The End of Summer (and our garden)

Labor day marks the end of summer for most but in our house the end of summer is marked by the start of turning over our garden. This was a very hot summer and our harvest was not as good as last year but I did get enough tomatoes to can a few. I also tried my hand at canning pickles and salsa. The pickles will be pickled in a few more weeks so we will see.

Our garden at the beginning of the season. In retrospect we planted things a little too close and I only needed two cucumbers...three was overwhelming.

I also decided a few weeks back that we needed a bigger garden for next year and started working on edging the new space. Below is my work in progress.

Here is what our first garden looked like.....so tiny but the cucumbers where gigantic.

I thought the cucumbers where so large because of the trellis I build (below) but later I figured out it was the type of plant I panted. If you want cucumbers that are long and tapered I recommend Chef Jeff's "Burpless" and if you want ones that are good for pickling I recommend Chef Jeff's Bush Pickles

I also recommend using a trellis. I build mine out of garden stakes, screws, and wire but you can also purchase one from Gardeners Supply Company

One last thing I did during our garden turnover was to replant the hot peppers into a planter and move to the deck. The red pepper plant it so pretty, I wanted it to live out the rest of the season in a place where we could see it easily and everyday. Unfortunately I don't know if this was the plant I bought at the garden center or the one that my father-in-law gave me. I plan on moving it inside this winter to see if it will continue to grow. Worth a try don't you think?