September 2, 2010: September Garden

I was looking at photos of the garden from September 2009, and marveling at how pretty it looked a year ago!   The beds were filled with lush, green growth. There were gorgeous beets, tall carrot tops and blossoming bush beans.  The jalapeno pepper plants were filled with beautiful red and green peppers, even though they were sweeter than the bells.  There were green onions and parsley and parsnips.  There were melons and strawberries and pumpkins.  It was truly a gorgeous garden.

This year the September garden looks so forlorn and scraggly.  Many of the beds have already been emptied of their crops, and only a few have been replanted for fall harvests.   Those that have been planted are showing spotty germination.  What can I expect, with temperatures that fluctuate by 20-30 degrees from day to day, week to week?  When I plant, it's 70-degrees outside, when germination takes place, the temperature soars to 99.  I honestly think this has been the worst year in my fifty-plus years of gardening.  I guess I can't complain much.  Even though some of the vegetables have performed poorly, others have exceeded my expectations.  There's no way I'll harvest over 1000 pounds of produce this year, like I did last year, but there has certainly been enough food produced for the two of us and all of our children.  Just yesterday I picked over forty pounds, more than half of that being butternut squash. 

I'll try to get out to take some pictures tomorrow, but I'm running a bit behind.  Yesterday was our 48th. anniversary, and we waited until today to celebrate.  We drove to Toppenish, and pigged out on chilled crab legs at the Legends Casino seafood buffet.  Plates heaped high with dungeness crab legs.  Butter dripping down to my elbows.  It doesn't get any better than that!

My neighbor, Pat, went back into the hospital last weekend.  She developed a really bad infection (probably from her hospital stay the week before), and ended up in ICU for three days.  Her puppy, Bandit, will no longer be living with her, which I'm sure just breaks her heart.  The doctor said he's just too much for her to handle, he tires her out (I don't believe that for a minute).  Anyway, she is now at a rehab facility for 7-10 days, so I'll be going to visit her tomorrow.  I have a feeling she will be moving out of her big house soon, and into a senior apartment somewhere.  I'll sure miss her, and our afternoons of sipping iced coffee on her patio.

Enough gloom and doom....how about some pictures of the stuff I've canned this past month?

This shelving unit is stacked full.

I've had to stack boxes of salsa on top of this shelf, and there's very little space left below it.  There's no more space, unless I start giving away my dishes and stuff in the kitchen.....and that may happen!



I'm hoping and praying my blogger friends on the east coast are staying safe from hurricane Earl.


24 comments:

  1. Granny, just my luck that I would pick the worst year in the last fifty plus years to start my gardening adventures, right?But no regrets here, it's been so much fun, rewarding and educational. And I got to "meet" amazing people like you!

    It looks like you have enogh canned food there to last you a long time if you ever had to hunker down from a hurricane yourself!

    Also, Pat is lucky to have a caring neighbor like you.

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  2. What a crazy year it's been...but you've still had a very successful canning season. The shelves look so nice and full. Lots of yummy food-that's gotta feel good.
    Sorry about your friend...looks like changes ahead.

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  3. Thyme and Sue, next year has to be better....I can't imagine it being worse! Unless we start having hurricanes in Washington State ;-)

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  4. Well rest assured if thre's anything scary going on in your neck of the woods, you could feed an army there for months. I just love how you're able to put everything up, but I just don't see how you use it all up not being there six months out of the year.

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  5. Every garden year has its ups and downs. The first year I had tomatoes till November, the second green beans by the bushels every week, this year - I am still waiting to decide.
    I am so impressed with all that canning you do. Don't give away all the dishes or else you won't have any to eat all that good canned food.

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  6. Granny, I'm sorry to hear that your neighbor had to lose her puppy, and that you are losing such a wonderful lady. I also conclude that this year is horrible for gardening. Its only my second year having my own garden, but I can remember as a kid, we always had a garden, and the bounty was much more abundant than anyone seems to be having this year. All we can do is hope for better weather next year!

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  7. the shelves are overflowing with jars... a sign of bountiful harvest! ~bangchik

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  8. Happy Anniversary! That is SO awesome 48 years! Your pantry looks amazing! I love looking at all the pretty jars! Where is the picture of the ones hiding under your bed???

    So sorry to hear about your neighbor and Bandit. :(

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  9. Bad enough that Pat is sick, worse that she has to give up her companion. :(

    MY GOODNESS! I can not get over all those filled jars, incredible.

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  10. Congratulations on 48 years. That's so awesome!

    Our garden didn't do so good this year either. We've had someone stealing veg right out of it and ruining the corn plants as they went, way too much rain in June and July and have been fighting some sort of fungus the last month or so. Very depressing turn out really.

    Best wishes to Pat.

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  11. Look at that beautiful stocked pantry! I too looked back at some photos and I was still in high tomato production this time last year but right now I am down to one plant! Amazing weather this year.

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  12. Next year WILL be better, the weather has indeed been crazy this year and I think those temperature fluctuations really do play havoc with certain plants...like my poor winter spinach that I have been struggling to get started. Anyway, your stockpile of food is looking really good.

    We both send good thoughts to your friend and hope that she recovers quickly.

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  13. That's it, you mock away with all your tomatoes! Mine have fallen, alas, and aside from some green tomato chutney and green tomato ragu, I shall not be seeing any more tomatoes.

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  14. It has been a weird summer. Last year I think was one of the worst for us in decades. I hate these temperature swings. We have been having them recently too, but I think they will calm down a bit after Earl comes through.

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  15. Ribbit, we don't. That's why it's under the bed, and why I'm out of empty jars. Never in my lifetime will we eat that many pickles or that much sweet chili sauce. Well, maybe the sweet chili sauce. It would make some really good sloppy Joes.

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    Johanna, two words....paper plates. LOL, then I could get rid of the dishwasher, and build some more shelves there.

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    Tiny G, I hope we don't get another summer like this one. It's supposed to be 93F today, and 73F day after tomorrow. Nighttime temps will go from 60 down to 48! The veggies won't know whether to grow or hibernate.

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    Bangchick, I should be rejoicing over what grew this year, rather than complaining about what didn't grow ;-)

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    Apple Pie Gal, thank you! I'll try to remember to include a picture of the under-bed storage facility in my next blog.

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    Kelly, first the pneumonia, then losing Bandit, now shoved into a rehab center because her daughter's house is just "too small to accommodate her" (why didn't the daughter just move her butt out to Pat's for a week or two?). It's leaving Pat wide open to depression and further health problems.

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    Teresa, the cold, wet spring did mine in, too. The peppers never did completely recover. I'd be setting up a surveillance camera if someone was stealing from my yard. That's just terrible!

    I was just sick that you must give up Bella. I remember how happy you were to get her.

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    Erin, you survived Earl! YAY!!! I loved your videos, they were really an eye opener on preparedness.

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    Mr. H, I've planted my spinach twice now. The first time I didn't protect it from birds, the second time it got hit with 100-degree temps just as it was emerging, and the poor things just cooked in the ground. Hopefully I'll get the bare spots seeded this week.

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    TIG, would that I could, I'd send you bushels of tomatoes. I'm getting rather sick of them. So sorry yours got taken out by late blight. Some of my plants are showing signs of another, less destructive, blight. I've been removing many of the affected leaves, leaving the poor plants nearly nude as they struggle to ripen their last fruits.

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    Daphne, I was happy to read Earl had been downgraded to a category 2.

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  16. Looks like you're well stocked this year!! Great job canning!!

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  17. Good heavens, I'm in absolute awe at all that canning that you've been doing! I've not done nearly as much and I'm fed up of it, so well done you!

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  18. Dear Granny, Just found your site today, after an hour of reading, I forgot where I started from, having a senior moment. I love your site and have learned so much already. I'm 63 yrs. old and in the process of moving out of the city after 40 years and returning to my family farm. Didn't get there in time this year to have a garden, but am already buying heirloom seeds for next year. I marked you as a favorite so that I could continue to follow your adventures and learn even more. Thank you for all the information that I've found so far. Really enjoy the read. Rose

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  19. I feel bad for your friend. I couldn't imagine having my dogs taken from me, and then not being able to live in my home.
    Nice job on all your canning. Makes it look like your garden was the greatest! A farmer at our local farmer's market said he plants 10,000 pepper plants each year, and is only getting a few pounds each week. Worst year he's ever had. Ugh.
    ~~Lori

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  20. Holly, I'm cleaning kitchen cupboards today, hoping to find space for some of the canned stuff. I think we'll eat it faster if it's all out of the boxes.

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    Jan, I'm a bit fed up with it, but I would like to make a bit more salsa and diced tomatoes.

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    Rose, how nice to "meet" you! I do hope you'll begin blogging, so we can follow you through your gardening journey on the farm! I got hooked on the heirloom seeds last year, and I'm just beginning to save some from the tomatoes and peppers I grew this year. It would be nice to plant a garden with mostly self-saved seeds.

    Do stay in touch, OK? My email address is in my full profile.

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    Lori, poor Pat is back in the hospital, for at least three days. Then they're hoping to get her back to the rehab place again, for another week to ten days. It's not looking good for her right now.

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  21. Oh well, next year should be better, I suppose. Nice jars there.

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  22. Stefaneener, I certainly hope it's better for certain things. Can't complain about my lettuce, onions, beans and squash this year, they all did great.

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  23. I'm so jealous...!! My tomatoes have only gotten me six cups of tomato sauce :) The cucumbers on the other hand... well Ill be eating pickles for the next year!!

    Happy Anniversary!! Yummmm Crab!!

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  24. Vanessa, that's what happened to me last year. I canned enough pickles and relish for at least two years, probably more. I just cleaned out my kitchen cupboards so I could find room to put all of the jars. Now they are no longer in boxes under the bed!

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