We’ve had several hard freezes here the last week so the garden is basically done, except for the celery and Brussel Sprouts, which I was able to protect.
I am surprised at the crop I got from the celery. I have been busy drying the leaves for celery flakes to add to soups and stews in the event that this winter celery should become unavailable.
The forecast for the northeast is for a week in the 60’s and lows in the 40’s. This is great as mr. mm and I are getting a LOT of outdoor stuff done. We expect to have our wood pile all split and stacked by the end of the week.
I’ve cleaned out most of the garden and will have the straw ready to cover the garlic and asparagus beds when the ground freezes.
I got about 20 butternut squash, which will last us a good long time, and need to get those down into the garage for storage. They are finished curing.
I’m already planning out next year’s garden and will be starting celery, Brussel sprouts, onions, and shallots, earlier in the spring than I did this year.
Not sure what kind of squash I’ll grow next year. I have enough pumpkin from last year yet, most of it canned, to last me a long time. I guess I’ll have to see how fast the butternut gets eaten and how long it will keep.
I still have WAY too much pumpkin and butternut in the freezer, so this year I grew Thelma Sander's Sweet Potato Squash. It's very good! And plenty of seeds for roasting, too.
It's an acorn-type, but keeps longer and actually has FLAVOR. It's quite sweet so you can drastically cut back on the brown sugar, if you like it that way. I find regular Acorn squash exceedingly BORING.
It's also an Heirloom variety. Baker Creek and Jung's both carry seed for it.
**Tip for people just starting to use or grow them! Before you Peel your Butternut squash, cut the stem end, cut off round slices 1/2 to 3/4 " thick...Now you can peel easily around the outside and cube for steaming or boiling! To store, put cellophane over the cut end and set it cellophane side down on the counter. (Stores that way for several days!)