Harvest Has Been Killed

Now that this year's formerly promising crop has probably been ruined (the strong winds and heavy snow looked to be crushing it to the ground) we're regrouping and trying to think of a plan B...or plan C. The quality of the wheat is way down. It might be feed wheat, IF we can get it.

Even though we knew this horrible weather was probably coming, the garden isn't finished. There were long days trying to combine the wheat, and then it was just wet and miserable outside. I wasn't going to pick tomatoes in the cold rain, so we covered them (and the squash vines) with blankets and old truck tarps between showers. When (if?) it warms up and dries a bit (also questionable) I'll uncover things and see if anything survived. I'm afraid the hard freeze Tuesday will do them in.

I spent the last fairly decent afternoon (it was too wet for combining) digging up my dahlias and gladiola bulbs. I hated doing that as they were all so lush. I did get several bouquets of the last blossoms first. Some of those were shared at church. The tubers and bulbs, with all the greenery still attached, were placed in the garage for a few days to allow the plants to transfer all their goodness to the tubers and bulbs for next year's beauty.

The still un-repotted geraniums were drug into the garage after covering the garden. Frost was threatening and I just ran out of time (and the energy needed) to repot them. It didn't freeze at our place that night, but the winds got really strong so it felt like it was freezing. I was dreading working with the plants in that wind, so Dennis asked why I didn't just repot them inside the garage? He's so smart, sometimes I hate him. So I drug my large tub of potting soil inside and got all the plants repotted. They're safely in the house now and I hope they survive the transplanting shock.

After hauling all those newly potted plants inside, I went back out to the cold garage and cut the tops off all the dahlias and gladiolas. Those are all in an old Styrofoam cooler. Dennis took them, along with my little pressure washer and my weed spraying unit up to the shop, that's kept at 40° all winter so they won't freeze and crack the wands. He'd already used the air compressor to blow the water out of the hoses and shut off the hydrant. The spilled dirt and trash from the dahlias and glads will get swept up sometime.

I roasted a lot of the peppers (about 12) along with a couple onions in the air fryer. The stem ends and seeds were removed, then they were roughly chopped into 1-2" chunks. The onions were sliced into thick rings and added to the bowl of peppers. I drizzled a tablespoon each of olive oil and Worcestershire over them, then stirred. The lot was dumped into the basket, and they were air fried at 320° for 15 minutes, stirred, and fried again another 15 minutes. You can freeze them for later use if you don't eat them all at once.

I still have potatoes to dig. There might be more squash, it was hard to see through the thick vines. I did bring a few inside before covering. If the tomatoes survive, I'll be doing a bit more canning as they ripen inside. Once it's drier, there should be an abundance of carrots. I like the following two recipes. I also like carrot cake, but with the WLC, I'm not currently ingesting flour or sugar, so that will have to wait.

Whipped Carrots

1 lb carrots

1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground is best

2-3 Tbl butter

2-3 Tbl honey

Steam carrots over boiling water until tender. Whip with an immersion blender until light and fluffy. Add the butter and honey. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

This next one doesn't have set amounts as is one of those dishes you throw together until it looks right. Just try not to overpower the carrots with the other ingredients. I used gypsy peppers, summer squash, the late side heads of broccoli, and of course onions.

Fried Carrots Plus

Carrots, sliced the long way or diagonally

Butter

Onion, optional

Sweet peppers, optional

Celery, optional

Zucchini, optional

Cabbage, optional

Chicken bullion, granules or cube

Fry the veggies in butter. Use any amount, but not enough to overpower the carrots. After about 10 minutes, add the chicken bouillon and a small amount of water. Cook until tender, stirring often.

I'm hoping we have a nice, long Indian summer after this bit of nasty weather.