From loyal (fellow New England) correspondent Currants:
Last Saturday and Sunday were not just our first frost, but our first freeze for the year. Like everything else this summer, I was behind and spent Friday and Saturday morning trying to pull everything out of the garden that could still ripen. Friday I had a three-year-old leprechaun helper (eldest granddaughter), who’s been an avid gardener and outdoors kid from the beginning.
So we pulled in the houseplants that live outside in good weather, transplanted one (broken pot from a poorly-chosen interim location), gathered all the sizeable tomatoes (the golden treasure and Berkeley tie-dies and Pozzano plums), an entire box of tomatillos so far, and took a paddle in a kayak to see how close we could get to the wood ducks (about 150 ft) and the wild mallards.
Saturday I pulled the last of the cubanelle peppers and black beans, and the rest of the carrots are still waiting (but if I wait too long the mice will beat me). The tomatillo plants had at least as many tomatillos on as I picked, but they weren’t filled out–this was the first time I’ve tried growing them, and the plants are spindly and sprawling—and incredibly prolific.
I’m still figuring out what to do with all these green things. The tomatoes are mostly in the basement, waiting to ripen, and the tomatillos have made two different salsas (one roasted, one not), but clearly, a slow-cooker day is on the books for the coming week. Or maybe enchiladas–anyone have any other good (quick) ideas?