Getting Ready for Fall

We're beginning the transformation to the winter garden.  Usually it's hard to even think about it, but the monsoon has been in overdrive this year and it's been cool and cloudy for weeks here.  We might make it back into the hundreds next week, but really I don't think the weather people really know.  Anything except sunny seems to be really taxing for them.

The peppers have finally begun producing, so we're keeping them around a little longer.  We still have rotations of beets and carrots growing.  We have a spot cleared and just need to throw down some more carrot seed for the next batch.  We did much better rotating those this year.  We need to remember to toss in a few radishes a little more often, but they bolt a little faster so a whole section wouldn't be worth it.

We pulled some of the squashes.  They were losing the battle with the squash bugs and the aphids.  Time to look for more lacewings.  We also pulled the heatwave tomatoes, which didn't seem to like the heat waves we've had.  In fact, the only tomatoes that have done really well in our yard are the ones we didn't even plant.  We had a few pop up in the front which have been giving us little pear shaped tomatoes.

We're working on a new area for more onions and for garlic.  We need to finish the digging in the path for the cob oven before we can load in some more topsoil, though.  Hubby's working on that one.  He stayed outside in the drizzling rain we had yesterday to dig up some more clay and mix it with sand for the outer layer.

Our biggest pest this week are the ants.  We spread some lettuce seed, but noticed little ants carrying it away.  Looks like someone is getting ready for winter by hijacking our winter food.  Unfortunately, unlike the worms, we can't feed the ants to the chickens.

They would be too little to rip in half.

It's MINE!!!!