We've had some frost on the lawn in the past week. Not a hard frost yet, but it's coming. The basil is done, the impatiens are gone. Today seemed like a good time to harvest what's left. The beans just keep coming! Time to pick the chard and beets too. They actually look better than I expected. Ironically, I have about 10 strawberries on the vine that don't stand a chance of ripening now--figures! Tonite's supper will be salmon with orange sauce, and chard sauteed with pine nuts, parmesan and basil. Oh, and sweet potatoes (not from the garden--I left those in, I don't think we'll get more than puny roots). Dessert will be banana chocolate pecan bread. These cool days are re-kindling my desire for bread-making. Here come the winter pounds!
So really nothing more to write about the straw bales. It worked mostly as advertised. At $4/bale, we really got our money's worth. The ability to keep them close to the door, on the patio, made the minimal upkeep easy, and the fact that I could sit while planting and harvesting was the frosting on the cake! I'll need Scott's help to put what's left in the wheel barrow and up to the compost pile. But that means I won't need to buy potting soil for next years pots.
So here are the final pictures of the year:
So Long until Next Year!
Izzy hangin' out with me (if you look hard, you can see some red strawberries)