End of Season Garden Update

We have finally reached the end of the gardening season. I look at this time with dual feelings: I am sad because we will not get any more fresh organic produce, but I am also happy for a much deserved break! November is the time for clean up and preparation of the beds for next year. So that is exactly what I did last weekend.  Here are the photos I took and the latest update. Enjoy!

Right side beds

Before Cleaning

After Cleaning

Left side beds

Before Cleaning

After Cleaning

I finalize my harvest and left only a couple of cabbages and broccoli. For the clean up, make sure you remove all your hardware (trellises, tomato and vegetable supports, etc.). Pull up all your dead plants and add them to your compost pile. After all that is done, I put a thin layer of leaves on top of my beds, they will decompose during the next 6 months and add wonderful nutrients to the beds for next year! 

We had a good season this year! Please have a look:

On the right side vegetables beds I just harvested:

Herbs

Oregano and thyme are perennials so I leave them in the ground - I will clip some of the leaves later on to dry them and use them as dry herbs during the winter.   Parsley is not perennial here so I pull it up and save it in the freezer so I can use it for the next 6 months, I had enough for one full gallon freezer bag. Spring onions are perennials but the foliage dies, so instead of pulling the bulbs, cut the foliage with scissors and keep. Leave the bulbs in the ground and they will come back in the spring.The basil I left in October was fully dried, so I carefully removed it so I can save the seeds for next year.

Carrots:

Harvest time!! I got 5 pounds of yummy sweet carrots! they found their way on our Thanksgiving menu!

On the left side vegetable beds we have:

Broccoli

There is still broccoli to enjoy, I keep collecting the small shoots every 3 days or so to make soup for my girl or to use in my salads. I cut the branches that went to seed and have been collecting the seeds during the last 3 days (there were so many little pods! it takes a while to collect them all). I will leave the plants there until the first snow, then I will pull them out.

Beets

I have picked the rest of the beets 4 pounds in total! I really do not know what to do with them! Only my son likes them.... Beets anyone?

Greens: Lettuce, Arugula, Spinach, Cabbage

When I picked my last 2 cabbages last month, I left the stump in the ground in the hop it will grow more cabbages and it did! I know have 2 more baby cabbages! I will pick them to make coleslaw this week. My second crop Arugulas are doing great, small but there. I also have some baby lettuce growing. As these are cold crops, they will still be OK for a while.

So there you have, all ready for next year!. How is your garden doing?