Well, it’s that time of year (October). It’s time for boys to flex their muscles and pull out dry cucumber vines, yank out tall, wilting tomato plants, and gather the tiny gnomes, knights, and horses in their fairy gardens. This is a pain for them, but eventually they come outside and help.  

We reflect a little bit on their gardens. Mostly, they enjoy their cucumber plants, the green bean picking competitions, and the surprises, like Morris’s acorn squash growing instead of a zucchini. I was excited by the success of all the plants I grew by seed in the spring: pumpkins, zucchini, squash, kale, a few tomato plants, cucumbers, and all the herbs!

It was an abundant season! My freezer is full of kale and peaches; our pantry has six acorn squash remaining. 

The boys were a little less into their gardens this year, to be honest. But they still come and visit, and harvest. I don’t think they’d ever choose to not grow one, and I know it’s good for them! 

So, until next season, I’ll be dreaming of different vegetables to grow, making new recipes with what I have stored (butternut squash soup!), and dreaming of the spring to grow again with my boys (always worth it!). 🙂 

OCTOBER

In our back garden, we planted two pumpkin plants. One plant grew two, small to medium-sized pumpkins. The other plant grew six, mini pumpkins. I’m still a little confused about the difference in sizes, as I used the same pumpkin pack of seeds… But, it’s nice to have some variety. Each boy picked two pumpkins, and we have them on our front porch. They will likely last through November, as sweet decorations.

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Late September

Morris’s butternut squash plant has been fun to watch this year. It wrapped it’s vines around his garden box and settled in, growing two, big beautiful butternut squash. Tonight, Morris picked them, as their skin was hard and tan (turning from a very pale green). These guys got big! Each one weighed over 4 pounds and were 11 inches long!

We have about four more growing in our back garden, and thankfully, these will last off the vine for up to 3 months. We will cook them and eat them with butter and brown sugar, and I can cut it up and freeze it for soups. We’ll enjoy! Thanks, Morris!

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