#WeekendCoffeeShare – What’s Left in the Garden in November and Crochet Projects Update

Published on by Yinglan

Greetings! Thank you for joining me this Saturday, please come in and join me for a quick chat.

I know I wrote 2 weeks ago that there would be no more garden update in 2023, but that was because I assumed everything would be dead in November like in previous years. I would never have guessed I would still be harvesting strawberries in my front garden and kale in my back garden in November. The strawberries tasted terrible, by the way – gummy and bland. I guess that’s why people say out of season fruit does not taste good.

Meanwhile, there was another killing frost this week and the last of my sunflower finally succumbed to the frost. Instead of pulling it out, I think I will leave it there for a few more weeks or a few more months to let the roots rot in the ground a bit and the stalk dry a bit.

We have also been harvesting the last of the Red Russian Kale in the back garden. All that’s left now are a few leaves, enough to keep the growth going, probably in the spring. I was actually surprised mom liked the kale. Kale has always been a vegetable she hated but I guess the Red Russian Kale made her a convert.

The lettuce, tatsoi, and spinach seeded in early October are doing great in the front garden, where it’s getting ample sunlight – at least 6 hours. I’ve never grown vegetables outside in the winter before but after discovering the magic of the southern sun earlier this year, I decided to give it a go. I’ve been covering it in a double-layer frost cloth at night to protect it from frost and then uncovering it during the day. I think it’s working but even with the sunlight, they are growing slowly because they know it’s no longer growing season.

I am still eating through the last of the 2023 tomatoes, which rest in a paper bag and a box in the basement. Even picked unripe, I think the flavor of these tomatoes are still beating the ones at the stores.

I spent most of this week crocheting, working on a cowl and a pair of fingerless mittens – custom fit to my extra small hands – using all wool yarn. I wanted cashmere but it was much too expensive. I actually wanted to buy a cashmere scarf when I went to Edinburgh but mom wouldn’t let me. I guess I was fated to make one instead.

I finished the cowl (infinity scarf) on Tuesday and the mittens last night. The most difficult part was the foundation row of the mittens, which required a chainless double crochet. If you don’t know crochet, you probably won’t know what I’m talking about and why it’s so difficult. All you need to know is the cuff of the mittens was the most difficult part to make.

You might think I’m crazy for making fingerless gloves for the winter. After all, won’t my fingers be cold?

The reason I want fingerless gloves is because it’s hard to operate the touch screen of the phone as the screen doesn’t react when the person is wearing gloves. I previously bought a pair of fingerless gloves 2 years ago. Not only it didn’t fit my extra-small hands, the seams between my thumb and forefinger began bursting a few weeks after I started wearing it.

I’m hoping this time, these mittens won’t burst at the seams and with it made from wool, I hope it will keep my hands warm even if my fingers are exposed.

#weekendcoffeeshare is hosted by Natalie of Natalie the Explorer. I appreciate you stopping by. Until next we chat. 🙂

16 thoughts on “#WeekendCoffeeShare – What’s Left in the Garden in November and Crochet Projects Update”

    1. Ooh… I’m glad I’m not in your situation. I can never imagine myself sitting somewhere cold typing. I think your best bet might be get some woolen yarn and make a pair of custom-sized gloves.

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  3. Gorgeous scarf and gloves! Fingerless gloves are wonderful for exactly the reason you state – ability to operate a phone.

    Nice that you’re still getting produce, and I agree that tomatoes ripened in the house are better than store-bought. I have a ton of green tomatoes in my garden, but they don’t seem to be ripening. Our days are plenty warm, but the nights are getting a bit chilly. If they haven’t ripened by December, I’ll pick them and ripen them in the house.

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    1. Wow, your tomatoes are still in the garden? I think your tomatoes are not ripening probably because of the shortening day-length. After gardening for 3 years, I’ve grasped that plants are smarter than we give them credit. They can sense it’s the end of the growing season and it’s time to rest. So they slow down. I think it’s what’s happening with your tomatoes and might be a good idea to ripen them indoors in a paper bag.

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    1. I wanted fingerless gloves in forever but was always too sentimental to cut it off. Plus I’ve never needed gloves until I moved to Utah. I didn’t need gloves when I was in middle school. SoCal winters were mild enough that I just needed a light jacket.

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  6. I think wool fingerless gloves are a good thing. I hope they work for you. I know exactly what you mean. If you’re taking pictures you have to take your gloves all the way off anyway. You are super lucky with tomatoes this year, Yinglan. We got four off our plant. After July, that was it. 😦 Sadly, I haven’t had any luck with tomatoes in AZ.

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    1. I feel like the only thing that grows well in my yard year after year is tomatoes. They just seem to love it here, whether big or small. I’m sorry about your tomato harvest, maybe it has something to do with the temperature? Tomatoes like the warmth but anything over 95, its flowers will drop, thus no fruit. I’ve heard people in Arizona and Florida plant their tomatoes in January.

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