It's getting cold outside!

Happy Halloween!  We're a bit behind in the holiday department.  Finally got most of the pumpkins carved this weekend and roasted the seeds last night.  Of course I left the costume preparation until the last minute and was up late last night altering the vampire cape so it wouldn't drag on the ground.  The witch hat disappeared for a while, but was found again, in the closet of all places.   

Almost a year ago, we wandered through a store and found costumes for almost nothing and thought we were so clever for buying next years costumes when they were cheap. I managed to out-smart myself in all of this however. We purchased a cute little duck costume for the little one, but I had to put it away because the big kids kept trying to squeeze into it.  Now, it's Halloween and I can't seem to remember where I put it away exactly.  Aren't I clever?  Wherever it is, it's safe. 

We enjoyed a very nice October, but the nights have gotten very cold.  I harvested everything I could out of the garden and cleaned it all up.  It felt good to finally get some order to the jungle and be done for the winter.  I had planned on putting in a fall garden, but I just never got to it. 

Growing up, we always had a snow storm on Halloween, but it doesn't look like we'll get a storm tonight.  Hope you have a happy, warm and safe Halloween!

The October Garden Update

This is the first year that I have still had a garden in October.  Honestly, I've never had a garden survive past August due to early frosts in the mountains, but living in a warmer climate has changed things for me.  While the plants are still alive, things are pretty much finished.  I harvested all the tomatoes that were attempting to turn red this morning and this is what I got.

The North box looks pretty sad since the buttercup squash attacked the tomato trellis and then fell down, pulling most of the tomatoes with it.  There are still many green tomatoes on the plants and I have plans for them, but they will have to wait until I have all my equipment, or until I'm planning a trip back to the ranch. 

I found one more lemon cucumber on the vine, almost ready and a final one ball squash, also nearly ready to be picked.  From three sweet pepper plants I will get a total of three peppers.  One nearly made it to red before my little garden helper proudly picked it for me.  (sigh)  Another is a deep purple color, trying to make it to red and the last is a stubborn green.  I probably won't plant peppers again. It was an impulse buy at the farmer's market anyway.  We just don't use them much and I don't care for the after-taste of green peppers especially.

As soon as I get all those green tomatoes taken care of and the last of the other plants are finished, I'm looking forward to pulling everything out and finally seeing some order in the garden, even if it's just plain dirt.  I may even find another onion under there.  The jungle of tomato and squash plants is looking old and tired and I think it's almost time to put everything to bed.  I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to try to get some spinach out of there before winter hits.