You have such a great harvest! Do you have no bugs in Vermont? Just kidding, you must. But how do you protect your crops from them without deadly sprays? And the things you forage, how do you beat the wildlife to them? It would be great if you posted an article on crop protection!
Oh yes Barbara, your reply reflects a tangible experience. I have the same great question. I have invested a LOT in gating my garden and vineyard with metal mesh net, nevertheless, all my grape been eaten by racoons. Cherries and buckthorn seaberries - by birds. Yes, I saved apples and pears from deer browsing this year and tree stumps from porcupines. I got enormous crop of tomatoes ( never watered them) and now have no idea what to do with 14 5 GA buckets of tomatoes. My wife is crying.
Awesome, Ashley! This year's season has run loooooong in Colorado. Still green and leaves just turning now. You have an amazing harvest. Enjoy all the blessings. And thank you for sharing your knowledge and good work. LOVE the apple/pear storing racks! Dang!
Such great stuff here! Info and pictures both. Here in the West Virginia Panhandle, it's time to bring in the tomatoes that resist turning red and orange and process them into salsa verde, fried greens, and pickles. Harvesting the last of the herbs and drying or freezing them. Sauteing sweet potato greens and pulling up the taters. Chard, radishes, sorrel, lettuce, spinach under the cold frame. I'm grateful for the abundance but exhausted--how do you do it all? And still manage to produce a gorgeous post? Peace...
Wow! I envy all that you have access to but also am amazed at the energy needed to get everything done. I’m 75 and living in northern Arizona after growing up on a New York dairy farm took some major adjustments in planning the garden. I now have a bucket garden and nothing ripened until mid September. So, still getting okra and peppers. Planted garlic, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower sprouts raised from seed 2 weeks ago because they love the cold winter months. I’ve canned everything that has come into my kitchen and hope to have time this winter for making salves. The native black walnuts here on our ranch are too small for my arthritic hands to harvest the nutmeats from. I just make tincture from the green hulls. I’m busy and tired, but our life here, like yours is very rewarding. My best foraging here is in the spring so most things I’ve gathered are stored in my greenhouse waiting for me to give them my time. I so admire and respect you for what you are able to accomplish this month. Wow!
I enjoy reading about your process for your Fall season. Northern NY here. so we are very similar to you. And this is my favorite time of year. Right now I am canning pears and spiced pear jam, applesauce and apple pie filling, squash & pumpkin, and finishing up canning tomatoes. I also recently canned pickled jalapenos and pickled brussel sprouts. I've dehydrated pears as well for snacks and adding to oatmeal, and we will be roasting pumpkin seeds for snacks soon. my garden is finished for the year since we have had a few hard frosts already, but I managed to pick the last of the herbs last week for drying(we had a very plentiful oregano harvest for some reason this year. I always leave one patch for the bees, since they absolutely love the flowers on oregano. I have left the sunflowers up for the birds for winter as I do every year. We've pruned our blackberry bushes and turned over the contents of our newly built compost bin. Comparably, our garden did not fare as well as previous years. Hot, humid and rainy to start, followed by a drought but we still managed to put up enough for winter, and we were lucky enough to get our pears, apples and peaches for canning from a family member who seemed to have an abundance and wanted to share.
Thank you so much for a gorgeous 10 minute stroll through your prep. So much respect for the hard work that makes that beautiful bounty possible. Here in War torn Portland Or. ( NOT ) I'm pulling up potatoes and garlic and pears and apples and figs. Still have tons of Basil and Arugula and we're planting the winter greens. This is from a small 2000 sq ft garden. We share with our local Lutheran food kitchen.
I really enjoyed reading this. Even after almost two decades away my instinctive rhythms of the year follow the those of the northeast. So I am grateful for the opportunity to sit in my Texas home with it's 90°F degree days and high humidity while reading and reminiscing about the seasons. Thank you.
Thank you so very much for sharing your lives and adventures in farming and more. I grew up in orchards with cattle and horses. Looking forward to a time I may again be getting my hands dirty... May God bless everything you dream, hope and set your hands to.
Hello Ashley, hello everybody. Your highbush cranberry is amazing, you had a chance to collect autumn olives before black bears did that, also great success.
You definitely have to add pawpaws to your table and images.
October sees us prepping the garden beds with compost and planting garlic for next year’s harvest. The tomato canning season has come to a close thank goodness. I processed 6 bushels into marinara, pasatta, soup and salsa. Beets annd cucumbers have been pickled. Our navy and black beans are drying in the garage and will be planted in the spring to increase our yield next year. This year we purchased 10kg bags of beans to stock the pantry. Oregano, basil, rosemary and parsley have been harvested and dehydrated along with the celery for adding to soup in the winter months. It was our Thanksgiving here in Ontario Canada this past weekend and the turkey carcass has been simmered and made into stock, to be canned tomorrow evening after work. Cabbages will be shredded for sauerkraut shortly. It’s our first year with chickens so here’s hoping that the weather it well.
How do you have time to blog? 😂
You have such a great harvest! Do you have no bugs in Vermont? Just kidding, you must. But how do you protect your crops from them without deadly sprays? And the things you forage, how do you beat the wildlife to them? It would be great if you posted an article on crop protection!
Oh yes Barbara, your reply reflects a tangible experience. I have the same great question. I have invested a LOT in gating my garden and vineyard with metal mesh net, nevertheless, all my grape been eaten by racoons. Cherries and buckthorn seaberries - by birds. Yes, I saved apples and pears from deer browsing this year and tree stumps from porcupines. I got enormous crop of tomatoes ( never watered them) and now have no idea what to do with 14 5 GA buckets of tomatoes. My wife is crying.
I'm in Florida so we basically can start our growing season back up after the summer. We have no fall really. It's hot and cooler here 😂🤣
Awesome, Ashley! This year's season has run loooooong in Colorado. Still green and leaves just turning now. You have an amazing harvest. Enjoy all the blessings. And thank you for sharing your knowledge and good work. LOVE the apple/pear storing racks! Dang!
Such great stuff here! Info and pictures both. Here in the West Virginia Panhandle, it's time to bring in the tomatoes that resist turning red and orange and process them into salsa verde, fried greens, and pickles. Harvesting the last of the herbs and drying or freezing them. Sauteing sweet potato greens and pulling up the taters. Chard, radishes, sorrel, lettuce, spinach under the cold frame. I'm grateful for the abundance but exhausted--how do you do it all? And still manage to produce a gorgeous post? Peace...
Wow! I envy all that you have access to but also am amazed at the energy needed to get everything done. I’m 75 and living in northern Arizona after growing up on a New York dairy farm took some major adjustments in planning the garden. I now have a bucket garden and nothing ripened until mid September. So, still getting okra and peppers. Planted garlic, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower sprouts raised from seed 2 weeks ago because they love the cold winter months. I’ve canned everything that has come into my kitchen and hope to have time this winter for making salves. The native black walnuts here on our ranch are too small for my arthritic hands to harvest the nutmeats from. I just make tincture from the green hulls. I’m busy and tired, but our life here, like yours is very rewarding. My best foraging here is in the spring so most things I’ve gathered are stored in my greenhouse waiting for me to give them my time. I so admire and respect you for what you are able to accomplish this month. Wow!
I enjoy reading about your process for your Fall season. Northern NY here. so we are very similar to you. And this is my favorite time of year. Right now I am canning pears and spiced pear jam, applesauce and apple pie filling, squash & pumpkin, and finishing up canning tomatoes. I also recently canned pickled jalapenos and pickled brussel sprouts. I've dehydrated pears as well for snacks and adding to oatmeal, and we will be roasting pumpkin seeds for snacks soon. my garden is finished for the year since we have had a few hard frosts already, but I managed to pick the last of the herbs last week for drying(we had a very plentiful oregano harvest for some reason this year. I always leave one patch for the bees, since they absolutely love the flowers on oregano. I have left the sunflowers up for the birds for winter as I do every year. We've pruned our blackberry bushes and turned over the contents of our newly built compost bin. Comparably, our garden did not fare as well as previous years. Hot, humid and rainy to start, followed by a drought but we still managed to put up enough for winter, and we were lucky enough to get our pears, apples and peaches for canning from a family member who seemed to have an abundance and wanted to share.
Thank you so much for a gorgeous 10 minute stroll through your prep. So much respect for the hard work that makes that beautiful bounty possible. Here in War torn Portland Or. ( NOT ) I'm pulling up potatoes and garlic and pears and apples and figs. Still have tons of Basil and Arugula and we're planting the winter greens. This is from a small 2000 sq ft garden. We share with our local Lutheran food kitchen.
I really enjoyed reading this. Even after almost two decades away my instinctive rhythms of the year follow the those of the northeast. So I am grateful for the opportunity to sit in my Texas home with it's 90°F degree days and high humidity while reading and reminiscing about the seasons. Thank you.
Thank you so very much for sharing your lives and adventures in farming and more. I grew up in orchards with cattle and horses. Looking forward to a time I may again be getting my hands dirty... May God bless everything you dream, hope and set your hands to.
Appreciatively, Jacque Brender Peterson
Hello Ashley, hello everybody. Your highbush cranberry is amazing, you had a chance to collect autumn olives before black bears did that, also great success.
You definitely have to add pawpaws to your table and images.
:
October sees us prepping the garden beds with compost and planting garlic for next year’s harvest. The tomato canning season has come to a close thank goodness. I processed 6 bushels into marinara, pasatta, soup and salsa. Beets annd cucumbers have been pickled. Our navy and black beans are drying in the garage and will be planted in the spring to increase our yield next year. This year we purchased 10kg bags of beans to stock the pantry. Oregano, basil, rosemary and parsley have been harvested and dehydrated along with the celery for adding to soup in the winter months. It was our Thanksgiving here in Ontario Canada this past weekend and the turkey carcass has been simmered and made into stock, to be canned tomorrow evening after work. Cabbages will be shredded for sauerkraut shortly. It’s our first year with chickens so here’s hoping that the weather it well.