This past week was busy, preparing the garden for the first frost. This is my first time trying to grow things in the winter and I wasn't sure what exactly would survive. So this led to me picking all the peppers and green tomatoes I could. I also managed to finally get the garlic and onion bulbs into the ground.
I planted several garlic bulbs, Egyptian walking onions and potato onions. Both of the onions are perennial and should come back every year. I can't wait to try home grown garlic. This too was a first experience for me.
I also picked ALL the peppers I could, but I didn't pickle the peppers that I picked. How do you like that tongue twister. I chopped them up and froze them in quart bags. It's the end of the season and I seriously have 10 quart bags in the freezer. I'm pretty sure it will last us until next year. I don't even bother blanching them. I hate to lose any of the crisp texture. I know it may degrade the flavor, but I don't think skipping the blanching this time is a big deal. That's just me.
I also harvested a lot of the garden herbs and hung them to dry. I made a short tutorial on how to do this. Now my husband says the house looks like a witches coven or something. The herbs always look so cool drying in the house.
I left home for a few days for work and I came home to a lot of damaged leaves due to the frost. It's really hard being gone like that. I can't really go out and cover the plants each night since I'm away. I'm still learning new ways to extend the harvest. It's always a great learning experience and I enjoy it all. I think this week I'll be going out and pulling up all the dead plants. I'll still find time to fit in the latest episode of Walking Dead. :) (I think this season is amazing so far!) Now that winter is coming I will be hiding indoors more and enjoying some hot tea. I sense movie marathons in the future!
~Amanda~
~Amanda~