As of 5 pm yesterday, I am officially on vacation. I always take this week off for several reasons.

1. Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving so I only have to use four vacation days opposed to five.
2. The weather is almost always perfect – warm days, cool nice – just autumn perfection
3. It’s time to put the gardens to bed and do some prepping for spring (ie planting spring bulbs!)

Admittedly, I did a few of those task last weekend. I trimmed up all the roses, chopped down the asters and a few other perennials that I don’t leave for the birds over winter.

I do leave a lot standing. The coneflowers are a favourite of the finches.

I’m not sure who eats the globe thistle (above) but someone has definitely been enjoying it!

While in the veg beds, I pulled the last of the carrots.

These were planted after I pulled the garlic from the bed – which was late June. Since they were planted so late, I didn’t really expect much from them. But I was pleasantly surprised… a few were big enough to peel and cut up for the pot.

Of course, I didn’t get to do that, because almost as soon as they were cleaned off… Dave was eating them. That boy does love raw carrots!

With the carrots out, I got some more garlic in

It’s the same garlic I planted last year – though I bought new bulbs instead of using some of the ones I grew. I want to see if the ones I grew will get us all the way to the next garlic harvest – that will give me an idea of how much I need to plant in future harvests. I got 14 bulbs this year – and if all the ones I planted this year grow – I’ll get 18.

I was hoping to try some elephant garlic too – but the place I went didn’t have any. I might get lucky and come across some this week.

Elsewhere in the garden, the cherry tomatoes are finally done. While the days are still warm, the temps drop considerably at night, and the ones that do ripen split before we get a chance to bring them in. I’ll be pulling the plants this week.

I am happy to say, I did manage to get a few ripe fruit from the yellow tomato I started from seed. My seedlings did terribly, and I only managed to nurse one through to a spindly plant. But it still produced some fruit, so I count that as a success!

I’m still enjoying a handful of red raspberries every day. And I’m pretty sure I’ve got enough of the golden raspberries to make a small batch of jam (maybe 3 jars)

And would you believe I still have strawberries?

My plants are everbearing, so we get fruit on and off all summer and into fall. The later ones aren’t super big, but they are still delicious!

Over all, it was a very successful growing season for the edibles.

• My cucumbers did amazing and I’ll be growing the same ones next year.
• Same with the snap peas – they really resisted the powdery mildew – something my first crop the year before succumbed to.
• Though the broccoli I grew did well, I don’t think I’ll plant broccoli again. It’s much easier to just buy it at the store.
• I am definitely going to plant less beans next year, because there’s definitely only so many beans two people can eat! Basically the beans did TOO well.
• My squash harvest was of course, mostly a complete bust. As you will recall, the squash bugs/squash vine borer did their worst, and I harvested what fruit I had early, hoping I could ripen it on the porch. All but one of the squash rotted. I baked it up with a roast last weekend. It was a little under-ripe… but baked well, and mixed with a little brown sugar it was still pretty good. And… I have a strategy for next year to ensure a better harvest!

• The gourds and pumpkins did exceptionally well and I may try a few different types next year.
• Jury is out on whether I will grow zucchini again or not. I don’t eat it, though Dave enjoys it grilled on the bbq. But it did take up a lot of space, and we didn’t get a tonne of fruit from it.
• I will definitely grow cucamelons again – they’ve been so much fun to pick each day – just like the cherry tomatoes – they don’t stop until the weather stops them. In fact – they are still going!

So we’ve got a ways to go until I’m planting food again… but I’m definitely thinking I need to dedicate at least TWO beds to carrots!

What’s your favourite food to grow?