It’s the time of year here in northwestern Montana where I start waffling about what to do in the garden. Temperatures were predicted to get around 33 last night and a freeze warning has been issued for tomorrow morning. It’s game I don’t like to play, covering, bringing stuff in and sacrificing other plants entirely.
The sunflowers can’t realistically be covered and sadly will be sacrificed. Jeff picked all the green tomatoes and put them in boxes in the guest room to ripen up over the coming month. It’s not ideal, but it is better than no homemade salsa. We’re covering up some of the winter squash but not worried at all about the baby ones that aren’t likely to make it all anyway.
I can’t complain, really, the garden has produced well and there are still plenty of things out there that will survive a freeze (beets, rutabagas, chard, etc.). The pantry shelves are quite full and so are our bellies. As a gardener I always hope for a long season but I can’t begrudge the bounty I’ve been given in this short one either. Soon the ground will be put to bed for the winter and we’ll rest while planning for next year’s garden.
