Did I say before that I think I overdid it on my tomatoes in the garden? Now I'm quite sure of it! They're all growing intertwined together with one another and the tomatillos (which are also working hard to take over as much space as possible).

But on the up side, my basil has done better than ever this year because I planted it in between tomato plants. It has been shaded from our most drastic heat and hasn't bolted early.

And as of now, there are no little "flakes" in our local weather forecast and the low number for tonight is around 40. I think the green tomatoes and tomatillos will be OK after all! (But I may still pull a few to expose my kids to fried green tom's this evening anyway.)

Have I really not blogged since Wed? I know, I posted enough to last a few days, but I'm trying hard to write something every day.

Today is harvest day. We're expecting freezing temperatures overnight and a possibility of snow.  The basil HAS to come out (of course), and my peppers and green tomatoes - maybe I'll make salsa verde with some of them. There are 2 more ripe pumpkins (the kids claimed the first two). I was really surprised I only got 4 pumpkins this year when at one point I had at least 50 blossoms - I'll have to figure out for next year what they needed but didn't get this year. I'm hoping I can do something to protect the immature tomatillos (tons of them) so I can make more of an absolutely awesome salsa I got a tiny bit of last month. And I think the potatoes can stay in the ground if they need a little more time - last time I checked they were still kind of small.

But first I need to work on straigtening up the office. I don't know how this room gets so messy when all we do is school & computer stuff in here!

As promised, here are the pictures of my gardens. I love these beds my hubby built. I just figured out I have about 128 square feet just for my veggies - and I use it like it's not enough!

First, here's our flower bed. It has 4 rose bushes, several other perennials, and lots of bulbs for color in the spring until everything else comes out:

The flower bed forms a sort of base for these other beds that go terraced up the side of the yard:

From bottom to top, the beds are growing:

Corn & Pumpkins

Tomatoes, Basil, Tomatillos & Hot Peppers

Cucumbers (this one had lettuce & spinach until it got too hot) & Carrots (only one left)

Strawberries (which are attempting to take over the rest of the gardens)

Potatoes

Miscellaneous - the Cilantro I forgot to plant with the "salsa bed," a Sunflower and a fruitless attempt at Peas (because I forgot they're cold-weather and didn't plant them until May)

Here's another view from the top looking down:

And a close-up of the pumpkin & corn bed. I think I overdid it with the pumpkins!

Finally, my children have been practicing their landscaping skills with a bit of sod the neighbor's landscaper gave them and bits of rock and mulch. This is rather attractive!

My hubby built me the most AWESOME raised garden beds, and now we're enjoying the (literal) fruits of our labors. I'll have to post photos of the garden tomorrow. (It was too dark outside once I got the camera battery charged.) Tonight for dinner we had some fresh corn on the cob (this is a variety that's small to begin with; the ears aren't "stunted") along with fresh cucumber slices:

And, yes the sunflower came out of the garden, too. (As soon as I cut it, about 4 more blooms opened up.)

And here are the cukes and one cayenne (which is just waiting for ripe tomatoes to help it make salsa).

Yes, they are that huge! After I harvested these, I had to go back and look at the seed package to make sure I hadn't let them grow too huge. The variety (I had forgotten what I bought by now) is called "Yellow Submarine." Yeah, I get it.

I've also had lots of lettuce & spinach, fresh basil and plenty of cherry tomatoes. (And already made fresh pesto once!) Soon I'll have romas & early girls. (I would have had some ripen earlier if the kids hadn't decided the first green tomatoes were to be thrown in the street as bombs.) And later on we'll have potatoes, too!

Tomorrow looks like a good day to teach the kids about making pickles!