Bring Them Inside
It’s starting to get cold in the evenings here in Maine, the lower areas were said to be 32 the other morning. The benefit of living on a south facing slope is that it was 45 up here on the hill. That’s a considerable difference! Event though it’s not getting that cold here, it’s still time to bring in all the tropicals. Usually I take this time to repot and prune them all, cleaning them up a bit to make them look nicer indoors. For more on where I got these plants and what varieties they are see this blog post.
I have a lot of edible tropical plants: avocados, bananas, guava, mango, papaya, citrus, etc. They all live outside in the hottest part of the garden in the summer and they live in the warmest spot in the house during the winter. Most of them are only a year old, but they’re all dwarf varieties that should start producing fruit next year or the year after. I have a few citrus trees that are older and are currently loaded with fruit.
The banana plant had a few pups that needed to be cut off and repotted. I gave one to a friend, I haven’t decided if I want to keep the rest or find them new homes. I’m pretty excited about this plant, I think it might produce bananas soon. We had a banana plant in our front yard when I was young (we lived in Colombia, S.A.) and watching it produce bananas was such an amazing thing. I can’t wait to see it happen again!
Do you have any edible houseplants?
For more info on growing edible houseplants I highly recommend the book: Growing Tasty Tropical Plants in Any Home, Anywhere
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Bushels of Beans
Remember that second batch of green beans I seeded back in mid July? They all came ripe. I harvested a nice batch before we left for our trip at the beginning on Sept, when I returned they were flush with beans!
I harvested half a bushel on Friday night and half bushel on Saturday night. Then I blanched them and put them in the freezer. I like to freeze them on cookie sheets then dump them into zipper bags so I can scoop out what I need for a meal. It’s a convenient way to preserve them. These are ‘Maxibel Haricort Vert’ from High Mowing Seeds.
I also like them blanched so I can make this cold green bean salad with them. It’s a great way to taste summer in the middle of winter when you have the need for it.
What are you preserving from you garden before winter comes?
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Friday Favorite: Labeled Plants
I’m sure I’ve told of my love for labeled plants before, but after visiting Longwood Gardens I’m once again going to talk about how much I LOVE this!
In the parking lot there are these lovely Winterberry Holly shrubs that I admire every single time I visit, which has always been in the spring and summer. The berries on it this fall were stunning! Now that I’ve seen it in all three season I’m certain I’ll be adding some to my garden.
Over the past few winters I’ve been reading about adding winter interest to the garden. I’ve also been keeping a keen eye as I’m out and about to find things that work in my area. I think this plant will be a stunning addition to the garden for fall and winter interest.
When it comes to plant descriptions, my favorite place to check first is the Missouri Botanical Garden database. See what they have to say about Winterberry Holly here. It’s great to bookmark this site to use as a reference guide. Now off to find a few plants!
Do you have any plants that add winter interest in the garden?
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Mother Earth News Fair
Mr Chiots and I have been traveling for the past 10 days, it was a busy trip. We logged around 3000 miles, mostly by Mr Chiots while he traveled for work. I went along for the ride since he was headed to Ohio. While he worked, I visited with my family.
You can see photos from our trip to the Secrest Arboretum here. While at the Mother Earth News Fair in Seven Springs, PA, our internet was pretty much non-existent in our room (big bummer). I managed to get a little on-line work done, but I had to sit out in the hall to do it. Which is not that comfortable.
I attended a few classes, mostly on winter gardening. Though I must say, all the classes I attended on the topic were taught by people in zones 7 or so, which is a whole different thing than trying to garden in winter in zone 5! There were so many great classes, I wished I could have attended more. I had at least two choices that I wanted to go to during every time slot. There was an interesting one on harvesting rain/surface water for livestock that I gleaned some great ideas from. I can’t wait to implement a few of the things I learned to collect water for the gardens and our livestock.
Mr Chiots had a booth for The Jojoba Company, which he is the manager of. I had to help occasionally because it was pretty busy, especially after the essential oil classes let out and everyone swarmed the table to buy jojoba as their carrier.
After we left Seven Springs, we went on to Kennet Square, PA to visit Longwood Gardens and a few other lovely spaces. More on those tomorrow.
Have you done any traveling lately?
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Quote of the Day: Thomas Jefferson
“I have lived temperately, eating little animal food, and that . . . as a condiment for the vegetables, which constitute my principal diet.”
-Thomas Jefferson (The Gardens of Monticello)
Is there anything more perfect than a BLT in summer? A small amount of meat and a lot of vegetables from the garden. I love to add slices of onion to my BLT, and thick slices of heirloom beefsteak tomatoes. In my mind, it’s the perfect meal for a late summer day, especially for breakfast!
