The big harvest

Now's the time to get the bulk of the harvest in, preferrably to store and preserve for the winter.  However, the bulk of the harvest in my case is about two rows of potatoes and five pumpkins and squashes.  Oh well...  We don't have adequate cool storage for a lot of potatoes, so have been digging them up when needed--when the tops die back fully we'll have dig them all up (at least another week or two).  I anticipate them lasting us for another six or eight weeks, which should bring us to the end of the Vegetable Challenge.

Luckily the pumpkins and squashes are easier to store, though by weight they might actually be about equal with the potatoes.  I will save them till the fresh veg runs low--and of course one is destined for Halloween (we'll carve it on the day and cook it the next).  I hope to have our own potatoes and squash for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I've got a smaller "bulk" harvest of tomatoes coming in now.  Though none are very big, many are turning red despite it being a typical cooler/rainier summer (and don't normally get many red tomatoes from).  Twice last week I picked around a pound of tomatoes;  we've eaten some fresh and I'm trying to get in a few liters of salsa fresca too (once brined and fermented, it lasts a few months in the fridge).

The only other bulk harvest to come in is the plums, but again, it's not a big one--I was hoping to make a jug of plum cider this year but it doesn't look like there's enough.  And most of the fruits seem to have plum maggots (not a problem for cider, but not so nice for eating);  the chickens have had the majority of them so far.