Late Fall In Our Garden

Most of our summer edibles are gone. But one wax bean plant is still producing a profusion of shiny little beans. I assume they're tasty, but can't really say. My three-year-old has claimed them as exclusively his.

It's a great strategy for getting kids to eat veggies. We steam up a batch of mostly store-bought green beans, topped with our homegrown yellow ones. My husband and I look longingly at the wax beans, but our son hordes them all.

Another great kid veg: potatoes. Need I say it? They're fun to dig up. We've planted the remains of our last year's yukon golds and they're thriving. We stored the seed potatoes in a wine fridge over the summer. It's a small, 8-bottle cellar, so there was something of a Sophie's Choice going on all summer--more potatoes, less wine.

A lot of our last fall's seed was still viable this fall. Indeed, some of the lettuce and spinach seed I'd left in the fridge (in a plastic bag), took off immediately.

We're trying a new variety of beet this year. I bought some Bull's Blood from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I'm already enjoying these gorgeous red greens in my salads.