An arctic blast reached into North Carolina this week, but the chickens up on their roost inside the coop survived the freezing nights. Right now the temperature is hovering above 32, and there’s a cold rain falling. The growing season is finished.
I wanted to spend more time in the garden this summer. Even so, Erin and I were able to keep it watered, and it had plenty of sun, so the tomatoes did well, and I gathered enough cayenne and habanero chiles to make a couple of batches of hot sauce. The roselle grew tall and I made syrup, which the family enjoyed mixed with soda water. The herbs spread out in their box, and I’ll have thyme and parsley and sage to put into next week’s stuffing. The watermelon vine snaked around and flowered all summer but gave no fruit. A bean grew up the wire wall.
Soon I’ll start to plan for the spring, sketching out the boxes to arrange the plants differently and ordering seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
© Anton Zuiker