The drought continued this month. There was one rainfall at the end of last month which lasted only long enough to wet the grass. We endured three months of almost no rain. I was exhausted from repeat plantings and constant watering. I gave up, walked away from the garden, and didn't care if it lived or died.
Then on the 21st, it began to rain. It was a slow, steady all-night shower. When the sun rose, the garden had roared back to life and wasted no time producing. It began quickening as if it was springtime. Many plants were either dead or stunted but the healthy ones spread into the empty spaces. I was astonished. Perhaps I should give up more often.
Green in the Snow Mustard can endure the bitterest cold weather but immediately began bolting from the stress.
I served the florets covered in cheese to company. We all agreed it required much cheese and even more imagination to pass it off as broccoli. It tasted good but strange. Dinner at my house is always an adventure.
It hasn't been a good year for celery. Every variety has been bitter all season. It was hoped that after extra fertilizer and a hard frost, the flavors would improve. However, drought thwarted most improvements.
Utah Tall Celery is my favorite for canning, cooking, and dehydrating since the stalks are large. The flavor has improved some but it still has an unpleasant aftertaste.
Afina Cutting Celery loves the harsh winter and has always been a staple in winter salads. It is still slightly bitter and not good enough to eat fresh; but, it still has all winter to improve.
Chinese Pink Celery looks stunning in fresh salads. The flavor is back to normal but I don't know if it can survive the winter. The stalks are too thin to dehydrate - they dry up and disappear. The plan is to either can or freeze some for winter soups. Next year they will be moved away from underneath the trees and into full sun. Maybe more sun and rain will help.
The winter radishes were dormant until the rain awoke them.
This fall, the garden has three beds of carrots because there never seems to be enough. Whether they make it through the winter is unknown because they have always been harvested early. I will pass along a few tips that help me.
1. Ignore the plant-to-harvest times on the seed packets. Whatever is listed, expect it to take twice as long. Patience is required because the weather never cooperates.
2. The soil must be loose enough so the roots can penetrate deeply. My garden is hard clay so I add massive amounts of leaves, shredded cardboard, grass clippings, and anything else available to keep the dirt from compacting.
3. If the seeds dry out once even for a few hours, they will die. I use a drip hose or a sprinkler and water for a few minutes twice or three times a day for two or three weeks. After that, the soil is closely watched until the roots are a few inches long.
4. I leave the drip hose on each bed for two months and then slide it over to the next seed bed.
This bed was planted after the potatoes were dug in the summer.
These carrots were from promotional packets received when placing seed orders. Normally, Danvers half-long carrot seeds are available in bulk cheaply from a local nursery. I knew I would never pay the high prices on the fancy new varieties so I didn't bother saving their names, just tossed them out. No need to waste something even if it is free. Every variety was delicious except for the black ones.
Hubby said the black carrots tasted like dirt. I told him the correct culinary term was "tasted earthy". They bled when cooked in stews and changed salads into weird colors. When you peel them, they stain your hands purple. It takes a day or two for the color to wear off unless you wash a load of dishes by hand. I choose to walk around with purple hands.
The garden is alive and well. There will be more than enough to share and it should last us through the winter. I am grateful it finally rained. Next year there are plans for more sprinklers and irrigation to be ready to go at the turn of a knob. The garden has got to be less labor intensive. I want to work smarter, not harder.
I clicked back to last year's November Garden to add the link below and read it through only to remember it was a day before Mom died. A week later my beloved Scooter passed too. It is hard to believe it has only been one year. The grief feels like it was yesterday. Time hasn't eased the pain. All we can do is take one day at a time.
Thank you to everyone who has written to me this past year sharing kind words of encouragement. Blogger friends are absolutely the best in the world! The sun is beginning to shine again.
