! Between what I got and a vegetable share at a local farm I work at, I have a number of cans myself, stored away for the winter!

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  2. How exciting!!!
    Pam...your stove is amazing. What kind is it? I love it.

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    1. Erin, my stove is a 'Cook's Delight' from Elmira Stove Works in Canada. http://www.elmirastoveworks.com/ It is retro, but has modern gadgets. I love it, too. P. x

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  3. The garden looks so beautiful, so neat!

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  4. Spinach from own garden, wonderful. It is a long time ago I growed spinach and that was only in spring. But to have an autumn crop is great. Before sowing vegetables or annuals outside next spring I first have to get rid of these (funny ?) rabbits.

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    1. The rabbits are a pest, Janneke. I will cover my seedlings with row covers as soon as the little leaves appear next spring. P. x

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  5. I love pickled beetroot but love it roasted too. I had problems with germination this year so didn't get a single one, and the same with parsnips too, hardly any germinated so I'm saving the few which did to have with Christmas dinner. I'm hoping to do better with them both next year. What a wonderful prize to win, you'll be all set with seeds for next year. I've popped your name in my giveaway, I don't mind posting overseas.

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    1. You are so kind, Jo. I would love that book. I was thinking of buying it anyway. But I'll wait and see -- maybe I'll be lucky again. P. x

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  6. Congrats, Pam, on your win and all the wonderful produce. I don't can, so I am in awe of those that do. It is something I never learned because I have a mother-in-law that does if for me! Fresh beets, beet greens and spinach are a favorite of mine.

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  7. Your garden looks great and very productive. One of my favorite cook books is called Small Batch Preserves and it make so much sense to quickly can up a small amount of produce and stock it up instead of having marathon canning sessions where you end up exhausted and overwhelmed by the task of canning.
    You will surely enjoy those beets in the months to come.

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    1. I'm going to look for that book, Lori. Thanks for the info. P. x

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  8. I wish more people could see your Square Foot bed & how wonderful an addition they are to any garden of all sizes. Everyone should put a few feet of garden aside to grow their own. So rewarding :)

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  9. I am impressed that you have managed to harvest so much from what looks to be a modest space. The pickled beets will be nice to have this winter. And how wonderful to have fresh lettuces and other crops so late into the season. P.S. Like another commenter I admire your stove.

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  10. My MIL makes the most delicious pickled beets! Aren't they a pretty sight in their jars?

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  11. How exciting to learn to master fall veggie gardening. Yours looks so refreshing that I'm already planning for fall 2015.

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