Fall

Or Autumn if you call it that

We are nearing the end of Fall now. We had our first freeze two weeks ago now, two days actually. Which is right on track according to almanac.com (but I thought it was early) for where we live in Alabama (7b for those who speak garden-talk).

In my yard, pecans and acorns are falling from the sky. I collected acorns last year to bring to a local rancher to feed their pigs. I brought them inside so the resident chipmunks wouldn’t eat them all. Beware- acorns can have an acorn weevil grub in them.

I harvested the last of the jalapeños, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, and okra right before the freeze.

My collard greens that I planted at the beginning of October seem to have made it through okay.

I finally made it to my farmers market the other week. (I was busy all summer with my group coaching project that I didn’t make it during that season.) I bought some honey, Japanese sweet potatoes, chicken thighs, and poblano peppers. My hands burnt all night after preparing the poblano peppers. I should have worn gloves but putting yellow mustard on them definitely took out most of the heat.

Some fruits and vegetables that are in season around here are: greens (lettuce, spinach, kale , collard, mustard, turnip), radishes, green onions, apples, persimmons, satsumas, broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, acorn squash, and butternut squash. Check your local farmers market to see what you can find. (Information gleaned from SweetGrown Alabama.)

This week I planted garlic. Last year was my first crop and it was so easy! If you like garlic and haven’t tried it, it’s definitely worth the effort. I planted triple what I did last year, two varieties of hardneck and three varieties of softneck.