Out with the Old...

Just cleaned up the garden yesterday---pulling up all the tomato plants and cucumber plants. The nights have really gotten too chilly for anything more to happen, but I did leave the peppers out there, since some of them seem to be still growing (?!). It reminds me now of the blank canvas way back at the beginning of the year... and so I've already begun to look at seeds for next year, which I believe I'm going to get from here.

The Hudson Valley Seed Library is located in up(ish)state NY. This is a double-plus in my book: heirlooms are tastier, are developed to fit a specific region over time (for NY, that means plants that can withstand a shorter growing season), and also it supports local/small-scale enterprises, rather than those giant multi-national corporations that hog so much of the seed industry now. Okay, so that might be a triple-plus... even better!

Next year I'm especially excited to try and plant ground cherries. They're supposed to be citrus flavored, and come in their own packaging! What's not to love about these lil' guys? And they supposedly make some very yummy jam...

In other news, I've discovered a wonderful farmers' co-op about 15 minutes from work. According to the lady who rang me up, it's only one of two such farmers' co-ops in the state! I was excited to discover a local source of whole wheat flour there, so a couple trips a month will become a regular part of my routine. Not to mention the prices were phenomenal: I got 5 cups of flour, 5 cups of oats, a bunch of raisins, chips, some fig bars, and pasta all for (well) under 20 bucks. More info on this as I go back a couple more times.

Also, look for some granola recipes here in the future: I've always loved it, but since it's usually rather expensive to buy outright at the health food store, I considered it a rare treat. Discovering it takes pennies for all the ingredients though, I've begun dabbling in making my own (to great success). Same goes for bread--maple-apple-butter whole wheat bread, to be exact!