All will soon be safely gathered in.

The first day of Autumn has arrived, and with it the reminder that it is time to clear out the garden plot. We've been eating as the summer progressed, but there is a lot still in the ground. Time to get everything out and stored for winter.

The garden this year had some high points and low points. And some mystery points! One mystery would be carrots vs. parsnips. In my mind, they're almost the same thing. No, they're not but still. The carrots sprouted and did very well, particularly the purple skinned ones. Some of the seed tape carrots didn't grow but that would be due to the birds that apparently enjoy eating seed tape! The parsnips on the other hand...nothing. Not one single parsnip germinated. Bad seed? Seed eaten by birds and gophers? I've no idea. I just don't see how two such similar vegetables should have two vastly different results.

The peas were great. Almost the best in the whole garden, I think. However...we stopped for a handful on afternoon on the way out of town and that was the night of the hail storm. The poles, wires, strings and peas were pummeled into the ground. Not a single eatable pea remained. Ah well, at least we got that handful!

Potatoes and Onions have been so fantastic that you'd almost think I knew what I was doing. I planted more than a hundred onions. Some were so tiny and frail I had no hope for them, but I'd paid for them so in they went. I had bought a flat of what looked like grass, but it was fifty some tiny little onion plants.

Turns out nearly every single one grew! The bigger ones, which I planted as instructed with a minimum of half the bulb above ground were enormous. There was one that The Boy could hold and have his fingertips touch but I couldn't. It was like a swollen soft ball. We ate it and I was amazed to find it was sweet and juicy. I'd assumed that given its size it would be tasteless and woody.

The potatoes...we've been eating them for weeks on end. I still have about 25 plants left to pull. Thanks heavens I have friends that want some, because The Boy is not much of a potato eater. I do love them myself but even so there are more than I can deal with.

All in all a good year. 'Cept for the pepper plants, which did in the end bloom. In the first week of September! Ah well, they looked nice whilst they were growing. Deep dark green little shrubs. Maybe next year we'll have an early spring. Or at least not the super late spring we had this year!