I’ve been slowly cleaning up the garden in preparation for winter as the weather wavers between pleasantly warm and decidedly nippy. The sweet potatoes have finally all been dug up and are laid out upstairs in a warm window to cure. I just checked the first batch, and they appear to be ready! This means I can bring them to the Special Halloween Market tomorrow (Thursday) for you to enjoy.

The Broadway Community Market is hosting a Special Halloween Market tomorrow during the Broadway Hometown Halloweenfest, 4-7pm. In addition to all of the activities provided by the town of Broadway, the market will be full of local vendors offering art, baked goods, handmade gifts, specialty drinks, and more.

My festive fairydiddle and I will be there with fall vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and possibly beets!), as well as baby aloe plants and practical crocheted items, like pumpkin bookmarks and cup cozies.

See you at the market!

Usually by this time of year, I am ready for the end of market season, ready to put the garden to bed for winter and take a long rest myself. But autumn has taken me by surprise this time around the sun, and I find myself in denial that summer is over, even as the temperatures plummet and plants grow old and brown and the threat of frost looms nearer with every sunset.

I went outside after lunch (I’ve swapped mornings for afternoons, now that it’s suddenly cold) to pick cucamelons for the last time this season, bundled against the chill breeze and surprised to find the vines looking tired. They took a while to hit their peak this summer, but they’ve hung on until the very end.

Speaking of the end, this Saturday is the last regular market day of the Broadway Community Market. That means this is your last chance for summer vegetables like cucamelons! I will also be set up on Thursday, October 24, for the special Halloweenfest popup market, but the first frost will certainly have blanketed the garden well before then. In addition to cucamelons, this Saturday you can also find chard (assuming no frost tonight), carrots, jalapenos, onions, garlic, garlic salt, and crocheted items.

I’ve begun digging sweet potatoes this week, one of my favorite fall activities, but you won’t see them on my table Saturday. Sweet potatoes straight out of the ground actually aren’t very sweet; they have to go through a curing process first! This means I lay them out in a warm, humid place for a week or two until the skins toughen up and the flesh becomes flavorful and sweet. If you want some, I plan to bring sweet potatoes to the popup market on the 24th.

See you at the market!

Despite a long summer of praying for rain, I am thrilled to see the sun today. I spent all morning in the soggy garden and headed straight back out after lunch to mow the overgrown backyard. It felt good to get so much work done outside after such a long stretch of damp, dreary weather.

As you may have already seen, the cucamelons happily soaked up all that moisture. Not only did I pick a ton yesterday, but they are huge! Don’t worry, though; they taste just as delicious as always and aren’t at all tough or bitter.

The chard also continues to grow beautifully, and tomorrow I might dig some more carrots, which should be big and sweet after so much rain. Though the tomatoes look just about done, I might have a few of those for you as well on Saturday, and possibly even some peppers! I also still have plenty of onions and garlic as well.

We have just two Saturday markets left this year (Can you believe it?), so make sure to come out before the season ends! This Saturday, the market is also serving as a drop-off point for personal hygiene items and other supplies for hurricane relief in southwestern Virginia (see image below for details).

See you at the market!