Despite excessive heat and severe drought, some gardens continue to thrive and produce, with lots of green beans and tomatoes still being harvested.

 

For those gardeners whose gardens haven’t fared as well with things being so hot and dry, many have put in a second crop of beans, green beans, and even tomatoes, hoping that hard frosts will hold off long enough to get another batch of produce. As hot as it’s staying this late into September, they’ll probably get their wish.

It’s hard to believe that the garden year is drawing to a close and that we’ll be talking about getting our gardens ready for winter and winter gardening at our last workshop of the year. We’ll be talking about getting a head start on getting gardens ready to go next spring, as well as options for continuing to grow produce over the winter by indoor container gardening ($15 workshop lights work well for this if you have limited sunlight!), as well as protecting cold weather crops such as kale and collards planted outside when the temperatures take a nosedive (leaves, recycled plastic milk jugs filled with water, cheapie plastic tablecloths, among other things).

 

Here’s a recipe that’s perfect for fall even if the days are hot:

 

Harvest Chicken Feed

 

3c assorted colors Tommy toes tomatoes, halved

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 small zucchini, diced (can sub yellow squash or do ½ & ½ )

¼ c shredded fresh basil

1T fresh oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ c apple cider vinegar

 

Mix and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to marinate.

 

Tasty, good for you, low fat, low salt, low cholesterol, high fiber.