BOISE, Idaho — Did you grow a garden this year? Many of you have been growing fruits, flowers and vegetables for years, while some of you are just learning the joy of gardening for the first time.
As the gardening season starts to draw to a close for the year, our garden master Jim Duthie is once again sharing some garden pictures that some of you have posted on the 'You Can Grow It' Facebook group page. Take a look.
Fall is here and most of us gardeners are busy harvesting and preserving our fruits and vegetables, and enjoying the last flower blooms of the season. It won’t be long before frosty weather puts an end to our outdoor gardening for the year. And while many of you are veteran gardeners, some of you developed a green thumb for the very first time. So let’s take a look at some harvest successes that some of our fellow gardeners have had this season.
It seems like a lot of you grew decorative gourds and pumpkins. Take a look at Lorna Huff’s harvest. She has quite an assortment of traditional Jack-o-lantern pumpkins, as well as a variety known as white ghost pumpkins. And how about those creepy looking warty and bumpy pumpkins, sometimes called knuckleheads, or super freaks. It looks like it going to be a fun Halloween at Lorna’s house.
And here are a couple of pictures that Suzy Erickson posted of her harvest of small gourds, mini-pumpkins and pattypan squash. Did you know that there are more than a hundred different kinds of squash, gourds and pumpkins that you can grow in your garden?
Speaking of squash, butternuts are one of the most popular squash varieties grown in home gardens… after zucchini, that is. Caitlin Ferguson shows us her big butternut squash harvest. They’re ready to pick when the skin turns tan and hard. But inside, the butternut’s flesh is golden yellow, and is delicious roasted, steamed, or microwaved. It also makes a hearty and delicious soup.
There’s hardly a vegetable garden in America that doesn’t grow tomatoes. Clark Muscat had his work cut out for him with his tomato crop, but look at the gorgeous reward…. freshly canned tomatoes and sauces ready for any dinner recipe.
Christmas is still three months away, but Sue Salyer grew her own Christmas tree, complete with decorative ornaments. Actually, it’s her tomato plant, and those ornaments are the tomatoes in various stages of ripeness, from green, to yellow, to orange and red.
Southwest Idaho has a great climate for growing grapes, and Malinda Kempton had a bumper crop this year…. 78 pounds of juicy concord grapes, ready for making some delicious grape juice, jams and jellies.
Not all gardens are about fruits and vegetables. Helena Hanson shows off her beautiful variety of late season clematis blooms, including this delicate pink and purple beauty. There are more than 200 species of clematis, ranging in colors from white, to magenta, and different shades of purple and blue. You can find dozens of varieties at almost any local garden center.
It’s October, and Michelle Bowlin sums up her feelings about the season, saying “let it fall” with her collection of festive decorative mini-pumpkins, and this brilliant mound of golden mums.
Finally, Gina Caruso shows us a fun and artistic side of gardening. She saves seeds from her garden for planting next year’s garden, and stores them in beautiful hand-designed and hand-painted seed envelopes. I’m sure her flower garden is as pretty as her artwork.
Thanks to all of you who posted your gardening pictures, tips and questions on the 'You Can Grow It' Facebook group page. We’d love to see more of your pictures and share your joy of gardening, because, after all, you can grow it.
You can join the more than 4,700 members of the KTVB 'You Can Grow It' Facebook group, and post your gardening pictures, share tips, and ask questions. We’ve made it easy for you to join. Just text the word ‘grow’ to 208-321-5614, and we’ll send you a link to join, and you can become part of Idaho’s fastest growing online garden club.
Watch more You Can Grow It:
See them all in our YouTube playlist here: