End of October Garden Update

October marks pretty much the end of the gardening season. A new cycle will start soon, beginning in November with clean up and preparation of the beds for next year. This is the time to harvest the rest of your veggies.  Here are the photos I took at the end of October and the latest update. Enjoy!

Right side beds

Left side beds

Some of the plants have died already, particularly the summer crops. We had a good season with lots of nice produce and we still have some cold resistant veggies to go! Please have a look:


On the right side vegetables beds we have:

Zucchinis

Zucchinis are over for the season. I finished to take out the dead plants this weekend. We had a good crop, with a few giant ones (due to vacation!) and lots of really good perfectly sized. We did enjoyed the flowers as much if not more than the fruits!
Tomatoes

Even thought this was not a very good seasons for tomatoes, we did get enough for our daily needs - not enough for canning this time. I finished picking all the green tomatoes from all the plants as we had already had our first frost day - If you leave them in the plant longer they will get ruined. Right now, we will use them as green tomatoes (fried, roasted for sauce, chutney, etc.) and we will let some of them to  ripe inside the house.
Cucumbers

Cucumbers are also done for the season. Plenty of cucumbers this year. My son was a happy guy as he loves them!! I finished taking the dead plants out and took the supports off the ground and store them in my shed.
Sweet Potatoes

Finally they are ready. I waited to harvest them after the first frost as they get sweeter that way, However you cannot let them in the ground too long after the first frost or they will rot. We managed to get 6 pounds of sweet potatoes!! They keep pretty well so we can enjoy them for while!

Herbs

The Oregano, thyme and parsley are still going strong! The first 2 are perennial so they will come back next year. I will pick the leaves and dry them in November. I took my nicest looking basil and planted them in pots and put them inside the house. I will have a nice supply of it during the winter months.

Carrots

It is time to harvest them now. I am leaving them in the ground a couple more days as they get sweeter if exposed to cold weather. Some people leave them in the ground well pass November, picking them up as needed.

On the left side vegetable beds we have:

Potatoes

I harvested the second set of tires, the one with the Red Potatoes. The animal who ate my Russets did not get far here and we managed to get over 9 pounds of potatoes! Not bad ha! My husband already made some baked potatoes.

Broccoli

I am still enjoying my broccoli, I keep collecting the small shoots every 3 days or so to make soup for my girl or to use in my salads. I left the back 2 plants go to seed so I can plant them next year. The seeds are not ready yet.

Beets

I have picked about 6 beets and still have quite a few more in the ground, I am not a fan of these vegetables, I really grew them for my son as he likes them. I may not plant as many next year!

Peppers and Eggplants

These guys do not like the cold, so I harvested all the peppers and eggplants from the plants. I also replanted 2 of the best pepper plants and one eggplant into pots and moved them indoors. The pepper plants will produce a winter crop for me like they did last year. I am not sure about the eggplant, but I kept it as this was a store bought plant that had small little eggplants that were so delicious, so as I do not have seeds I am hoping it will survive winter and I can enjoy them again next year.
Greens: Lettuce, Arugula, Spinach, Cabbage

Got the last cabbage this week, as well as some of the second crop Arugulas. I still have some baby lettuce growing. As these are cold crops, they will still be OK for a while.

So there you have, a quick update of my little vegetable beds. Not bad for such a small space. How is your garden doing?