This Happens Every Year

Larry's weed free vegetable garden is now "laid by". Can hardly wait until next spring.

Picking Brussels Sprouts

The brussels sprouts have been picked twice during the summer but the main crop is harvested in the fall. A couple of good frosts improve the flavor.

Here is a closer look.

Even closer. And no weeds.

The finished product. And with a little luck with the weather I may get a few more.

Digging Carrots

These carrots were planted on July 19 of this year and are for winter storage.

They were dug today.

And this is the result.

For storage, you have to cut off the tops like this or they will start to grow in just a couple weeks.

I then pack them in a five gallon bucket with damp wood shavings.

Top it off and put them in my outside basement stairwell and they will keep till next June.

Squash and pumpkins

This is what is left to harvest of the squash and pumpkins the day before the frost. I had planted 2 acorn squash, 2 butternut squash, 6 orange pumpkins and 2 white pumpkins. No weeds!

And it will remain weed free.

Frosty Watermelons

The watermelon vines have been done in by the frost. I picked all the small immature melons and put them aside.
Then I remove the vine and put them on the compost pile.
Next I carefully cube those small melons up with a big old knife
Then I rototill them in.

I have either eaten or given away 14 melons and I still have these 14 left. I only planted 4 seeds.

Dug the Sweet Potatoes

This is what they look like before I started digging.
This is what it looks like after I'm done digging.
And this is the result. Just over 60 pounds from 10 plants.

Frost Coming

They are predicting a killing frost this weekend and a lot of the weed free garden will be history.

I'm starting to get ready for the inevitable.
Good bye Big Boy tomatoes. It was a good year.

Biggest Watermelon in the Patch.

This is a Crimson Sweet watermelon

The seed pack says these will get 15 to 25 pounds.

Watermelons

Watermelons are my "favorite thing" in the garden. This one tastes as good as it looks.
This is a sample of what's still to come. It's going to be a good year.

These four will go home with the grandchildren.

Lima Beans

I have an 80 ft. row of lima beans planted 18 inches apart. They are in the foreground of the photo and only shows about half of them.
This is the third time I have picked them and have gotten 1/2 bucket each time. The yield seems to be a little down from other years but the quality is outstanding.

This bowl equals 6 bags in the freezer.

Dug the Kennebec Potatoes

Now all the potatoes have been dug and it will be very easy to keep the potato patch weed free for the rest of the year.
I now have a new toy box.

I mean a new potato bin. It holds about 160 lbs and I have another bin that holds 100 lbs.

Dug Red Norland Potatoes

I have just finished digging my two rows of Red Norland potatoes. Four rows of Kennebec to go.

There is about 100 lbs. in this 50 qt. cooler plus another 10 lbs. of small potatoes not shown.

End of the Corn

All the old stalks are cut down.
Then begin the compost process.
Next I spade out the stumps.

With a few shallow cultivations this will be weed free until next spring.

Okra

I've been harvesting okra for two weeks now but eating it as fast as I pick it.
Here is one ready to harvest.

The blooms are nice but do not last long.

Sweet corn

A few days before I was ready to harvest the sweet corn I got 10.5 inches of rain and a little wind for good measure. The night before we harvested the corn we received another 1.25 inches of rain. You gotta do what you gotta do. Mud it out! Froze 47 bags of cream style corn.

Still have a little left for supper for the next few days.

Eggplants

Eggplants are now producing.
That big one is ready to harvest.

This is my four Black Beauty eggplants.

Melon Patch

My melon patch is in the plot I call the back 40. Its 40 feet long and back of the garage. I have four Crimson Sweet watermelon plants.
They are now about volleyball size but will get 25 to 30 pounds.

Four Hale's Best muskmelons plants. Can't get a close-up picture in this jungle of vines.
No weeds in the back 40 yet.