October's Garden (2020)

This month has been exhausting but very successful.  The rain has continued to fall at perfect times, the first frost arrived on October 15th as scheduled, it was light and only burned a few outer leaves, then it warmed back up so the vegetables managed one last growth spurt.  An October made to order.  

On October 1st, this was the garden, plowed and ready to plant. 

The pile of grass clippings drying on tarps in the back of the garden will now be used.  Collecting and drying this much has been hard work - I WANT A ROUND BALE OF HAY!  I haven't been able to find any for sale close to me. We don't have a truck and they must be delivered with a tractor.

First, the wire hoops were placed to mark the rows, and then grass clippings were put down in the aisles.  Drawing plans on graph paper has never worked for me.  I need to see it with my eyes and design as I go.

The winter garden seedlings were ready and waiting on the front porch.

The back rows were planted first.  Collard greens are my favorite so I started with them.  They are in the left row closest to the fence.  Red beets are scattered around and tiny endives are along the outside edges. The next row to the right of the collards has different kale varieties with lettuce in between.

The collard greens will grow tall, the beets will cover the ground below and the short endive will fit along the edge under the low curve of the hoop house.  Since the weather is still warm, the beet seeds germinated quickly.  When the beets are taller, it will be necessary to weed, cover the soil with grass clippings and then this row will require no more work except harvesting.

The kale row has lettuce between each plant with grass clippings already on the ground.  The kale is tall and will last into the late spring before bolting in summer.  The lettuce is short and so will be harvested first since it isn't as cold hardy.  

The third row over from the fence originally held potatoes in the spring, followed by a watermelon in the summer, and then the assorted unknown greens' seeds were scattered beside the mature vine.  The watermelon is gone and winter seedlings are in its place on the left.  The unknown greens on the right will be harvested soon and that spot will become a walkway.  The row is way too wide to fit under a hoop house.

Surprise!  Another overlooked potato sprouted.  The first one was transplanted to the back of the garden with the other potatoes so I can see if the hoop house helps them.  

The first row on the front left corner moving away frontwards required strategic juggling because plants were still growing but space was needed.  The fence on the left originally held tomatoes (now gone) with a late-planted spaghetti squash twining underneath.  Swiss Chard seedlings were squeezed up against the squash and the Zipper Pea in the back of the row was allowed to continue growing.  

The first frost on October 15th damaged the Zipper Pea plant a bit so on October 21st it was removed and more Swiss Chard seedlings were put in its place. 

The squash that were hanging high on the fence in the open got frostbite but those under leaves on the ground were fine.  As of the end of the month, they still aren't ripe.  Time is up so they have been picked.

UPDATE: Even though they weren't ripe, we ate them anyway.  The only differences were that the flavor was milder and excess water poured out when cut open.

Two more rows of various seedlings are in the middle of the garden.

A thin row of assorted unknown greens was squeezed into the walkway between the Dixie Speckled Butterpeas and the short fence.  Two other short rows were planted at the last minute in other empty spots.

Now ten days later at the end of the month, they are huge!  

From seedlings in cups on the front porch on October 1st to this size on October 30th.  How can a person not grow at least a tiny winter garden?

Now on to the rest of the end of the month garden tour. 

The Tahitian Butternut Squash needs to go! If the weather stays warm (which it won't, 28 (F) will be the low tomorrow night) this monster would take over the yard and swallow the house. Die squash die!

The crazy Lima bean arch collapsed and looks even crazier. Thank goodness we live in the country and this eyesore is in the backyard.

There are so many beans the weight bent the wires.  I planted fewer beans this year than last and oh, what a little rain at the right time will accomplish.

The sweet potatoes in the deep shade under the arch produced almost 10 pounds of roots, much better than I expected. 

Regular potatoes are in the empty spot behind the sweet potatoes. They are the late-planted second crop that I had given up waiting for them to sprout.  It is an experiment to see if I can grow two crops of white potatoes in my zone, (6b - 7a, lower-middle Tennessee, USA).  The gardening charts say it is possible but I am skeptical.  

UPDATE: These out in the open were damaged by the first hard frost and the vines died after the second.

Yesterday we harvested everything left from the summer garden.  We got one small tomato, one okra, a very green pumpkin, Long of Naples, yellow, butternut, Tahitian, and spaghetti squashes. Dixie Butterpeas, Zipper Peas, Lima Beans, Purple Hull Peas, and green beans were picked.  Sweet potatoes were dug.  Dill and cilantro were brought in along with the peppers and cucumbers.

Everything is piled in baskets on my kitchen, laundry, and living room floors.  Today we have been cutting, blanching, canning, freezing, dehydrating, and eating.  It requires a game of Tetris to put anything else in the freezer and I am down to my last seven empty canning jars.  Tomorrow night's killing frost will end the summer garden and I am ready.  

Last Month's September Garden (2020)

Last Year's October Garden (2019)

Through the Garden Gate