Seed Fall 2025

 

Welcome Autumn

The moon is full tonight, I trust, somewhere up above the rain clouds and high winds that we're experiencing.

It's been a very busy month finishing the garden season.

All of the harvests are done.

Carrot harvesting

Beets and carrots are in the root cellar.

Beet greens

The beet greens were removed and we're still eating these.

Moving trellises

All of the dried beans have been harvested. We had to carry the last four trellises into the garage so they could finish maturing safe from the frost.

I have 12 bushels of beans in the cellar waiting to be threshed out.

Surprise harvest

We got a very late harvest of shiitakes. This was totally unexpected. They were small but made a great soup.

Rainbow chard, the last harvest

The last thing we pulled from the garden was Swiss Chard.

Applesauce for the freezer

We have had to purchase apples this year. I have put 12 pints of applesauce into the freezer.

Zinnias saved from the frost

I picked the last of the zinnias the evening before our hard frost.

Once the harvests were done, we began closing down the garden in earnest.

Bob tackling the weeds

We had a huge amount of weeding to do, making up for last summer when I was unable to work in the garden.

We spent several long days but finished the job (in spite of the "help" we received from our porch cat).

Demanding attention

Now the beds are cleaned and all mulched!

A job well done

We also did some other chores.

More firewood

Bob had to get the chainsaw out and cut up some large branches blown down from the trees next to the garden.

Planting garlic & shallots

I got the garlic and shallots planted for next year.

See that striped tail!

Bob got four winter cat shelters in place. You can see this one in use just about a half hour after being set up. This is his favorite shelter.

We were too busy to get away this month, except for the No Kings 2.0 rally.

Making Good Trouble

We travelled to Oswego to join family members (and 1000 others) for the event.

We also went to the huge Ithaca book sale two times. We scored 22 books and 3 CDs. Since the garden has been finished, we've been reading a lot.

We finished the garden on October 30th. This is right on schedule, for we try to be done by Samhain (Oct 31st).

For us Samhain marks the time when we shift our focus from providing for our physical needs, to providing for our inner needs. It's the start of our serious rest period. Now we're reading, thinking and re-creating ourselves. I'm knitting and Bob's catching up on little jobs.

We hope that you too, can begin to see late fall and winter as times to relax and rebuild. Our culture insists on seeing this season in a negative light. A burden and distasteful. Try to break free from that prejudice. It really can be such a nourishing season. Embrace it as such.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Lovely Autumn

Song Time/Falling Leaves Time 2025

Leaves are beginning to fall

The leaves are changing color, though not at peak yet, and beginning to fall. Summer birds have all departed and winter birds have yet to return. It's an in-between sort of time.

Thieving chipmunk

Bees, chipmunks and I have been busy socking away goodies for the coming winter. Bees are busy in the Nasturtiums, pollen bags full; chipmunks are busy stealing my Aduki beans; and I'm just about finished filling freezer, pantry and larder.

Many of the garden vegetables are done for the season: peppers and squash,

Dehydrating green beans

green beans and tomatoes.

So long tomato plants

I made salsa from some of the last tomatoes, both red and green.

Salsa for the freezer

We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, so we took extras to the local food pantry three weeks running. 

Shredding cabbage for kraut

We put up a crock of red cabbage for sauerkraut last week.

My cranberries have been picked and sent to the freezer.

Cranberries ready to pick

I harvested 1.5# this year. A new high yield.

A nice harvest

These are mainly used for making cranberry orange ginger muffins. Ooo, so good!

Harvesting dry beans

I'm still harvesting dry beans. Past the halfway mark now. My problem there is the new variety that I tried this year: 1500-Year-Old Cave Bean. It appears to need a much longer growing season. It has plenty of full pods, but they're not drying yet. This is in spite of the fact that we've had hot and dry weather. We're currently in a drought situation.

Tiny Bottle Gourds

Another experiment was the Bottle Gourd. It finally showed two small gourds formed on September 27th! They don't appear to have grown any larger since. I knew this was an "iffy" proposition in the first place. I may try again next year, starting them indoors earlier.

Gardening friends brought us some hot peppers. This was their bumper crop this year. Bob's experimenting with some of them.

He's trying to dry some by hanging them in sunny southern windows.

Drying peppers

Another variety he's put down in a salt and vinegar brine (like we use for horseradish). We will see if they will be pickled after a long soak.

Bob's pickled peppers

Now our attention turns toward garden clean-up.

The corn patch has now been cut and transformed into our annual sign of the final harvest: the corn shock.

The garden's final banner

We grew a little sorghum amongst the corn. We bundled that separately and have hung it in the bird garden for the birds and squirrels.

Sorghum-pretty, isn't it?

We went on two outings this month.

Early in the month, we spent the day at Filmore Glen State Park.

Lots of lovely fungi at Filmore Glen

It was a beautiful day for a hike and picnic.

At Filmore Glen State Park

Then, of course, we marked the Autumnal Equinox. Again, the weather was delightful. After a tasty lunch of Tempeh Cacciatore, we walked at Watkins Glen State Park.

Fun shot at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen gorge

In the month ahead we hope to get the garden clean-up finished. I'll plant the garlic and shallots for next year, and we'll go to the semiannual book sale in Ithaca. Once these things are done, we'll begin to settle in for our annual rest time.

Autumn is a time to slacken the hectic pace of summer. Slow down. Breathe. Look around. Begin to re-center. Prepare for winter's luxury of resting in that center.

We wish you awareness in this most wonderful season.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Fall and Winter ease awaits

 

Harvest/Ingathering 2025

 

Vegetables Incoming!

The month of Harvest/Ingathering ends today, but the work continues.

Pantry is all back together

First of all, our freezer was delivered on the morning of the 20th. By that afternoon the pantry was put back together and the freezer was halfway filled. Now it's nearly all filled.

Refinishing the worktable

During that long waiting period, I refinished the small worktable that sits beside the freezer, as well as the tops of our two sofa tables.

This is the season when the garden production really peaks.

1 1/2 gallons of calendula flowers

I've put away the Calendula flowers that I dried for autumn and winter teas.

Bob cleans shallots

Bob helped me by cleaning the shallots...

Cleaning garlic

... while I cleaned the garlic.

Garlic and shallots hung for storage

Now they're all hanging in the cellar, ready for winter use.

Tomatoes for the freezer

Green beans and tomatoes are coming on strong now. I've finished freezing beans and can only fit in three more jars of tomatoes. I've begun dehydrating beans and will soon be drying tomato leathers.

I've made pasta sauce and frozen my quota (seven pints).

Shiitake mushrooms ready to harvest

Shiitake mushrooms have been sauteed and frozen and I have begun freezing corn.

Aduki Beans are drying

The Aduki beans are beginning to dry. We've made three pickings so far. That's a bushel in the cellar.

Bob digging potatoes

Bob's been busy with potatoes. He dug all of the regular potatoes, which I packed and put into the root cellar.

A couple bushels of potatoes

Just the other day, we both worked to dig the sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes

We got about a bushel of those. They're curing now. In a couple of weeks, they will be individually wrapped and stored in a warm part of the cellar. (In the space beneath the hanging garlic and shallots.)

We got away just a couple of times during this busy season.

We went to visit my oldest brother one afternoon. A couple of days later we had some errands to do near my hometown, so we had a visit with a cousin of mine. Then we picnicked at Selkirk Shores State Park on Lake Ontario. 

Beautiful weather and two nice visits.

Rescued Sunflowers

Fall seems to be coming right along. Our weather is beginning to fluctuate between short spans of cool and warm temperatures. The winds are picking up, so typical of spring and autumn.

The strong winds tend to knock down our tall sunflowers. When that happens, I cut off what blossoms I can save and bring them inside for a little extra cheer. We need all we can get these days.

The harvest is really what's taking up my time this month. Bob's time has been divided between the garden and his civic activities.

We continue to live as responsible, thinking citizens in this time of escalating chaos. 

Be strong and determined.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Sunset reflected in Cumulus clouds

Morning sun reveals spider web