The Wait is Over

Fall has finally arrived!


Several chilly rainstorms have come through, putting an end to our unseasonably warm weather, at least for now. Some of the trees are losing their leaves and wintering birds such as cackling geese and glaucous-winged gulls have arrived in the metro area, further indicating a change in seasons.


We humans have responded as well. I have been stocking up on winter squash and Sarah has been collecting yarn.

I need to put in an order for woolly gloves.

Our tomato crop is winding down, but our freezer is full of sauce. We are just about ready to eat well during the soggy winter months.

Tomatoes are Ripening!

For the first time in 10 days, the high in Portland will be less than 90 degrees. While many Portlanders suffered from the heatwave, it did good things for our garden vegetables.

Three Belle Star tomatoes ripened over the weekend and I will incorporate them into dinner tonight.

Another nightshade, this Czech Black pepper is producing beautiful purple flowers.

Hungarian wax peppers are almost ready to pick.

Our squashes are thriving as well. I picked my first Pattypan summer squash of the season, above.

We have to wait longer to eat our winter squashes. When I planted the vine above, I thought it was a butternut, but the shape and size of the fruit suggests it will grow into a Pink Banana variety.

This football-shaped Blue Hubbard fruit looks much larger each time I visit the garden.

The squash blossoms continue to feed dozens, if not hundreds of bees.

This flower is packed with honeybees.

Yellow-faced bumblebees have crowded into this one. It's good to see our garden benefiting our six-legged friends.

Mid-winter Veggies

After several weeks away, I checked on the remaining plants in our borrowed garden bed.


The combination of snow, freezing, temperatures, and dry days finally did in the kale.


Surprisingly, the arugula is still alive. It must have been well-insulated beneath the snow.


I pulled the tomatillo plants several months ago, but many fruits, like the one above, were left behind.

The tomatillos decomposed on the ground and all that is left are the "skeletons" of the husks containing the seeds. I collected several of these convenient little packets and I will try to germinate the seeds this spring.

We still have loads of winter squash and I processed some of them yesterday.


I boiled some down for squash stock, baked some more and froze the puree, and cooked up a buttercup squash stew with chucks of fresh squash and a variety of vegetables we froze in the fall. So far, we have largely succeeded in our goal to refrain from out-of-state produce this winter.

Winter Squash Heaven

Eager for some physical labor, I spent the early part of Friday helping with the winter squash harvest at our CSA farm.


Steve's helper Stewart, and I used a wheel barrow to haul several varieties from a squash patch to a processing station where they were cleaned, dried and packed in plastic tubs.


We started with pie pumpkins,


moved on to Acorn squash,


then gathered Sweet Dumplings,


Buttercups,


and Butternuts.

We then moved on to a few massive varieties.


Hubbard and Sweet Meat squashes are similar in color but differently shaped.

Farmer Steve was proud of his largest Sweet Meat.


These Cheese Wheel squashes look like flattened pumpkins.


This Pink Banana was the catch of the day!


These beautiful red, pumpkin-like squashes have a french name that I do not remember.

When I was little, I could not stand squash. In fact, I was nearly banned from my grandparent's house after I spit squash all over my plate at a dinner party. Nowadays, however, I can't get enough of it. Winter squashes make great centerpieces, taste great, and can be stored all winter if you can find the space.

Looks like there will be plenty of squash for everyone this year.