Fall Garden

So for the fall I didn't plant as much as I would have liked to. I never got around to digging out another bed. But I did get some collards planted. Andrew is a picky eater when it comes to leafy greens. He doesn't eat salad. His problem is he doesn't like condiments of any kind. he doesn't eat mustard or salad dressing. No BBQ or even homemade ketchup. He has a really strong aversion to vinegar. When I clean with it I have to do it when he's not around, because the smell of vinegar really bothers him. I love vinegar, but that's another topic. But he does really like collard greens. They are very easy to prepare. I tear them up and saute them just briefly with some olive oil and garlic. I also put it another round of radishes. I grew them quite successfully in early spring. They are a quick crop - about four days to germinate and about twenty two to harvest. I actually planted them almost two weeks ago, and they didn't germinate right away. I had a few seeds left so I was going to try again, but then we had days of rain from Lee, so I had to wait. Then, when I went out yesterday, low and behold, little baby radishes! Maybe it was all the rain, or the drop in temperatures? I'm not sure, but I don't think radishes do well in really hot weather. I'm still getting peppers, though they are much smaller than the ones I was getting. I've frozen about thirty green peppers, not to mention the fresh ones we've been eating weekly. The rest I will let turn red before I pick them. I harvest the onions and garlic, both having turned out great, although some of the garlic was small. Also, it got so hot my beans died, but I was able to dry a bunch of the pods for next year. We got a grand total of five apples from the apple tree, which truth be told is five more than I thought we would get. And oh the cucumbers! I finally just quit watering them. I have never eaten so many cucumbers in my life! I was not sad when they died. I've been canning and freezing like crazy, and this will be our first winter eating  mostly our own preserved foods. I'm already dreaming about next spring, making grandiose plans that are probably way to big to handle. I look forward to having even more next year.