the end of the season.

I am yanking out my vegetable garden on this brisk, bleak day.

First I attacked the zucchini, then the cukes. Long, yellowed, snaky vines trail behind me as I traipse back & forth, spade in hand. I got my upper-body workout by wrenching two dozen tomato cages from the ground.

I gleaned final baskets of edible odds & ends: four pumpkins, six butternut squash, two spindly zucchini, a few measly cucumbers, a handful of green beans, and a very large pile of not-so-ripe tomatoes.

(Any one know a good recipe for green tomato relish?)

We are anticipating a weekend frost, which will be the end for my basil. The parsley will take a beating & keep producing even under a few dustings of snow. But to take advantage of my generous parsley crop, I already harvested an armful of it & dried it in the oven. We will enjoy it all winter long in all sorts of dishes!

It was a successful first year, even though the soil was less than encouraging. Lettuces were fantastic, as were all three kinds of tomatoes. We enjoyed beets all summer.

I hope to get a rich load of manure on before the snow flies. Then, a thorough pass with a rototiller will help tuck my garden in for a long winter's nap!