Collecting Seed

The end of the season brings about not just the harvesting of fruits but also seeds from which will grow some of next year's crops. To collect viable seed, we must wait until the seeds are completely ripe. In the case of tomatoes, this means waiting until the fruit is practically rotting off the vine, or perhaps has already fallen to the ground. Beans prove somewhat easier.

I allowed some of the rattlesnake pole beans to mature (providentially, it would seem, because I simply couldn't get around to eating them before they ripened into full seeds) until the pods shriveled and dried on the vine. You will be able to tell that the seeds are ready by touch; gently squeeze the pod and determine that the beans inside are not flaccid or soft. The ripe seed should be firm and relatively hard. The pods can then be picked and brought inside. I place the pods somewhere dry and warm so that any residual moisture evaporates; dampness is the mortal enemy of well-preserved seed.

Once the pods have completely dried out, the seeds can be shucked. Other plants I intend to gather seed from include basil (summer and thai), tomatoes, snap dragons, marigolds, quinoa (mostly to eat, but some for sowing next spring), and texas hummingbird sage.

Putting the garden to bed

At the end of a tiring but mostly successful growing season, the garden deserves a good rest. Last week Christian helped me to lay the garden down for a long fall and winter's sleep. First a shot of how overgrown and unkempt I allowed the garden to get in the last days and weeks of summer:


Some knowledge to apply to my next attempts:

-Always and judiciously prune indeterminate tomato plants; mine got too out of hand and terribly tangled, making it difficult to discern one plant from the next and also hard to pick the fruit

-Bigger does not always mean better: It would have behooved me to focus my energy on fewer plants and given more individual attention to those specimens

-Allow adequate spacing! Even with my crowding problems last year, I still did not allow enough room for rows and individual plants to really flourish. Spacing is of utmost importance

Christian and I filled several large containers with the season's final peppers, sparse eggplants and green tomatoes (at this moment ripening in the windowsill). The plants were pulled and gathered into a compost pile. As a final measure we broadcast seeds of a winter green cover (crimson clover, buckwheat, etc.) over the newly bare soil. Hard to say if the seeds will sprout before the frost kills their chances, but we shall see.

Most of the garden lies in shade by this time of year, thanks to the condos next door. The back of the garden, nearest the hedge, does still receive a fair bit of light in the late afternoon.
The cloche was set up again to house the carnivorous plants I've gathered over the summer, and the cold frame has been re-appropriated again, this time to house additional carnivorous plant seedlings that will not fit in the cloche.

The inside of the cloche lined with flats of carnivorous plants

Five flats fit inside the cold frame just right.

Under The Quinoa Rainbow

Throughout the season quinoa has proven to be a top performer, a plant I intend on growing wherever/whenever I have the chance to garden. The plants I grew this summer exceeded my expectations, growing twice as tall (about 8' instead of 4') as the seed package stated. The bushy seed clusters at the top of each plant exhibit a wide array of variability, at least as far as colors are concerned. A quick glance down the row reveals an unexpected explosion of color, from red, orange, yellow and beige (typically sold in stores). With the advent of fall the seed clusters are nearing harvest time, after the first frost.

Mobile Pepper Planter

The handiwork of my friend Erik, these portable planters provide a number of great solutions for the temperate climate pepper grower.

When planning his vegetable garden Erik quickly realized that containers would be the best option; the topsoil in his backyard contains numerous bowling ball sized rocks and various construction debris left over from when the house was built. To accommodate his needs he has employed various large plastic containers, including these storage totes which have a capacity of around 15-20 gallons.

Erik drilled between 15-20 3/8" sized holes in each container for drainage, and planted six equally spaced pepper seedlings grown indoors from seed.

On the left are a nice pair of purple bells and to the right a prolific 'popper' pepper

Erik also planted jalapeno, cayenne, golden bell and anchos (seen fruiting on left)

In addition to avoiding the very unusable ground, these containers have the advantage of mobility. This can be of particular use as fall approaches and the position of the sun changes. The containers are easily moved to follow the sun's declining arc. Another exciting advantage will be the ability to move the peppers indoors when the temperatures drop. I recently learned that peppers are a perennial--which, unlike most other annual garden vegetables which grow for one season and die-- and can live and continue fruiting for several years if grown under proper conditions.

Erik plans to experiment with growing a few of the plants indoors. It will be interesting to see how they respond to the new conditions.