From Fox Island’s own Master Gardener, Linda Dodds:
October can be just as hectic a month for gardening as September has been. Just because there is a little snap in the air, doesn’t mean it’s time to put the gardening tools away and sit by the fire with a good book. Oh no, not this month. It’s clean up time for getting your garden ready for next year. Dying perennials such as daylillies and Ligularia need to be raked up and composted in order to not give slugs and other unwanted bugs a place to overwinter. Any plants that have died back should be removed which will make all your spring chores much easier for next year. Tree and shrub leaves will be falling this month and should be raked up and put on planting beds to discourage weed seeds from dropping into the soil and sprouting. And if you are a fruit and vegetable gardener, you will still be harvesting produce. Pick up fruit and if it is damaged, put it in the compost unless of course you happen to have coddling moths or worms in your fruit. The leaves and fruit from those trees, need to be destroyed so not to continue with the pest infestation. If you have too much fruit, as many of us do, than give it away to the local food bank or call in for gleaners. What ever you do, absolutely DO NOT LEAVE FALLEN FRUIT LAYING AROUND. Coyotes, raccoons and rats eat them too and you don’t want to encourage them to come to your home in hopes of finding a free meal. Your fluffy kitty cat may end up as a coyote family’s main dish.
If you planted winter squash, watch for the squash to pull away easily from the vines before harvesting and then put them in a cool place to harden off for a week or so before storing them away for the winter. Tomatoes should continue to ripen, but if we should get several days of rain, watch for any blacking of the stems. If you see any black spots on the stems or leaves, pick all the fruit and put aside, pull up the plant and burn or destroy it completely. The fungus from the late blight spreads quickly so do not touch any other tomato plant after pulling it up until you have thoroughly washed and sanitized your hands first. The fruit however can be brought in, rinsed off well, placed on newspaper and allowed to ripen in a darkened place. It is time to dig up garlic if you have not already done so, rinse off the dirt, cut off the stems and let sit in a dry place to harden off for storage for a week or so. Next month or even late in October, you can separate the bulbs into individual cloves and replant them for next year.
Lawns will probably need their last mowing of the year in mid or late October, but after that, instead of mowing, you can fill in that free time by planting spring blooming bulbs for 2013. Tulips, daffodils, crocus and hyacinths can be planted this month and even up into January.
Since October fest is the ‘in thing’ to celebrate this time of year, why not make your own mustard to go along with the worst and dogs. I am including a Lemon Sage Wine Mustard recipe this month that is sure to be a hit with all the beer meisters.
1 bunch of fresh sage
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup yellow mustard seed
1 cup White wine vinegar
Grated zest and juice from 2 large lemons
1/2 cup liquid honey
1/4 tsp salt
Finely chop enough sage leaves to measure 1/3 cup and put aside
Coarsely chop enough sage leaves and stems to measure 1/2 cup and place in a small stainless steel saucepan with the white wine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring and pressing sage with the back of a wooden spoon to release flavor. Remove from heat and cover tightly. Let steep for 5 minutes.
Transfer sage and wine infusion to a sieve placed over a glass or stainless steel bowl. Press with a spoon to extract all the liquid from the solids and return the liquid to the pan. Dispose of the solids. Add the mustard seeds to the wine infusion, cover and let stand at room temperature for two hours or until most of the moisture has been absorbed by the seeds.
Prepare the canner, jars and lids by boiling jars, lids and rings for 5 minutes.
In a blender or food processor (fitted with a metal blade) combine the marinated mustard seeds with remaining liquid and vinegar. Process until blended and most seeds are well chopped. (You want to retain a slightly grainy texture.)
Transfer mixture to a stainless steel sauce pan and add lemon juice and zest, honey, reserved finely chopped sage leaves and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and boil gently, stirring frequently until volume is reduced by a third, about 20 minutes.
Ladle hot mustard into prepared hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles by cutting through the mustard with a kitchen knife, wipe rims and place lid and rings on jars. Screw with fingers to tighten rings and place jars in canner filled with enough boiling water to cover jars by 1 inch. When all jars are filled and placed in the canner, cover canner with lid and when water comes to a rolling boil, set timer for 10 minutes. When time is up, turn off heat and remove lid from canner. Let jars sit in hot water for 5 minutes before gently removing and setting on a heat resistant board to cool. Do not let jars touch each other as they need air circulation to cool properly.
When jars are completely cool, test to be sure jars have sealed by taping them on the lid. A tinging sound means they have sealed and a thud means they have not. Any that have not sealed need to be immediately refrigerated. Label jars and serve with your favorite worst and hot-dogs.