The Little Greenhouse has been emptied. Which is to say, the final seedlings have been transplanted out into the field.

It’s kind of odd, putting these tender babies out even as our calendar is reminding us of looming potential first frost dates … but this is the nature of our short growing season, and the nature of life itself. 

Winter is coming, yup, but it sure isn’t around these parts just yet.

Turns out that highs in the upper 80’s don’t feel all that much more awesome to work in than the upper 90s did. But at least it finally rained a decent amount – on Saturday (during the farmer’s market, natch) – a whopping 0.98″! Was the first one-incher since the hailstorm back in June.  We’re still 50 or 60 percent below the average rain for the year.

It’s dry, but we have been specializing in moisture maximization. all along … so we have a tool set to work with, as things get drier and hotter more often.

The High Tunnel Horror has been exposed as a particular hen.

We could put her in chicken jail, but her depredations to date have remained minimal; she’s not a voracious tomato-pecker, and seems to have specialized in small watermelons now … which works out as the ones she has hollowed have been of the variety we plant just to pollinate the yummy kind.  So we’ll wait and see.

Here’s some stuff Bandit didn’t eat, and you can:

Inside Box 13

• Edamame – You can’t eat the pods. Don’t. Instead you boil them and salt them and enjoy popping them out of their pods with your mouth. Or if there are too many to eat soon, you can freeze them, make hummus, toss them in stir fries, You probably have ideas.
• Cabbage – This is the final cabbage of the year. (Unless you consider Brussels Sprouts to he miniature cabbages, as we do).
• Broccoli – the fall crop arrives!
• Onions
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Radishes
• Zucchini
• Tomatoes
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Not Hot Peppers – Loose in the box. Everyone is getting different kinds, and I don’t know what yours is. Also, we can’t remember all these things.
• Hot Peppers – Jalepenos or Cherry Bombs. In a bag, not loose in the box with the not-hots.)