Last of the figs.
It seems like just the other day when I wrote about bringing my container grown fig tree out from winter storage and hardening it off. Today I am showing photo of the last figs for the year and in another month or 2 will be wheeling the fig tree into the garage for winter storage. The year certainly flew by very fast.
Last of the Figs
There are a few green figs on the tree but I doubt there is sufficient time for them to ripen. As you can see from the above photo the fig leaves are starting to turn brown and some have already fallen from the tree.
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When I came across Rainbow Blend Cherry Tomatoes (7 varieties in one packet) at the garden center I had to buy it. Thinking how fun to grow different color cherries without having to purchase multiple packs. Mistake. The seeds were color coded but it was very difficult to tell an orange colored seed from a yellow colored seed; a blue colored seed from a green colored seed; … germination was also very poor. Will not be growing again.
Cherry Tomatoes Left to Right: Green Grape, Golden Nugget, Brown, Black Pearl & Bi-Color
The combination made a very colorful tomato salad. The flavor of the Green Grape, Golden Nugget, Brown & Bi-Color Cherries were OK but not as flavorful as the Black Pearl (the seeds were from a different company).
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Sadly the growing season is coming to an end for the tender crops. The Red Noodles Long Beans and the Green Long Beans in the photo below may be the last harvest.
Red Noodle Long Beans, Green Chinese Long Beans & Walking Onion
If there is no frost the baby beans on the vine may grow to edible sizes. Last year our first frost and freeze warning were 10/19/14.
The Walking Onions on the other hand are growing very well, wondering about their frost hardiness. The entire onion (bulb and green) is edible, I like it better than scallion.
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This may also be the last of the callaloo.
Callaloo (amaranth)
I had the bunch of callaloo arranged in a vase (for the photo) and they made a beautiful bouquet a whole lot nicer than my photo above. The whole bunch was cut into shorter lengths, parboiled and froze for later use in soup.
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Swiss Chard on the other hand are very hardy and should provide many future harvests.
Peppermint Swiss Chard
Harvested a basket of Peppermint Swiss Chard which I stir fried with garlic, walking onion and S&P to taste as soon as I got into the kitchen. Garden to wok in less than an hour.
Also harvested a basket of Ruby Red Rhubarb, Golden and Fordhook Giant Chards. A friend dropped by at that moment so I gave her the whole basket, no photo.
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Experimenting with growing pole beans in a container, will post an update later.
Container grown Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans
Some critter/s ate some of the plants. Wrapped bird netting around the 2 remaining plants. They are healthy and producing.
Container Grown Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans
Wished I had weighed the above beans so in the end I would know how much my 2 container grown plants produce.
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Container grown lettuces are doing well despite the heat wave we had. Should do even better now that the weather is getting cooler.
Container Grown Bronze Mignonette Lettuce
Don’t know the variety name, seedlings I got from LGHVG lettuce thinnings. Harvested the outer leaves of each plant to add to a salad.
NOTE: LGHVG horticulturist, Susan MacAvery, left a comment on my blog with the name of the lettuce. It is Bronze Mignonette. Thanks Susan.
Container Grown Lettuce
The above lettuces were showing sign of bolting so pulled the whole heads.
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Other harvest for the week included sweet potato vines, Shanghai bok choy, pole speckled Roman tomato and radicchio.
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Garden to Wok 
A great harvest, Norma.
Hello Angie,
Thanks.
Have never heard of a mobile plant, being wheeled into the garage for Winter! That has conjured up a cute image in my head; of a grumpy, gnarly old man tree, wrapped in a checked blanket.
We leave our plants to cope with the elements, and consequently have so many near casualties. We have a huge potted bamboo that practically shrivels through Winter. It’s just starting to recover now that Spring has shown its’ lovely head though.
That Peppermint Swiss Chard looks beautiful! Look forward to reading about your Winter crops.
Hello Saskia,
You sure have an active imagination. Left outdoor, my fig tree will not survive our winter, I have been bringing it into the garage every fall and wheeling it out every spring.
You are always such an inspiration Norma. All my seedlings are starting to grow beautifully. I will have to be thinning the beds out soon.
Our fig tree has just started filling out with its summer leaves – can’t wait for the first fig. I shall think of you when I enjoy it.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
🙂 Mandy xo
Hello Mandy,
Glad to know summer is coming to your part of the world and your garden and your fig tree are growing beautifully. Looking forward to seeing photos and reading about your garden. A wonderful week to you too.
Looks like you had a good harvest. Sadly our growing season is coming to an end too.
Hello SG,
Thanks for stopping and taking the time to leave a comment. Yes I had a good harvest and will be for a while, I hope.
Good morning, Norma-
The lettuce in your box is Bronze Mignonette.
Hello Susan,
Thanks, hopping right over to my post to make the correction.
oh Norma – how I envy you for all this beautiful harvest. Your hard work (and love, no doubt) has paid off. Your veg garden surely must look like a mini paradise. Our heat hear kills off any attempt of mine to grow a few veg on one of my terraces – soooo frustrating, had no trouble to grow things in England. Sadly your fig tree picture will not open on my screen, so I can only imagine what it might look like. Well done Norma and further good luck. Carina 🙂
Hello Carina,
May be you can grow heat loving crops like tomatoes, pepper, eggplants, sweet potatoes, etc. all of these will do well in containers, send me a note if you need more ideas. Is there a shady area on your terrace? My lettuce and bok choy did well despite the extended heat wave because I moved the containers to the east side of the house where they only get morning sun.
Great harvest Norma, your fig tree did particularly well; I’m hoping Figgy will produce an abundance of figs next year. Oscar (Meyer lemon tree) has three good lemons and several flowers that likely won’t mature into anything. I’m hoping he’ll still produce when I bring him inside.
Your container beans look great! As do all of your harvests. I, too am flabbergasted at how quickly this summer has sped by!
Hello Eva,
A friend of mine brought her meyer lemon indoors for the winter, placed it by a sunny window and it continued to produce indoor, hope yours will too. I am sure Figgy will produce an abundance of figs next year, you did get quite a few figs this year, correct?
I had three Norma, but I counted seven originally so someone beat me to them!
Hello Eva,
Such is life, isn’t it 🙂
Your fall lettuce is looking great. And you’re still getting lots of variety from your garden. I have yet to even plant my fall lettuce yet, maybe next week.
Hello Phuong,
I believe you have a much longer growing season than we do here in the Hudson Valley doubt if we would get a harvest sowing seeds this late.
Lovely lettuce Norma. And those figs are amazing! You have sure shown how to grow this challenging fruit in your northern climate.
Hello Dave,
Thanks. Actually figs are easy to grow, keep it well watered at all times, give it plenty of sunshine and you will be rewarded with honey-sweet figs.
Those container grown lettuces are so pretty. My fall lettuce is picking up a bit, but it remains to be seen if I ever get anything from it.
Hello Daphne,
Now that the weather is getting cooler I moved my containers with the lettuce to the south side of the house where they get more sun. Maybe you will get a very late frost and your fall lettuce will continue to pick up.
Great harvest, especially that lettuce selection. Fabulous!
Hello Jenny,
Thanks.
Have you ever had good luck with beets Norma? Can’t them to grow in my raised square foot garden, but the beans and peas are taking off nicely. I think I planted the lettuce seeds to early and they got blasted by a week of 90 degree days. I’ll sow them again today and hope for the best.
Nice harvest from your efforts which spurs me onward :0) Happy Gardening!
Hello Kim,
Funny you should ask, I am also experimenting with growing beets in container, they are so far growing well and I will be posting about them. What do you mean when you say you cannot get beets to grow in your raised square foot garden? Did the seeds fail to germinate or they germinated but failed to grow?
Your success with figs almost makes me want to try them again. I also stored mine in the garage but found the tree broke dormancy too early (like March). By the time it was safe to bring it out, the foliage was weak and spindly and I never got a decent crop. Is your garage dark or does it have windows? I’m wondering if the light was the factor that caused the early leafing out.
Hello Dave,
Please do try growing figs again. Your early leafing out could be due to light or it could be your garage is too warm or you are giving it too much water. No my garage does not have window, because it is under a room, I place my fig tree on the side of outside wall where it is colder than the side of the inside wall. You could cover your fig tree if you think light is the issue.
Norma, I am so inspired to try more container gardening. Your beans look quite good. What is callaloo? Is it edible? I was wondering if I could bring in the container basils for the winter if they would keep growing…
Hello Sue,
Callaloo is amaranth and yes, it is edible. You could bring your container basil in for the winter and place in a sunny location, not sure how long it will keep growing. You do want to go over the entire plant to make sure there are no undesirables on the plant.
Wonderful harvests – especially those figs! I’ll have to bring my containers in soon as well, I suppose. How do you judge when to bring them in – is it at a certain time of year or when the plants “tell” you it’s time by visual cues, such as all the leaves have fallen off, etc.?
Hello Margaret,
I bring my fig tree into the garage around October/November after all the leaves have fallen. I also do a bit of pruning and cut back on watering so the soil is semi-dry when the tree is wheeled into the garage.
Your lettuce looks amazing Ms. Norma. And I can’t believe I’ve never heard of peppermint swiss chard… but it definitely has me intrigued. You’ve definitely inspired me to grow my own garden when I find a home. And your figs… magical.
Kia / KTS
http://www.houseofkts.com
Hello Kia,
Peppermint Swiss chard have been showing up at some farmers market, I find it to have a milder flavor than the other chards.
That tomato salad must have been so pretty with so many colourful tomatoes. The figs and swiss chard look great too. But so many other crops coming to the end of their season xx
Hello Charlie,
Yes, a number of crops are coming to an end as winter is coming to my part of the world while summer is coming to yours and with it the start of your gardening season.
You are still having a good harvest albeit the end of the season, I see! I picked the last of my Kentucky Wonder beans and roasted them last night…very tasty. I envy you your figs and your lettuces and cherry tomatoes are beautiful. Glad the critters didn’t get everything!
Hello Betsy,
Have you thought of growing a fig tree? I am sure you could grow figs where you are and most likely leave it in the ground year round. Tree ripened figs are so much tastier than the store bought ones.
We simply don’t have enough sun in our yard for a fig tree…or any fruit trees. We have a neighbor down the street who has a lovely one, though!
Hello Betsy,
Maybe your neighbor would share a few tree ripened figs with you 🙂
What a beautiful and colourful harvest you have!
I never realised you could grow figs in a pot… although, all my pot plants die so I probably should stick with a garden 🙂
I guess I will just have to buy my figs 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing XX
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Hello Julie,
Thanks for stopping and taking the time to leave a comment. Don’t give up do give containers another try and feel free to drop me a note if I can be of any help.
Happy Belated Mid-Autumn Festival Norma! You should see the prices of figs in HK!!!! As they are not grown here they are hugely expensive. Yours are beautiful and so a those deliciously colorful cherry tomatoes. Wishing you a super week and take care
Hello Bam.
Thanks, did you eat lots of moon cake? What’s your favorite? Figs are expensive here as well and the quality not that great, I am thoroughly spoiled, even refuse to buy tomatoes from the market. A super week to you too.
Actually I ate way too much mooncake… LOL My favorite is black sesame and walnut and my dear friend brought me over a box and I guess I am determined to polish those off by the end of the week. I also made a lighter East meets west version with my apple pecan spring roll mooncakes too and my family loved those hot out of the oven. Take care.
Hello Bam,
Don’t think we have black sesame and walnut moon cake, does sounds delicious. Moon cakes freeze well. Your apple pecan spring roll mooncakes sounds absolutely yummy and healthy.
I just wish that I have space to put away containers of goodies like you for different seasons. those figs are beauties. 🙂
Hello Ray,
I am fortunate to have lots of outdoor space, if only I did not have to fight with the critters.
It all looks beautiful! Well done!
I had intended to try walking onions this year, but didn’t. Now I’m inspired to give them a try next year.
Hello Bill,
I think you can plant them now and they will probably be ready by spring.
Your fall garden puts my Spring pot garden to shame. Everything looks so fresh and begging to be eaten.
Hello Maureen,
I am sure your spring pot garden will look gorgeous as your weather warms up.
It’s hard to believe it’s already time to wrap up the outdoor growing season. It went so fast this year! Sorry the tomatoes weren’t flavorful. They sure are pretty and I bet they made for a beautiful salad.
Hello Kristy,
Yes, the salad was very colorful and the looks made up for the flavor.
You are definitely the gardener with a very green thumb. 😀
Hello Karen,
Thanks, not all green there are some brown spots 🙂
Wow! you are the real garden-lover! I wish I could get and eat some of those beautiful tomatoes!!! 🙂
Hello MilkandBun,
Thanks for visiting and taking the time to leave comments. Sending tomatoes your way via the internet 🙂
That’s sweet! It would be really great and funny if we could exchange some veggies and meals))
Hello Milkandbun,
That would be really great 🙂