Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Fall Garden


We went on a late summer vacation to a warm climate with palm lined beaches to take some much needed time off.  Right before we left, I harvested the last of the Burbank tomatoes and most of the heirlooms.  I did cook a big pot of pasta sauce, which I canned, but I ran out of time so I went the quick and easy route which was to dice and freeze the remaining tomatoes.


I just rinsed the tomatoes to remove any dirt....


Removed the stems...


and diced them.  No, I didn't move the skins first.  These are such tender, soft skinned tomatoes, I decided to skip even that step.


Lastly, I bagged them in freezer zipper bags, about 2 cups per bag which would be the same as a 28oz can.  Just make sure that the plastic bags that you buy are BPA free.  You can also freeze them in jars, it just takes up more room in your freezer.


When we returned from our week of reading and sightseeing, fall was in the air.  The days are still warm but the nights require a heavier quilt on the bed.  It's time to plant the winter garden, we're fortunate to live in a climate where we can grow year round.  I didn't have time, before we left, to plant a winter garden from seed so I bought organic seedlings this week and planted broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plants.


I also planted some more lettuce, spinach and beets from seed, and harvested the almonds.



I removed the outer husk and now I'll let them dry in the shell for about a week before I shell them.  Click here to read more detail about harvesting almonds from my 2009 post.

We still have plenty of Roma tomatoes...


and cherry tomatoes, which should continue to ripen through October if we're lucky. 


Our little pomegranate bush has four pretty little pomegranates that are turning pink from the September sunshine.


My second summer planting of beans is starting to flower so if the warm weather continues we should have a good crop of green beans before the first frost.

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