Seed Saving.

Most of my spring planted greens are going to seed now. Various lettuces, bok choy, rapini, mustard greens, arugula and kale. Pictured above is bok choy dried seed pods. Seeds couldn't be easier to save. Either shake the seed pods into a container or bag or take the seed pods or entire plant indoors to separate the seeds from the pods. 

Hot Tip: Seeds are almost always heavier than their dried seed pods and will naturally accumulate in the bottom of a container. If you're dealing with any amount of seeds you can even use the method people use for separating dried beans from their pods. The seeds are poured from one container to another in front of a fan, the seeds fall into the waiting container and the pods and other debris gets blown away. 

I have saved way more seeds than I could ever use in a season myself, therefore some people on my Christmas list are getting seeds this year.  My thoughtful boyfriend picked up some cool colorful seed packets for me to gift the seeds in.  

Dandelion Tea.

I killed two birds with one stone the other day by weeding my gardens of dandelions and then roasting them. This picture was taken during the washing stage. You simply thoroughly wash the roots, swishing them around in water works best, chop them up and roast them in a single layer. I set my oven to 200 degrees. After they have been thoroughly roasted and dried you can then grind them up for storage and use. I drink a pot of dandelion tea every morning before breakfast. 

This article came out last year and is highly interesting to say the very least.

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/cancer-killing-dandelion-tea-gets-157k-research-grant-1.1248382

ETA: Like any other herb or supplement you should check with your Medical Doctor or other health professional before consuming dandelion or dandelion root. Dandelion root is a diuretic and can interfere with certain conditions and medications. I know that it can interfere with diuretic medications and should be avoided if you are taking any.  

First harvest from my kale planted in late July for a fall crop.  It grew under a row cover to keep all the cabbage loopers away, as they were intense at that time.  

The wild cranberries are ready! Just in time for Thanksgiving like every other year. These are completely different than the commercial cranberries in bags at the grocery store. I like eating the odd one raw, using them in smoothies, and of course, stewing them. 

Sunny Days

Lovely weather here following too much rain. My poor sunflowers were bashed around in wind and rain and as a result are slightly sleepy.  

Just a little tired. 

I love sunflowers and make a point to grow them every year. They add much needed color and warmth to these fall days and the bees adore them.  It was hard to get a decent picture but these guys were covered in activity between bees and hornets. 

Monster sunflower. 

Spinach started from seed I saved from the spring. This is in one of my two cold frame beds that will be covered shortly. 

This is the cold frame bed that contains the spinach.  Left to right; spinach, mixed lettuces, radishes, tatsoi, mizuna, baby bok choy, big bok choy and kale.  

I am going to miss the corn stalks. Time for these to join the compost pile. 

View from the garden gate. 

Sleepy sunnies. 

My morning glories are still going strong. I love the carefree feel of these guys. 

Climbing all over my deck. 

The squash plants pulled down this poor sunflower and trapped it close to the ground with their vines. 

Going Strong.

The garden is still going strong, fall is probably the most prolific time for what I plant.  I'm still harvesting lots of green beans, which is strange. They were planted so late due to late frosts, that we're overrun with beans now. We have tons of greens like the swiss chard pictured above. Today is National Kale Day, which we will celebrate tonight with fresh kale since we have a seemingly endless supply.  

We had lots of wind and these poor sunflowers were a casualty.  They worked well for cut flowers when we had company on the weekend. 

Veggie tray for company, cherry toms, cuke, celery and carrots from the garden with homemade ranch dip made with garlic, dill, parsley and chives from our gardens. 

My quirky kitchen table soon to be covered with curing squash. 

Fermentation.

Although I'm no stranger to fermentation, I'm just getting my hands on this book now. Wild fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz is filled with useful information on how to ferment almost anything you would want to ferment. He uses natural methods like lacto-fermentation and capturing yeasts from the air. It also details how fermented foods came about, their benefits (both taste and health), and offers suggestions for both omnivores and vegans. Sandor may have lived a life of fermentation experimentation and documented the process and results. I always want to ferment more foods than I get around to, leafing through this has inspired me to add to my fermenting repertoire. 

Garden Goods.

It's rather late in the season to be overrun with beans, although I'll take it. We had planted our bean plants so much later than usual due to the late frosts we had in the spring.  My third crop of bush beans is ready now at the same time as our first crop of pole beans, which are slower growing, are really amping up production. Keeping my fingers and tossed crossed that there will NOT be any early frost this year. It was really cool last night.  

The plums are from my boyfriend's parents trees and in front of them we have our constant bowl of tomatoes for fresh eating. 

I had to steal some not-quite-ready, fresh onions for the relish I am canning today. You can use onions fresh, the whole curing process does mellow out the flavor a bit, but is mostly for storage purposes.  Same with shallots and garlic. Fresh garlic is a real treat, quite spicy!