Winter squash--status: going. Still dying back and drying up, prior to harvesting squash.
Broccoli--status: staying. This is the Packman variety, it has been producing all summer long, through the heat, through the drought and now, the cooler weather. Each plant must be on its seventh or eighth cutting. An amazing super plant, I expect we'll be eating broccoli for another few weeks, at least.
Peppers--status: going. This is the Gypsy pepper variety, another amazing super plant. We've had two almost-frosts, lower 30's, but these plants don't seem to realize they're living on borrowed time. They aren't setting any more flowers, but the peppers on the plant continue to ripen. I'm keeping a sharp eye on the weather forecast. Any day now all those peppers will be headed for the root cellar.
Buckwheat--status: going. This was planted in late August as a green manure in the bed where the old leeks were harvested out. The plan was for it to die back in the frost before setting seed, but the frost is 2 weeks late and counting. No seed set yet, but unless we get that frost pretty darn soon, I'll have to brave the bumble bees and cut off the flower heads or else...
Sugar snap peas, foreground--status: coming in These were planted in mid-August where the beans were taken out. They look good--strong plants--but we'll see if they make any pods before they die: there have been no blooms yet. The summer weather was so hot and so extended that the plants stayed small longer than they ought to have.
Note: The raised beds do help stave off a ground frost, and the stone walls hold heat, too. However, the real reason everything is still going strong is because, unbelievably for Wisconsin in October, we really haven't had a frost yet (!!)
PS: Close up of the super broccoli bed, you can see the dying-back squash to the left, the peppers to the right.
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