October Update

I think it’s time for me to share an update on harvests and other things around here. It’s late October now, and lacking any really cold weather our vegetable garden has still been producing for us. I’ve gotten loads of both sweet and hot peppers, plus the occasional eggplant.

pepper harvest

I got the last picking of the pole beans a couple of weeks ago, and those plants are done for. It’s not been a good year for them due to germination issues early on caused by the rainy conditions and wet soil. I got just under 4 pounds total this year, compared to last year’s 11 pounds. We ate on this last batch, and I was able to freeze a few this year as well.

guajillo peppers and pole beans

I’ve been harvesting persimmons from our little tree, and while not really pretty on the outside they are sweet and tasty. Our tree is the Nikita’s Gift variety, which is a cross between an Asian and a native persimmon.

Nikita’s Gift persimmons

My lettuce planting in the cold frame has been keeping up supplied for salads recently. I have a mix of heat tolerant varieties planted, like Tehama, Muir and Cherokee. I harvest these on an as-needed basis.

Tehama lettuce

Cherokee lettuce plants

I mentioned it has been a great year for peppers, and I have gotten a big haul of the guajillo types for drying and turning into chile powder.  I call this one “Dustbowl” because I originally got the seeds in 2015 from a company called Dustbowl Seed which is now out of business. I’ve been growing them ever since, and saving the seeds for replanting. The open pollinated ones have been more productive than a couple of hybrid types I have growing nearby. I also experimented with a couple of chimayo plants this year, and they have not been very productive at all for me here. These is one in the below photo (bottom right), along with the guajillos which are longer and more slender in shape.

guajillo peppers for drying

Last week I baked up a batch of Two-Bean Enchilada Casserole for my lunch one day. It featured my homemade sauce using our frozen tomato sauce and a liberal amount of my homegrown chile powder. The leftovers freeze well and should keep me supplied for a bit.

Two Bean Enchilada Casserole

I have quite a few kale and collard plants I set out for fall and winter use – about 50 in all. These have been growing along nicely, and I have been waiting for the first couple of frosts to come and sweeten up the leaves. The Yellow Cabbage variety is one of my favorites, with large and mild tasting leaves.

Yellow Cabbage collard plant

And in closing, we have hawks visit our property fairly often.  I believe the one in the below photo is a Red-Shouldered Hawk, and we recently have seen it sitting in our mulberry tree out back of the house. It is quite impressive when it takes flight, with a wingspan of almost three feet, and no doubt helps keep the rodent population under control.

hawk in mulberry tree

With frost in the forecast, I dug all the sweet potatoes this week. I’ll give an update soon on how they did this year. Meanwhile, I hope you have enjoyed this update, and I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!