Overdue Update

Just a few quick pictures of what is left in the garden. Clay took these pictures about two weeks ago. We don't have any sunflowers left but the cosmos are still bright and colorful.


We are still getting a lot of bell peppers from the garden. I'm trying to keep my ears open to when the first freeze will be here. I will need to pick anything left growing to put in our freezer before then. The latest peppers are super sweet and great for salads or eating fresh. We also have several hot peppers that I could pick and let dry out.

I have loved the mesclun lettuce that we planted this fall. The combination of different greens have such a varied taste that you really don't need to add anything else to the salad except dressing. The spinach didn't do well at all, you can barely find the baby leaves among the weeds. The kale is doing great, but I can't seem to find a favorite recipe to use it. I've been giving bags away to any takers.

Other garden adventures have been taking place at Christiansburg Elementary with the Wildlife Club. The students have enjoyed snacking on the last cherry tomatoes, picking weeds, finding worms, smelling herbs, and turning the compost bin (that isn't really composting well, they just like to turn it). We have so many great ideas to do with the club, just not enough time to organize it all. I have also been helping to keep up our school pond that has turned a snotty green because our pump broke. We got it fixed for free with the help of Tetra Aquatic and it is slowly clearing up. I love having my classroom near the pond. I can send a few kids out at a time to read in the fresh air and watch them from my window or take the whole group out. At the end of the day I let the second load bus kids go out and help skim the pond to scoop out all the leaves that are piling up in it.

I also had my first Virginia Master Naturalist fieldtrip at Glen Alton and another trip tomorrow at Brown's Farm. I can't wait to spend some time outdoors with the perfect fall weather!!