Garden Fuss

Some how my internal cold monitor went off in time for us to get the potatoes dug up. Wouldn't you know as I post this update the news is reporting that last night we finally reached official first frost temps at the Twin Cities International Airport. I guess I do have 6th sense when it comes to cold.... Well, I have been dreading this for some time now due to our unusually early cold weather. Yes we are in Minnesota the land of schizophrenic climates that can change in the blink of an eye. But it doesn't help to be achy and sniffly and just plain zapped from the dryness and lack of sunlight these days. What's a girl to do? I've tried first bribng then ultimately shaming the kids into digging them up. I even thought about teaching the hound to dig potatoes for a nice scooby snack. None of my drama and theatrics was successful so I had to get my big toosh up with my big girl panties on, wrap my neck, and bundle up to begin my last adventure in the garden this year.

If you are like me you've been checking daily for ripe heirloom tomatoes to make it some how to ripeness before the frost. Well, yesterday my sister in-law made me and my younger unit (the daughter) get to it! in the garden. We pulled up all of the big beautiful heirloom tomato plants as well as the volunteer varieties that gave and gave and gave all summer and into these few days of fall. There are now three very large BUCKETS of green and red tomatoes of every variety that need to be processed. I have felt sick looking at them last night and first thing this morning. I am a little hesitant due to the long week I've had to get the kettles (canners) boiling, and the stock pot readied to hold massive amounts of green stuff. **SIGH** Oh the green is over flowing and I am sad they didn't make it to their ultimate goals of brown and yellow ripeness. Just yesterday we had "The Best" BLT's using 2 large black krim tomatoes, which we served with wild rice soup. I k