Yesterday was the last day of summer. The harvest brought in pears, a couple of apples and a load of figs. All excellent ingredients for a last day of summer tart. After a phone call to my encyclopedic pastry chef sister, I was able to pull off a decent pastry cream and nutty tart crust. Thanks Amanda!

Its been a good summer and now is time to cozy up for the cool approach of fall, one of my favorite seasons. It is also time for making preserves for the winter and planting a winter garden!

The last of our summer berries went to jam. Now is also the time to make notes on the summer’s crops. My tomatoes eeked out this year. This was farmer’s error. I over used the bed they are in and did not give back to it the proper nourishment. This was a small scale representation of the soil depletion that happens to farmland after monocropping. The patch will have to be dedicated to nitrogenous cover crops over the winter. Everything else seems to be growing well. The pumpkin patch is taking over the yard (in a good way). There is still a month of warm to cool weather left before it starts getting too crisp in the evenings. This means, several cool season crops can be planted now for a edible winter garden. All manner of leafy greens will grow, like lettuce but especially cruciferous greens (collards, kales, cabbages). Roots like carrots, parsnips, turnips, radishes, rutabagas and beets can be planted. Many bean varieties will grow now as well. Broccoli, spinach, chard can be planted too. It is best to get these winter crops in the ground before October. Happy autumnal equinox!