We haven't even had a killing frost yet but were treated to a rare early snowfall yesterday of just under four inches. Our red maple tree had barely started to turn and is still in full leaf. To keep from loosing any branches, I had to go out three or four times during the worst of the storm to knock off the snow.
The garden is about done, and all I need now is some dry weather so I can clear it off. Everything will be coming off this year except for the bean wall. I plan on leaving that up so I can use it to plant early peas next spring.
A few notes from this season:
1) The peppers will be caged and sprayed aggressively next year. We lost a lot of prime fruit due to stink bug damage and over-loaded branches that would break off.
2) We will stick with heirloom tomatoes as our major crop. They really are superior to hybrids in the home garden. Most likely only one plant each of Valencia, Striped German, and Pruden's Purple should do along with the Romas and maybe one grape variety.
3) The lima beans were nice, but for the space they take up, the yields were not that great. They will be replaced next year with bush snap beans.
4) The beets, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers and squash were excellent and will be planted again next year.
5) The raspberries and strawberries were a treat too. I just made about twenty-five pints of raspberry and strawberry jams which should keep us going for a couple of years. Maybe next year will finally be the year to make that batch of country wine.
