The Garden is Winding Down
When the garden is winding down each fall, I freeze fresh herbs to use all through the winter. In this photo sage leaves, rosemary, and thyme are ready to go into the freezer.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a garden update, but this year’s garden has been one of my most productive ever. Now fall is here and the garden is definitely winding down. I’m always sad to see the garden produce come to an end, so this time of year I’m busy freezing things from the garden. See my informative post about Freezing Fresh Herbs, Garden Tomatoes, and Vegetables if you have garden stuff you’re trying to preserve!
I’ve started freezing herbs for winter, made tomato sauce, and frozen pesto. I’ve pulled out the green beans, peppers, and eggplant, but my garden still has plenty of greens flourishing, so I’m trying to think of new recipe ideas for using them.
My garden is pretty this time of year, even when the production of vegetables is slowing down.
I still have lots and lots and lots of Red Russian Kale, which I love to use in my Power Salad Mix. If Anyone has other ideas for using this milder-flavored kale variety, I’d love to hear them!
I also have lots of Swiss Chard, so I’ve been using it in soup and egg dishes.
The curly green kale is not quite as abundant, but there is quite a bit of that too. I made some kale and basil pesto, which I’m looking forward to experimenting with.
The tomatoes are loaded with green tomatoes and a few are getting red. I’ll pick the green ones soon and bring them inside to ripen.
And the volunteer tomatillos are flourishing where they sprouted up in the bed with the red kale!
And as much as I love this Russian Sage that grows along the front of my garden and around my yard, yesterday my nephew Jake came over to help me with yard clean-up for the winter, and we pruned away all these lovely blooms.
14 Comments on “The Garden is Winding Down”
Janet, good to know!
Heidi, there is still a lot of greens if you want some!
Bruno, sounds like you did get to enjoy quite a few things this year. I still have lots of green tomatoes but I am afraid they might have frozen the last two nights. When I wake up these days there is frost on everything!
Hi Kalyn,
I harvested some Swiss chard, oregano (drying), chives (freezing), and jalapenos yesterday. I have a few green tomatoes on the vines that I hope will ripen before the cold weather arrives.
Maybe next year I'll have a bumper crop like yours (weather permitting!).
Cheers!
Bruno
I'm so glad I got to partake of the goodies your garden offered! Can't wait to forage your kale next year, if I'm so lucky. 🙂 Baked/Fried Green Tomatoes sound delicious, I'll be heading to my garden before Thursday's frost.
I wouldn't stress too much about the hardy kale. They taste better after a frost! 🙂
I am lucky to have so many greens. I'm trying to give them away or use them up before they get covered with snow!
My garden shut down a few weeks ago.. just snow, frost and no garden left in our north city! I really enjoyed seeing the abundance of healthy greens in your garden!
Thanks Janet, soup sounds great!
Wanda, how sad about the basil. Mine has all frozen now but I did get some pesto made.
Thanks Barbara!
Tobie, that's funny.
Your garden is lovely.
We have that type of sage in California as well-we call it Mexican sage!
Your garden is an inspiration. How fun that you're sitting eating from it.
Your garden looks beautiful, Kalyn. Perfect timing for freezing herbs…and I went overboard in buying tomatoes at the Farmers Mkt, so I need to freeze them too. I was looking forward to freezing my abundant basil which seemed to triple in size even after I gave half of it away…but alas, my delightful helper dug it all out of the garden when I was in Toronto, probably thinking it was a weed….I was looking forward to Pesto! oh well, there is always next year.
Oh… and this might be a good soil to use lots of greens! 🙂
http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/green-soup-with-ginger/
What a gorgeous garden, Kalyn! I bet you could freeze the greens for soups and stews this winter. 🙂
Lydia he might! (Especially if you pay him like I do.) Could NOT have cleaned up all the yard without him.
I think the garden is prettiest in the Fall, even as vegetables and herbs are shutting down for the colder weather. You're lucky to have your nephew helping you with garden cleanup. Maybe he'd like to come to Rhode Island and help me!