The garden may not appear to be full and abundant at this time of year, but looks can be deceiving. Yes, many vegetable plants are closing up shop. We are still picking Mountain Magic tomatoes, but the others have succumbed to early blight a in September. Now, in the final days of October, there are many meals still to be had in the vegetable garden, so be sure not to miss what’s growing in yours.
Here is our front-yard vegetable garden on October 26th. Not as full and lush as it is in July, for sure. But it would be foolish for us to write these veggies off this early. In truth, when I went into this garden tonight and asked “What’s for dinner?” I had several choices.
There are many leeks and Tuscan kale plants that will be producing well into January. Leeks can be harvested one at a time and if the lower, older leaves are cut off of the kale plants they will continue to grow and make more into the winter months.
Leeks are so beautiful. They are easy to grow either from seed (start them early indoors under lights) or from purchased starter plants.
Broccoli plants are filled with small side-shoot heads at this time of year. Cut these every two or three days to keep the plants productive through December.
In ten minutes I picked a bunch of broccoli, three small summer squash, a few peppers, some Mountain Magic tomatoes and a leek. I didn’t cut any lettuce, arugula, nasturtiums, chard, carrots, beets or kale tonight although these were also available in the garden.
So…what’s for dinner? Pasta with squash, broccoli, leeks, garlic and tomatoes. Saute the veggies (not the tomatoes) in olive oil with some hot peppers if desired. Add the pasta and sliced tomatoes, along with a beaten egg. I also had some left-over chicken sausage so this went into the dish as well. Toss all in the saute pan and add some grated parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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