Time flies.

I cannot believe it already has almost been three weeks since we last posted.  I always like to post every week, but it has been a few wild weeks around here.  Basically we have been cutting flowers every second day and then delivering them to the city the following day and then at the end of the week we would prepare for market and it would start all over again on Sunday.  There also were a couple of weddings thrown in the mix, but as of Sunday we have now become flowerless (if that is even a word).  We had a frost kill pretty much all of the flowers.  There are a few things that were not affected, but for the most part we can start cleaning up the gardens.  Pat was doing the happy dance Monday morning.  I always have mixed emotions about this time of year, but it has been an incredibly busy summer for us that I, as well, am relieved it has come to an end (in some ways).  I am going to miss the dahlias as they were extra beautiful this year and we were reminded of how nice they were all the time by our customers at the market and our florist customers.

Dahlias, Cosmos and Sweet Peas

The wedding flowers we created this summer were well received and hope to do more of this next summer.  We had a successful crop of corn, along with the celery, both of which enjoy lots of moisture, which was in abundance.  We were able to harvest all the tomatoes, corn, peppers, cucumbers and herbs before the frost hit.   Excellent crops for all the above.  The peppers, jalapeno and cayenne, are full of heat this year and we have started to make salsa and tomato sauce.  As I write this I am munching on roasted cherry tomatoes that have been in the oven for a few hours this evening.  They are like candy, chewy and sweet.  Planning on making a batch of tomato jam, will keep you posted as to how it turns out.  The garlic crop was bountiful, the cloves are large, crisp and very strong flavour.  A little goes a long way.

This week I am going to dig a few varieties of Asiatic lily bulbs to sell at the Saskatoon Farmers Market and will make a few bundles of dried flowers.  Pat made the first batch of horseradish for market sales this past weekend and we sold all but one jar.  He will make more this week and will have the root available to purchase for this weekend.  There will be a few varieties of dried herbs, garlic, fresh celery, green onions, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and hopefully fresh cilantro.