First Frost, September 21st

And I thought this garden year would be a bit of a bust, what with the slow, cold start. But then came the hot summer days and the remarkably frost free end to the season - no frost until today, September 21st. Wow! I’ve gardened here for over 40 years and have never experience such a late 1st frost. My 8 full sized tomato plants outdid themselves and I confess that I did not treat them kindly. I didn’t prune them, my cages fell over, they were planted too close together and were sprawled all over - but indifference didn’t seem to make a difference! Now to deal with them all as they ripen!

Bumble Bug

Almost stepped on this bumble bee look alike as he slowly wandered through the grass. I guided him to this leaf whereupon he played dead until I snapped a pic of him, took him back outside and turned him loose. Then he reactivated and crawled off. Never saw a caterpillar quite like this one before.

2022, An Oddball Gardening Year

I planted my garden just after the May long weekend, then it turned cold & rainy - a miserable June. Transplants just sat there shivering, staying alive but not growing. In July summer finally arrived and here we are now, at the end of August, no frost as yet, weather predicted to be in the mid 30’s next week!  I’ve never seen a year like this in the more than 40 years I’ve been gardening in the middle of Alberta. I have green tomatoes, beans are coming along, critters ate the top half of all my beets, all my peas, and most of the beans down low. The cucumbers are producing lovely flowers but cucumbers are just getting started. Potatoes are good, carrots are small so far but plentiful. Most surprising of all is the beautiful crop of basil I started from seed. The wee plants were no taller than 1/2 inch till mid July, then boom, they took off. 

It was a fabulous year for raspberries!  I picked 85 lbs before they finally stopped producing. I picked enough for 3 batches of wine (14 lbs each), 10 quarts of juice concentrate, 15 pints of jam/jelly, & 14 (2 cup) bags for our family’s favorite breakfast- crepes stuffed with cottage cheese & topped with raspberries & whipped cream.

I have 2 well established rhubarb plants and am always happy to find a new use for rhubarb. This year I discovered (and slightly adapted) a recipe for rhubarb chutney after trying and liking a rhubarb relish produced for a local market using “grandmother’s secret recipe”. Ahhh, grandma might be surprised what you can find on the internet - so much information and it’s not all that hard to find. This chutney is yummy with most meats, especially bratwurst sausage.

I also picked enough black currants for 2 or 3 batches of delicious jam and managed to steal a few pounds of honeyberries from the birds.

Our final honey crop was 44 lbs, not bad considering we had to re-establish one hive and introduce a new queen to the other. 

My garden presents me with new challenges every year. I’m already planning changes for next year - better spacing, more watering, fewer potted plants. A garden is a living annual project, full of surprises and sometimes disappointments. I love watching its progress and enjoy putting produce away for winter, either in jars. the freezer or the root cellar. Stocking up with organic foods I grew myself gives me a feeling of accomplishment, and, as my husband always says, the queen of England couldn’t sit down to a better meals than ours.

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August 31, 2022