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Planning Some Labor for "Labor Day"

Posted on September 2, 2010 at 12:10 AM

I was thinking about doing the big potato patch dig over the coming long Labor Day holiday weekend, but the weather forecast has changed my mind for me.   It looks like waiting one more week will provide much better odds of doing this job in dry conditions (which is preferable).   Instead, I am hoping to process some dilly green beans and a batch of dill pickle relish.   At this point, I have frozen all of the green beans we should need for winter use, so now I can use the last harvests from the fading bush bean patches to do some dilly green beans.   In addition, the cucumbers have a bunch of small fruit on the vine that should mature to readiness by the end of the weekend, providing enough to do a batch of dill pickle relish.             

   

The fall spinach patch has really taken off with the rain and cool weather we have had for the past several days.   We should be able to enjoy fresh baby spinach salads again very soon.

 

 

In case you are wondering, that’s a pumpkin vine you see growing over the top corner of that patch.   The pumpkin vines are taking over the garden once again this year.   I quit trying to corral them years ago and have learned to just relax and marvel at their vigorous growth.   Deep in the tangle of the three sisters planting areas are quite a few pumpkins that are starting to show early signs of coloring up.           

 

   

 

I am looking forward to laboring this coming long holiday weekend to get some canning accomplished!

 

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Categories: Harvesting, Preserving, Fall/Winter Gardening

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13 Comments

Reply hsheather
09:01 AM on September 02, 2010 
I'm anxious for the potato report. It seems so much simpler to do it that way. The pumpkins are making me jealous. We haven't had much in the way of pumpkins for the past 2 years. I shouldn't complain, the rest of the garden was awesome.
Reply Daphne
02:07 PM on September 02, 2010 
We are going to get a hurricane this Friday night. Though luckily it won't pass over us. I'm guessing this weekend I'll be cleaning up. I hope your weekend is more peaceful.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
10:00 PM on September 02, 2010 
hsheather - I am really curious to see what the yeild ends up being for the potato patch too. Don't be too jealous of my pumpkins. Last year I had three times as many on 2/3rds the number of plants. It really was not a good year for any crop that likes warm conditions in my area.

Daphne - I sure hope the hurricane fizzles out before it comes near your area.
Reply Mike
09:43 AM on September 03, 2010 
Our pumpkins are doing surprisingly well this year too in comparison to our other squash, we are growing the sugar pie variety and this is the fourth year it has been a winner for us, wish I woul dhav eplanted more of them and less of the others...nest year. I'm curious, what variety are you growing? Also, is there any particular squash that you have grown in this area that really stands out performance wise year after year in your garden. I am looking to try some new varieties next year that might do better in the rain and slop and temperature extremes...like the pumkins seem to do. I hope your weekend is nice and that the cold rainy weather goes somewhere else for a while longer.
Reply Ottawa Gardener
09:49 AM on September 03, 2010 
That is a lovely box of spinach. What kind of pumpkins are those? They look flattened a bit like the cinderella kind?
Reply mac
12:32 PM on September 03, 2010 
Looking forward to your potato harvest this weekend.
I love the look of your spinach bed. I try to sow leafy greens 3 times with little luck, spinach won't germinate at all, it's too hot for them.
Reply Sandy
08:28 PM on September 03, 2010 
I'm jealous of your pumpkins. My pumpkins were all a bust this year.

My cukes are going crazy, however, and making some dill relish sounds like a great idea. Also, I'm planning to do some tomato sauce this weekend, although I know I'm going to need to supplement with tomatoes from the farmers' market. Time to bust out the canning supplies again! Have fun canning too.
Reply stefaneener
09:53 PM on September 03, 2010 
Is the spinach being protected from something? It looks so lush and lovely.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
10:45 PM on September 03, 2010 
Mike - I am growing small sugar pie pumpkins too. It's all I grow anymore. They are reliable producers, the fruit is the perfect size for our needs, and the flesh is sweet and moist when baked. I have had good luck with acorn squash but it does not store well. I cannot grow really long season winter squash since our summer season is not warm enough long enough for them, but I did have good luck with Buttercup last year and it was a delicious tasting squash.

Ottawa Gardener - Those are small sugar pie pumpkins. They are fairly uniform in size and round - but occassionally one is tall and long or otherwise a bit irregular in shape.

mac - You are going to have to wait one more weekend in all liklihood. The weather forecast is for rain and cold this weekend, so I am postponing it until the following weekend. Stay tuned though, it is coming. :D

Sandy - The cukes are doing well here too. Should be a go on Sunday to do some relish. I am getting more and more tomatoes but don't have enough banked up to do any canning quite yet. Soon though.

Stefaneener - The wire panels are covering the spinach patch to protect it as it was germinating from my cat who likes to dig in fresh seed beds - and from my chickens who run in the garden quite frequently and sometimes do naughty things to fresh greens if you do not keep a close eye on them! I will be pulling the wire panels off soon and putting a hoop cover with netting on ti soon. Later this winter I will cover it with plastic to keep the harvest going through the winter months.
Reply foodgardenkitchen
06:29 PM on September 04, 2010 
I hope you get a bounty of potatoes!!! Looking forward to the report...
Reply Prairie Cat
10:54 AM on September 05, 2010 
Oh my, that is a lot of spinach! I have been having trouble getting mine to germinate - it has just been too hot for them so far.

Those are some nice looking pumpkins! I might grow some next year... do you just plant them around the time that you do your summer crops or do you wait a little later?
Reply Dan
12:19 AM on September 06, 2010 
Wow the spinach looks excellent. I need to get some in soon, hopefully tomorrow.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
11:49 AM on September 06, 2010 
foodgardenkitchen - I am probably going to regret not doing the potato dig this weekend, as the longer term weather forecast is deteriorating for next weekend. (sigh) I will just have to do the dig when the opportunity presents itself. I am curious to know how the patch did too!

Prairie Cat - I start my pumpkins inside and then transplant them outside around the first two weeks of May when the weather has settled down and warmed up a bit. I need the full summer of growing time for them to mature, but rushing them out any faster just stunts them or worse, ends up with them dieing.

Dan - The spinach is pretty tasty too! We had a large baby spinach salad for dinner last night and it really hit the spot.