I filled a bird feeder with sunflower seed chips and hung it on a cast iron "shepherd's crook" set in a raised bed.  I have this feeder out all winter, then bring it in in the summer when the birds are supposed to be eating insects. 

Within half an hour, black-capped chickadees and red-breasted nuthatches were lined up, sorting through the bits to find some they liked, and then flying off.  Some birds stuff them in the cracks between the fenceposts, and under the loose bark of the birch tree.  I felt badly that I'd waited this long to put out the feeder.  They seem frantic.

We haven't had snow yet but the Chugach behind town, and Sleeping Lady across the inlet, are coated so it's any day now.

Posted by gail_heineman at 10:19 PM YDT

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The weather reports were wrong.  It warmed up and rained, allowing for another chance to harvest the root crops.  I dug up my garlic and made a large if somewhat messy garlic braid for the first time in my life.  It's pretty, but now my entire house smells of garlic.  Oh well, no vampires in here for awhile.

Yesterday I brought in the carrots and potatoes.  I obtained the carrots by jumping up and down on the shovel to break through a couple inches of frozen soil.  They look great, plump, even and not frost damaged.  The potatoes provided more drama.  I grow them in a tub above ground, just because potatoes are cheap here and I don't want to use my precious raised bed space for them.  The tub was too small for me to balance the shovel in it and jump up and down, so I tried to turn the tub upside down and empty it, figuring the bottom soil wouldn't be frozen.  I could heave the tub on its side ok, but it was too heavy for me to turn over.  My greatest efforts succeeded only in rolling it onto my foot or over away from me.  Finally with a burst of effort I tipped it into a hole left over from moving a rhubarb plant, and the soil emptied out in one lump.  I desperately scrabbled away the near-freezing soil from the bottom of the tub-shaped iceberg, looking for potatoes.  By the time I found the first, some lovely Black Beauties (really purple) I had a six-inch-thick disk of icy soil.   I could tell there were more potatoes in there, but it was too hard to separate.  I picked it up and smashed it on the ground a few times to break it into three pieces, then stuffed the pieces into a large bucket which I brought inside to thaw overnight.  I do not recommend this method of potato harvest.

I did get enough for a nice side dish for Thanksgiving.  Purple and red and peanut-yellow.  Colorful if not a bumper crop. 

Posted by gail_heineman at 10:45 PM YDT

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Yesterday I took a scissors and cut off the top (the only remaining leaves) of all my kale, chard and collards, bringing in two packed grocery bags full. I once again tried to dig the carrots and potatoes, but the ground was frozen solid! Silly me. I first tried a few days ago and only succeeded in bending my trowel. In past years (except for last fall when I was traveling) we've have a freeze, then it would thaw a few more times before final freezeup. I'd wait for the first freeze to give my carrots and potatoes every possible minute to mature. Well, it was a mistake this year. Unless I go out with a flamethrower, I'm afraid they are there until spring.

So today it's blanching and making veg soup to get all those greens in the freezer. Tags: gourmet, health, vegetables

Posted by gail_heineman at 10:17 AM YDT

Updated: Saturday, 13 October 2007 10:29 AM YDT

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Last Thursday I went for a bike ride along Turnagain Arm just south of here.  The leaves are at their peak of color, brilliant yellows and oranges flaming against the rocky hillsides, contrasting with the dull grayness of the ocean and clouds.  At home it's time to rake and make a new compost pile with leaves and kitchen waste.  It's chilly in the mornings although there hasn't been a hard frost here yet, with leaf lettuce still perky in the garden.

Yesterday I bought a large zucchini at the farmer's market for $2.  They rested like retired Zeppelins next to the patty pans and green pumpkins on the farmer's stand. 

The leaves on the European mountain ash in the back yard are mustard yellow, backlighting the many red berry clusters.  In front of it, the dolgo crabapple leaves are still mostly green with some turning yellow, and countless dark red crabapples making a holiday display.  The dolgos are sweet enough to eat without sugar, but too small to bother with.  They remind me of the times in my life when I was hungry and would have been more grateful for this free food.  

Posted by gail_heineman at 9:18 AM YDT

Updated: Sunday, 7 October 2007 9:27 AM YDT

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Although we haven't had a hard frost yet, the nights are in the high 30's F and the days aren't warm enough to develop more tomatoes, so I picked all the remaining sungold tomatoes from the deck pots.  I left them on their stems in the hopes they'll develop a little more.  There are lots of green ones.  But I've found that these tomatoes in all stages of ripeness add a unique sweet flavor to homemade chicken soup, so they will not go to waste. 

Yesterday I drove north to Palmer and helped a friend build a couple of compost piles with the remains of her garden, and leaves from under alder bushes (alders fix nitrogen so those are rich for compost).  My garden is still mostly out there unmolested.  I'm letting the kale and potatoes continue to grow until there is a frost.  I'd better get the chard and lettuce, what's left of it after the slugs, pretty soon or it will be wasted.  The sugar snap peas have dried up although the sweet peas are still blooming mightily. 

Posted by gail_heineman at 8:05 PM YDT

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