I know it is September and I am blogging about August. I can blame it on COVID, right? That one will be an excuse around for a long time right? What happened… why didn’t you get this assignment in? … COVID. Did you finish your job training? … nope… COVID. Laundry not done? COVID. Dinner not prepped? COVID. … See where I’m going with this?

Our garden flourished this year. We expanded it to be larger and add more crops. Because it was right in our backyard And visible from our porch, it was given much more attention…. weeding, pruning. Month 3 was all about sunflowers and harvesting.

We (and by we, I mean my husband) harvest the sunflower seeds. When the flowers are heavy and drooping and a grey stripe is visible on the seeds, we (he) cut down the flower, wipe away the yellow fuzzies (technical term), and pluck out the seeds. The seeds are then soaked in salt water for a couple of hours. Then they are spread out on a baking sheet, seasoned with salt (we use seasoning salt), and then put in the oven at 200 overnight… or about 10 hours. Leave the oven door cracked. After the seeds cool down, you can store them in an air tight container. They make for a tasty snack!

This may have been my favorite gardening season yet! So much zucchini bread, sautéed zucchini, pickles, salsa, corn on the cob, peas, beans!

And we got new chickens!!

I’m not ready for gardening season to be over. We are trying our hand at a fall garden this year. More about that in another post.

Do you garden? How was your year? What is your favorite thing to grow?