Out in my yard today

- loving it!!! I took care of covering the plants so they won't freeze in the upcoming weeks. I also gathered seeds for next year, and even harvested some vegetables!! This is the longest growing season I've had that I can remember. Although, we have had some absolutely gorgeous weather lately. Who would be thinking tomatoes right before Thanksgiving? I also picked beautiful eggplant and a couple of lovely bell peppers.

Chickens and duck were out scratching around in the yard, eating my earthworms, but they were enjoying themselves so much. They cruise through the whole back yard and have their favorite spots, one being near the compost pile. It was just a lovely day.

It's so great! I have a bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley seeds for next year, and two different kinds of Echinacea, Coriander (cilantro), Basil, Artichoke (yes, artichoke seeds- they look like Safflower seeds), Sunflower, and Blue Morning Glories.


I'm going to attempt to extract some tomato seeds, cucumber, zucchini, crook neck, and eggplant. I've never done tomatoes before. I understand you have to put a mashed tomato in a bucket of water and let it get a mucky film over the top. Eventually, the good seeds will fall to the bottom of the water. Then, you dry them out until planting time. I'll let you know how it goes. This is self-sustaining in the garden! It truly is a miracle that an entire huge plant, bountiful with food can grow from such tiny seeds.

It doesn't take much to start growing your own food. One can start with some fresh herbs in a sunny window, like Basil or Parsley, and grow from there. Container gardening works really well for those with limited yard space. If you have plenty of garden space, it's time to plant Spring bulbs: daffodils, narcissus, iris, tulips, hyacinths, etc. If you have iris, now is the time to divide them and give them breathing space. It's always nice to give bulbs as gifts, too. I won some iris bulbs and have no idea what color or type they are, but it will be a surprise. It's also time to plant your cover crop if you haven't already, it's not too late. I'm going to plant fava beans. Cover crops protect your soil throughout the winter, and legumes such as favas provide nitrogen into the soil The trick is to whack them down and till them in right when they begin to flower. That's when they have little pink nodules on their roots which contain NITROGEN.



Beautiful Pumpkins! Yes, I'll save some of the seeds if I can keep from eating them all.