I Know It’s Over
Two weekends ago marked the end of eating from the yard. Our final tomato was consumed. Before it got cold in November, I picked and placed all the green tomatoes in bags to ripen. The majority of them made it.
I do have one bed eking out a small kale and lettuce existence under row cover. But I don’t think I’ll ever get to be one of those 4 season gardeners. The sense of relief in putting away the tools and closing down the beds for the year is too good to ignore.
Notes for next year: Feed plants with compost more frequently, produce responded better than in years past because I was diligent in throwing down some food once a month. Try Surround WP on apple and peach tree next year to protect from squirrels and other pests. Fava and butter beans did poorly because of lack of care, use rear beds for them instead of tomatoes. Space tomatoes farther apart. Keep sowing carrots throughout season.
Going through a kitchen renovation starting January 9. Will post pictures starting next week. Hope everyone had a happy holiday and best wishes for a wonderful 2014.
North Jersey Gardener 
Kitchen renovation?!? Exciting! Can’t wait to see what fabulous functional upgrades you guys execute.
It’s funny you mention late veggies, earlier today I ran across 2 tiny tomatoes I had left in our kitchen window still ripening at least a month ago. They were still mostly green but dried out. It wasn’t enough to bother putting in a bag. Sounds like you’ve got great ideas for the spring 🙂
Hey Alana! Yes, things are starting to fall apart in there. Laminate has split and the particle board counter has engorged itself with water. No backsplash along the counters has caused the walls behind to deteriorate. Cabinets are wonky and old. Flooring is splitting at the seams. A chunk of it would be salvageable with repair, but on the whole, the kitchen was never our style anyway, so out with the old and in with the new. Cabinets from IKEA have been purchased and now occupy most of that room with the skylights, waiting for assembly. Will post more when we get started next month.