Fall Harvest Time!

Happy Fall! It is my favorite time of the year!  

It has been an excellent year for my little patio container garden and fall means it is time to harvest all that remains as our first frost will be soon on its way. I have gathered many juicy plum tomatoes and Hatch style and Calabrian style Red Chili Peppers throughout September. The photo above shows a small portion of them.

I started the vegetables as seeds in March in little flower pots that I placed by a sunny window.  Every seed was collected from vegetables that we had eaten that I dried and saved.  I had more plants than I had room to plant on my patio, so I also gave some to my son and some to neighbors.

I planted the tomatoes and peppers outside when the danger of frost was over--here in Colorado that was early June. At that time I also planted seeds for zucchini, basil, and dill in various outdoor containers and took out the perennial herbs that I overwinter in pots in my garage. The perennial herbs I grow are two types of thyme, rosemary, spearmint, oregano, sage, and lemon balm, as well as a fig tree. The perennials go dormant in fall/winter but "wake up" and grow again in summer. 

 I love watching everything grow!  

I also plant many flowers in my garden, and all are also from seeds that I saved in the fall.  As you can see from the photo collage above the local deer also admire all the annual flowers---smile.  My daughter and oldest granddaughter gave me the pretty plaque for my garden that is in the upper right corner of the photo collage above.

As you can see in the photos above, we often see deer right outside our windows!  I saw a doe with twin fawns come by from time to time and I believe they may have been the fawns that were born in my backyard in spring-- click here to see that post. They are getting big!

When my sunflowers began to wilt and dry up I cut off some of the heads and left them for the birds to eat. The squirrels and bunnies also had a very good time eating the seeds.

I also started the seed harvesting process all over again as well as drying or freezing herbs for use all winter, in the top, left photo, are marigold flowers that I deadheaded. I dry them and save them to plant next spring. Next to them are drying dill seeds. At the bottom left is basil that I wash, dry, and puree in my food processor and freeze in ice cube trays.  I use the cubes to flavor tomato sauce and sauces and soups all winter long. on the right is spearmint leaves which I dry and save for mint tea.

What have I been doing with all this summer produce?  Cooking!  In addition to the previous zucchini recipes, I posted--click here- I have also been making ricotta zucchini blossom fritters from a recipe that I found on this blog, and also making many zucchini walnut loaf cakes.

I enjoyed using ripe garden tomatoes all summer long in salads and soups and other recipes and I've made batches of tomato sauce to freeze.

I made stir fries, and taco casseroles, and other recipes that called for peppers with the Hatch style and Calabrian style peppers I grew, and also some were roasted, steamed, and then frozen for further use.

My Colorado Green Pork Chili recipe is so good and we look forward to having it every fall.

The deer rut is happening in our area and the bucks are all very actively searching for a female doe.  It is another sign of fall in Colorado!  As you can see in the photo above, we must drive carefully as they have "right of way" on our local roads.

Autumn colors are beginning to bloom all around Colorado!  I think it is the best time of the year--do you also love fall the best of all?

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