Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Radish Experiment

     About three weeks ago I tilled up the Central Garden.  A week later I noticed some sprouts where earlier I had let some radishes flower and develop seed pods.  Knowing that the winds of November will come, I thought putting a low tunnel over them might give the extra warmth they would need to supply me with some radishes this fall.
Volunteer Radishes.....

.....Protected by Mini-Greenhouse from Cold Fall Days
     I could have used one of the low tunnels I used for the tomatoes, but I still had these transparent sliding doors from the collapsed greenhouse I obtained a couple of years ago.  Hinging them together and setting them in an old bedframe was an easy task.  All that  remains is closing up the ends on cold nights.  I'm using pieces of old carpet, but one could use almost anything from cardboard to an old feed sack to a piece of plywood.  Fasten it to the ends with whatever you have.  I'm using baling wire.  With a little luck, I'll have radishes in 2 or 3 weeks.

The Pantry

The Harvest

     Everything else from the garden except for a few rows of carrots is on the porch, in jars or eaten by now.  The few tomatoes that aren't in jars are in a box in the pantry.  The potatoes and carrots will go to the root cellar. There were only a couple of buttercup squash, and along with the unprocessed tomatoes, will be used by Thanksgiving.


Peafowl 3 months old



Poultry Report


   The guineas and the peafowl are between 3 and 4  months old and doing well.
Guineas 4 months old

     A couple of times a day we hear loud squawking from their house.  At first we thought they might be warning us of varmits, but later realized they were just having choir practice.  They must be improving because I'm enjoying their music more and more every day.




     The chickens are still giving us 3 or 4 eggs a day, but with the days getting shorter, they'll probably stop completely some time in November. As refrigerated, eggs maintain their grade A rating for 60 days, we should have eggs until about January.


     Although it's jacket weather, with temperatures in the 40's to high 50's F in the day and freezing most nights, it's still pleasant enough most days to work outside.  It looks like I'll continue to work on these outside projects until the winds of November blow me into my hibernation mode.

     Until that time comes, enjoy this beautiful autumn weather.  Enjoy the nasty days too.  They help prepare you to recognize and appreciate the beautiful winter days when they arrive.


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