Last of the Winter Solstice Harvest

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Three tomato plants survived past the Summer,
and were hiding out in the bed.
Several weeks ago, I noticed something red there.
Turns out there were Fall tomatoes !

I've picked about total 3 lbs, and the green ones are
slowly ripening. All have good flavor.

Yesterday before the Big Freeze arrived, I gathered
the remainder, and a few rose bud blooms.

I also cut back all the large Thai basil branches,
which had lots of blooms and honey bees.
If I hadn't, they would be mush today.
The bunches of basil are hanging upside-down, drying
in the kitchen.

Nature is such a rejuvenating creative force.
I wish humans respected her much more.

[TC Chris]

Durable vegetables! Nothing lasts that long in MI. I bring pots of geraniums inside for the winter. They are not happy with the low-light conditions but they recover in the spring. The ones at my Mom's cottage sit in front of big windows and they stay healthy and bloom all winter. NBut my house, with small windows, is not as friendly to photosynthesis.

Chris Campbell

[William]

Fresh tomatoes, yummy! I'm jealous.

Bill

[Dr. Radio]

Wow, what a score!

I'm jealous too!

We had 2 consecutive days of hard freeze in the middle of October, so I lost what would have been some delicious tomatoes probably into November!

I couldn't complain too much, I had a very good garden this year.

[Firedome]

Last week before the Big Freeze we had near 50 and rain on Friday right before the cold came roaring in, so we got some nice beets and carrots out of the garden where they'd been buried in a few inches of snow for the previous 10 days or so. Had the carrots oven-done w. EVOO, rosemary, sea salt and pepper Friday night with rib roast and twice-baked potatoes, an early Christmas dinner. The Chard is toast but the fresh rosemary, oregano, and thyme still survive. Got a couple red cabbage heads out too. 'Taters were all dug out in November. We get some more beets and carrots yet. We had our last 'Maters out of a ripening bag also before we left for Denver in early November. Spring lettuce & peas won't be before late April around here.

[electra225]

The citrus around here is starting to ripen. We like a good frost on the grapefruit before we start eating them. Frost makes them sweeter. You don't want a freeze, just enough frost to nip the bouganvillas. Sometime in the next couple weeks we'll test one to see how they are. I can't wait.....