November Update

It’s mid-November now, and we officially had our first hard freeze a few days ago. That meant the end of the frost-tender plants like the peppers and eggplant. I got a modest harvest of them in the days before the freeze though. It was a good year for peppers and eggplant overall, likely because they were planted out later and avoided the spring flooding that wrecked some of the earlier crops.

November eggplant and peppers

I was happy to use the eggplant to make one more lunch of eggplant sandwiches for the year, which is something my wife and I both enjoy eating.

roasted eggplant sandwich on naan bread

The beans did not have a good year, so I was happy to find a few more that set on late in the season. Fortunately we have some from last year left in the freezer, so we should have plenty for soups and side dishes. Hopefully next year will be a better year for them!

last of the beans

The fall planted greens are quite happy with the cooler weather of late, and I made cuttings of both kale and collards in the last couple of weeks. Their taste improves with frost, and they will sometimes survive the winter here if we don’t get much snow or ice. I’ve got quite a bit of both planted, and greens are often on the menu here in the fall and winter months.

Wild Garden mix kale

heirloom collard greens

I’m still harvesting the last of the lettuce I planted in late summer. It has kept us supplied in salads for several months now. I have the winter lettuce planted in the greenhouse, and it should be big enough to start cutting in a few weeks.

red and green crisphead lettuce

Our little persimmon tree still has quite a few left on it, though I will likely have to get on a ladder to get them. I harvested over seven pounds of them in early November, and I have been freezing the puree for later use in persimmon cookies and persimmon bread.

Nikita’s Gift persimmons

I did bake a loaf of no-knead sourdough bread last week.  I proofed it in an oval brotform then baked it in my Breadtopia oblong clay baker. It had a crispy crust and great flavor, and much of it went into the freezer for later use. It’s hard to believe but I have been baking all our breads now for almost 15 years.

crusty sourdough bread

I hope you have enjoyed this update, and I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!