Two years ago the soil, that is now the South East garden barely supported weeds. Last year I barely got any produce from this garden even though I had added plenty of organic matter. This year I went all in. Two trailer loads of compost from the city compost and then an additional 3-4 inches of compost that I created and layered on the surface of compost mulch.

Took several days, this spring, to do all of that but barely had to do anything to the garden for the remainder of the summer other than pulling some weeds. Definitely happy with the results!

Looks like the pumpkins will be a nice size and there will be plenty of popcorn for movie nights!

Over the last few weeks I have started two compost piles. I will create an article, probably later in the winter, on more details but my goal is to use the compost as a mulch for weed control. I do not chop up the compost "ingredients" rather I just throw fully intact plants (often weeds), last years hay from the bale gardens, grass clippings, and any other organic matter I can get my hands on. In the initial stages I go for more greens than what are required as my goal is to kill as many weed seeds as possible.

Another new project this year is grain sorghum! Looks like I will have a nice crop but I will need to figure out how to best harvest, clean, and dry it. Then it will be time to grind into flour! Time to learn how to cook with another gluten free grain!

Looks like I will have plenty of sugar beets! First time I have ever grown them and also first time I will be making my own sugar! Will be a few weeks but rest assured I will be sharing!

The potatoes are finally harvested! Took a lot of work over three days but well worth it and the results were plentiful!

We have actually eaten a bunch of them but time to get them all out of the garden!

Today, when harvesting potatoes I found something I have never seen in my entire life! A fully intact seed potato (well a wedge) that not only supported a potato plant but produced potatoes as well! Proof that 2020 has brought us wonders, sometimes they are just below the surface!

I had a great crop for spaghetti squash this year! Like all gardeners, we receive our reward towards the end of the season. All the work we have done to improve growing conditions, plant the seeds, keeping the weeds at bay, making sure the plants have the required nutrients, and watching for disease pays us back in fresh food!

My favorite way to eat spaghetti squash is to use in place of pasta. Its a great replacement for those of us who need to adhere to a gluten free diet!