gleaning the last bits from our garden.

With nighttime temperatures starting to dip into the thirties, I figured it was time to gather what we could from the remnants of the garden before an actual freeze came.  I'm personally very lazy about gardening, but luckily, I have some really enthusiastic helpers who were more than willing to be sent outside with some bowls and some vague instructions about salvaging what was still out there. 

Scouting for tomatoes.

Gathering jalapenos.

Digging for potatoes.

To be honest, I really have no idea how my plants did this year.  I got everything in the ground, and then just kind of forgot about things.  It was a drought year, and after a while, daily (and even weekly) watering just kind of wore me out, so I gave up.  Which meant things stalled out.  But then in September, we got enormous amounts of rain, so everything seemed to catch a second wind.

But more than that, I really don't know how the plants did because the kids ate literally everything they could find, raw and directly from the garden.  Every time I'd call them in from the yard, they'd come inside with breath just reeking of jalapenos and green onions.  The carrots were demolished.  All the peas and green beans were consumed.  Every cherry tomato - ripe or otherwise - that bid itself unlucky enough to be found was promptly scarfed down.  Therefore, I really have no idea how much was produced this season.

I'm really not complaining.  For the small effort of sticking a few seeds in the ground, I kept my hungry varmints fed through the summer, with no freezing or canning required.

We did end up with a few odds and ends coming inside after our gleaning day: some green tomatoes, a few potatoes, some onions.

Oh, yeah.  And a five gallon bucket full of zinnias.  Not that I really have any use for them inside, but it seemed like such a waste to let them freeze overnight.  So I brought them in, I guess so I could watch them die close-up, from the warmth and comfort of the couch.

And with that, we've gotten closure on the garden for this year.  Now, to find the time and ambition to go rip all the plants out and winterize the beds...