Port Potager

In addition to the basil that I cut and dried back in October , I also brought in some other herbs to dry before the first expected freeze . Those are now completely dried, and today I put them in mason jars to store them: From left to right are sage, tarragon, and marjoram. At the time, it felt like I brought in armloads of herbs, but when they dry, they really shrink down. In the middle of the summer it seems like there's no way you could ever use all the herbs you plant, but drying them for storage is a whole other matter. Now I don't think there is such a thing as planting too much! I also cut several bunches of the cilantro that is still growing in one of our greenhouse tunnels. We managed to time this perfectly, because the colder weather has kept it from going to seed — something that I've never been able to keep on top of in the summer. Anyway, I only brought in a fraction of what is out there:  So I was thinking that this was a gigantic bunch of...

As I write this, it is snowing. Check the date: October 27. That's some crazy shit right there, people. We knew this was coming, but I have to be honest: I did not believe that forecast AT ALL. With the exception of that killed-back basil , we haven't even had a real frost yet. TV weather people up here are notorious for hyping up the forecast, so I wasn't buying it. Until last night, when we read the freeze warning from the National Weather Service, that is. Then, like stupid summer grasshoppers , we had to scramble. So, in the dark and the cold, we went outside and managed to put it up a green house tunnel: Kirk set up 10 foot long , 1/2-inch pvc pipes to make the hoops (four of them). Then he zip-tied another one along the top to support the plastic sheeting. The plastic sheeting is held down by scrap lengths of wood from the raised beds. This was no fun to put together in the dark of night, and it all felt very half-assed. Seeing the picture, though, makes us ...