Time to harvest the last of what you sowed

People from all over western Maine lined up at the Exhibition Hall’s check-in counter the day before the annual Farmington Fair opened last week.

They had luscious ripe tomatoes, glossy red and green bell peppers, cabbages twice as large as the ordinary cabbages found in the supermarket throughout the year, and dozens of other vegetables and fruits they wanted to enter for the chance to win a ribbon.

Everyone talked with everyone else — “My tomatoes were great this year.” “The gourds just wouldn’t grow.” “How did you grow those onions so big?” — and lots of other gardening tidbits and questions.

Listening to and asking questions of other gardeners can improve your own growing abilities.

I consider the vegetable/fruit entry day at the fair as a gathering of anyone who likes to grow anything, and a chance to talk about what we have done, what has worked and what has not. Plus, we can pick up hints for building trellises for some vine crops or learn where the best compost or mulch can be found. It’s a day for sharing an activity that we all love.

Grangers were busy designing their agricultural displays, while others were hanging handmade clothing, knitting, crocheting and other homemade materials.

My fair is in Farmington, but I suspect others have their favorite fair at any of the dozen or so fairgrounds dotting the state each year. And of course the largest of them all comes at the very end of the harvesting season in early October, when people from all over New England descend on Fryeburg.

For me, the fair marks the end of summer and the beginning of the crisp, chilly days that warn us that we’d better take in most of what is still growing.

Although a frost has not yet hit western Maine, it is due anytime.

The first crops to freeze are the tender vines tethering winter squash, cucumbers and pumpkins. Tomatoes are next, so if some are still on the vine at your home, it’s best to either pick them or cover them with a sheet each night that the weather report predicts a frost might occur. Covering allows them a few more days to grow or ripen.

But remember, tomatoes don’t have to be ripe when harvesting.

One of the best ways I’ve found to ripen tomatoes — while eliminating pests that may decide to chomp on them — is to bring them in when they first start to turn yellow or a very light red.

Chances are, the growth is about done anyway.

Despite canning more than a 100 jars of tomatoes and tomato juice so far, I still have about 10 bowls full of tomatoes taking up space on my kitchen counter. As time allows, they will become more juice to accompany our breakfast, sauce for pasta or salsa to liven up fresh raw vegetables or corn chips. Having homemade salsa on hand also helps create a zesty chicken or beef dish, or perk up a soup.

And in the garden, at least another couple of bushels of tomatoes are waiting to be picked. But for now, I’ll keep a close watch on the thermometer. If it looks like the temperature may drop below 32 degrees, I’ll rush out to the garden shed, grab the sheets and start covering the plants.

A good thing to remember is that the temperature drops the most just before dawn, so it’s a good idea to set the alarm to get up around 5 a.m. to check the thermometer.

Crops that can handle a few light frosts include cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and parsley. Parsley will also winter over. I usually cover a patch of it with straw as I’m putting the garden to bed and it’s ready and waiting for me in April.

And parsnips should really be left in the soil until spring. They are sweeter then. Some gardeners just let the plants stay where they are, as they are. I feel better if I mulch them first.

If the corn is late, like mine is this year, the husks surrounding the kernels will keep them warm for a few more days.

Other things that should be done right now include digging up the remaining potatoes. Chances are the above-ground plants have all died back, and if the potatoes are left in much longer, worms and other creatures may feast on them.

Also, the winter squash should be picked if the skins have hardened. A light frost may not hurt them much, but a heavier frost will likely turn them to mush or severely reduce the amount of time they may be stored.

I have found that the best place to store tough-skinned winter squash is under a bed in an unheated, but not freezing upstairs bedroom. If that’s not available, then place them in a cool, dry back hall and cover them.

The blackberries are done producing for the year, but now we have glorious, sweet, crisp apples, either in the backyard or fresh from local farmers.

So the growing season isn’t done yet. And we know the cleanup and assessment aren’t complete, either.

That will be the subject for the final Magical Earth column for this year, which will appear next month.

In the meantime, enjoy all the fresh goodness still abundant in the garden. Our magical earth is indeed generous.

Eileen M. Adams has been gardening and preserving for decades. And although the season isn’t quite done, she can hardly wait to begin trying something new and planting seeds again. She may be reached at petsplants@midmaine.com