Summer Squash in October
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If you’ve followed along with this year’s garden posts, you know that pretty much everything from the summer garden, except the sweet potatoes, died. Killed by a late frost, planted again, killed by a huge squash bug invasion, planted again, and finally killed by a drought was the fate of the beans, tomatoes, squash, green beans, and more.
Some years are like this in our unpredictable, extreme climate. So when the weather forecast looks favorable in late summer, we prepare beds and scatter seeds and let the rain do the rest. And, oftentimes, we end up with beds of collards and kale like those above.
This year, the rain and cooler temperatures began early enough that we decided to try one final (was it the fourth?) planting of squash and green beans. And by we, I mean Stewart and the children since I was still in the newborn recovery, snuggled up with Hannah.
Well, the squash and green beans survived a near frost weeks ago and now the temperatures are 60-80 most days and they are loving it! The beans are flowering and just starting to put off beans and we just started harvesting squash.
Besides kale and collards, we also planted this big bed of mustard greens. So pretty much it’s all the greens we can eat until a hard frost comes… and even then we may try to cover them.
The other thing we are harvesting sporadically is goji berries. We have a handful of bushes in our pallet garden and they produce off-and-on from spring until winter. Joshie picked these before they were fully ripe but we eat them either way.
It is amazing how fast the Lord turned my total summer failure garden into a bunch of beds of ready-to-harvest goodies. And I think I’ve decided that collards are my favorite green; both cold- and heat-tolerant and meatier than the rest.
Are you growing a fall garden? What is your favorite cooking green?
I love collards too, although swiss chard is my favourite. Just last week I witnessed both my chard and kale survive a hard frost, yay!
Hi Shannon. You are just awesome! And, I agree – collards for the win. Your very favorite(s) way(s) to eat them, though? Let’s just say other folks here are not enthused. As in, NO willingness to even try them.
Thank you for all you share.
Hello Shannon and Stewart, I received your book today in the mail! I’m excited to read it … I enjoy your blog so much, and I love your pictures — of your children, your farm animals, your house, your self-sufficient farm — all of it.