First Frost- November 1

We had a very nice, long fall. We had a good week of rain, mellow temps without much swing and spectacular fall colors. I never felt rushed to get all of the last minute winterizing done in one fell swoop. We finally had our first frost on November 1 and then a little more the following evening. We've gone frost free until this week. The Polar Vortex that hit Alaska with hurricane-force winds is reaching us today. The next 4 days has highs in the mid-30's and lows between 19-25F. Come winter. 

Final Harvests:

 1/2 bucket of Kennebec potatoes

 Criolla De Cocina peppers

Probably my favorite.

Very productive. Love the colors & texture.

 Criollas, Tomatillos, Corbachi peppers

Awesome year for Sweet Potatoes

Large, no cracks, no pest damage, prolific

 The record sweet of the year

Winter Prep: Chilies

 Winter chili pepper prep

Shishitos & Peach Habs

The Chosen 8- chilies prepped for the basement

Includes: Mustard & Peach Habs, Lemon Drop & Shishitos

Winter prep: Ginger

 Looks like I have a nice Ginger rhizome here.

I plan to overwinter again (winter #2) and if it makes it

maybe I will transplant. It clearly needs more room.

A broad & shallow pot looks needed. 

Winter Prep: Houseplants Back In

 East: Living Room

 East: Kitchen

South: Kitchen (below)

Winter Prep: Outdoors

 Walking Stick Kale and Broccoli under wrap

Collards(back) & new broccoli (front)- not yet covered

 New raised beds- just concrete blocks

and simple covers from old 1x2's & reused plastic

housing- various greens & turnips

 Protecting young perennial seedlings

Coneflowers, Lobelia, Angelica

 6 young Broccoli (above)

Collards (below)

 Taller plants are less frost tolerant. 

Will these make it?

Parsnips from spring planting & collected seed- hope to eat this winter

Fall Critters

 Appears to be a lighter version of a common

spider we have around here. I saw a couple this color

in recent weeks. This one was on the Kaffir Lime.

It appears I will have even more slugs in the Geodome soon.

I caught these two mating. The white protruding objects are their genitalia. Read this interesting fact:

"Apophallation is a commonly seen practice among many slugs. In apophallating species, the penis curls like a corkscrew and during mating, it often becomes entangled in the mate's genitalia. Apophallation allows the slugs to separate themselves by one or both of the slugs chewing off the other's penis. Once its penis has been removed, the slug is still able to mate using only the female parts of its reproductive system" -Wikipedia

I found this while cleaning the garden. I wasn't sure what was going on here so

I placed the whole mess in a jar to watch.

About a week later I got my answer: Parasitic Wasps

(below)

Odds & Ends

 The Jewel Orchid cuttings are taking root in water.

The final bouquet

 1 Narcissus pulled from the fridge

 Drying chilies from Holly

Some of the overwintering plants in the basement under shop lights

Winter greens in the basement? 

Maybe. Planted 11-9-14

Fall Food:

The "Amazing" Quiche that I've already forgotten how to make.

Good thing kiddo made me write down the recipe. 

I put all of the ingredients in the blender & poured into a 

pre-made crust. It was very good. Even the former egg-hater liked it.

Reminders of A Garden Gone

Tomatoes

I still prefer my ripening tomatoes over the 

taste of store tomatoes. Even in November.

I like to see how long these will last me.

Winter. Soon Come.