What a growing season it has been here in Northern Illinois! We had a late hard freeze (temperatures in the 20s) in early May as well as snow on Mother’s Day (mid-May). Combined, these events killed the buds off of my fruit trees and made a late start to the garden. Nonetheless, it was a great year for growing. I am still harvesting from the garden in spite of frost in early October and our first snowfall yesterday! I grew new things this year and had some vegetable plants show up that I didn’t plant. Even the unexpected guests thrived and produced well.

I was able to get away for a long weekend with my husband to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. The weather was glorious that weekend- as it was the day we were married- warm, spectacular fall colors and lots of activity along the scenic Great River Road in Iowa and Wisconsin. Even in late October, the fall colors persist and are still worth a country drive to enjoy.

I am almost finished compiling and analyzing the data I collected during this growing season and will post that when it is finished. But so far I have harvested about 450 lbs. of fresh produce from my backyard garden- an area of less than 1000 sq. ft. It would have been much more if I had fruit trees that were able to bear. My basement storage shelves are overflowing with canned goods. It’s going to be a great winter with so much home-grown produce in our home.

My best to you- Dr. Z