we have a dozen tomatoes on the counter top left from
before the frosts came along and we were able to get
the rest of the green tomatoes off the plants before
they were damaged.

they may not be as good as a sun ripened tomato, but
they are perfectly acceptable. we've had sandwiches
with them the past week a few times and will finish
them off soon.

the other day i was checking some plants out in the
north garden and found some decently sized turnips that
were planted mid-summer. i was rather surprised at
how large they had gotten. since i can't cook them
here i ended up picking them to give to someone else
the next day and she was very happy to have them along
with some garlic to eat and plant.

i'm still finding acceptable dry beans to pick and
shell, but most are done and already somewhat sorted.
have yet to combine and weigh them. nor have i quite
figured out what to do with all of the crosses that
have shown up. some rather nicely decorative and
worth keeping and seeing if they will breed true or
if they will wander into different types yet before
settling down. garden plots next year will be
interesting to lay out and keep track of what is
planted where.

the largest project is at a holding pattern now as i
have finished most of the digging of the temporary
trench:

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_8354_7062_CPE.jpg

180ft of enjoyable exercise, a shovel at a time. the
long pile of dirt is over the trench i put in for the
drain tubes (down 3-5ft for 110ft), those tubes provide
drainage for the fenced gardens and the other low area
to the west of the fenced gardens. the long pile of
dirt will get added to and reshaped next season to
become the berm. until then i hope the trench and berm
will be enough to avert any more floods for the winter
and spring.


songbird