After the big chill

The outdoor growing season is officially over. If you haven't looked yet, your yard is probably a black/brown mess. If it isn't, it will be in the next 24 hours.

Did you save the green tomatoes? Did you cut the remaining flowers and bring them in? Have the houseplants come back inside?

I have about a half bushel of greenish tomatoes to make chutney or relish with. I have several shopping bags full of basil to be stripped of leaves. There are tomatillos and ground cherries to make salsa with.

Still outside are some abandoned plants—bamboo and sugar cane. I just don't have room for them in the greenhouse anymore. It is tough mentally to just let a plant die when you spend so many hours watering and tending them.

Then there are the happy co-workers who found a nice home for the dahlias...

Chris Danforth, Laura Woodruff and Mary Lee with dahlias

I was somewhat surprised to feel responsible for abandoning basil and collard to cold weather after an abundant growing season in Saint Paul.

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