The Pumpkin looks fantastic.
My garden is at the end for sure. Only have some peppers and still tons of tomatoes . Pulled all my cucumbers and squash out. I do have Kale and some other greens but they are growing so slow. Basil, chives, pineapple mint and parsley are still going strong. I'm heavy duty into working on the compost heaps, collecting leaves & lawn clippings to keep up with the vegetative waste I'm bringing home every day from work. Next year should be a great year for Black "Gold" Dirt for me. I'm up to Five Heaps (4 foot X 4 foot) and one long term heap of sticks, logs and bulky stuff. ( just flipped the long term heap tonight so in the spring I should have more black gold ready). Have another stone wall planter that I emptied of clay dirt and will have that as well to add kitchen scrap and leaves all winter long for another compost heap.

nice that you have the room for all those heaps!!.. and scraps from work!!

I have to buy compost each spring for my veggie beds. I do compost but my one small pile doesn't give me much. However since I heavily mulch all my gardenbeds with leaves each fall, those break down in place and enrich the soil.

I make all my own compost. Our town offers free compost/mulch but I'd be afraid to take it. Most yards in my town use landscapers and use fertilizer, weed killers and all sorts of chemicals for that perfect lawn. I do not want chemicals in my yard. I like the fact and am proud to say that I don;t use chemicals or any fertilizers (unless its organic) what so ever. I'm very particular in what I use. I want to know I can go out to my garden and pick a veggie and just pop it in my mouth without worrying that it has chemicals on it. I even have a few neighbors who save me kitchen scraps and I also convinced them not to use chemicals on their lawns. I'm working with my new neighbors across the street making a compost heap. Next step is to teach them that they can garden. (they don't have a green thumb so I'm helping them by looking after the few veggie plants I started for them and taking them step by step from seed to edible. It's been rewarding for both of us. It's the making of a good neighbor relationship)

I have to say that the bug problem gets less and less each year. I've started noticing the good bugs moving in and killing the bad bugs. It's been a win win situation for me and I will continue. I'm also not afraid to get my hands in the dirt. It's very rewarding after a long day at work.

Funny story when my daughter was in Brownies and I was the leader, I invited all the girls in the troop to my Dad's house for an outdoor compost/ gardening adventure. The parents dropped off the girls. My Dad grinds hundreds of leaf bags each year and has huge piles of leaf mulch with tons of worms. Anyway when the parents came to pick up the girls they found them hip deep in dirt leaf mulch collecting worms for the next days fishing trip. OMG the look on the parents faces was priceless. The parents where mortified to think that their girl was gonna get in there brand new Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar or fancy priced car with dirty worm poop. Needless to say the girls had a blast. I hope to this day that that one day stuck in there heads and they are gardeners.

Picked some tomatoes again today and three nice large cucumbers.

My fall planting of Sugar Lace II peas has started to flower.


Suyo Long Cucumbers that I picked.

Still picking a few tomatoes.....I'll have some carrots & beets as well.....

Yes...got tomatoes

Cool Gordon that yellow one looks like a light bulb!
I'm sick of tomatoes tons of sauce in the freezer for winter, a lot went to the chickens and compost bin

Ronnie..the lightbulb yellow pear tomatoes were volunteers this year from last year....the red ones in the first picture were volunteers starting two years ago.. The last picture is up @ 7 ft tall... That's where the fruiting is going on now..there...
And got corn

Hi Gordon......nice to see a city person gardening!

I am jealous Gordon.. wish I had the sun for corn!!

Here it is end of September and I picked cucumbers and tomatoes again today. Sitting here eating a nice cucumber and tomato salad right now.

I picked the 2 broccoli sprouts I had on Purple Peacock this year....

I picked tomatos and cukes today too. I gave some to one of my sewing customers.

I have to pull my backyard cucumbers that are on the short trellis down today so I can bag the cruddy vines for the garbage. I have never had cucumbers last this long before. A banner year for cucumbers. I don't compost the dying vines as cukes come down with fungus diseases and you want to clean up the leaves and get them out of the garden. No point in overwintering diseases.

I finished pulling up my cucumber vines. Pulled all of them, even the late planted ones. Those really late planted Double Yield pickling cukes never even set a cucumber. Covered, just covered in male flowers. And been covered in male flowers for weeks. The heck with them, I pulled them. I will just try again with them in the spring.

Still have my tomatoes and peppers in ground and still getting a fair amount of tomatoes to eat. Since it is already October, I consider getting tomatoes to eat now a very good thing.

Pickled a nice amount batch of Hildora yellow bush beans. Second picking and this time I got lots more than the first picking last week. I haven't made anything out of them yet, just eating them raw as I pick. I happen to like raw beans if they are flavorful and tender.

But boy, I do NOT like picking these. I would pick pole beans any day. These you have to bend and squat and pick all thru the leaves near the ground and find the beans. Beans mostly flopped near ground. I don't know how you guys that really love bush beans and pick a lot do it. Nope, going back to pole beans next spring.

I must say, the Hildora are a very nice tasting tender bean. Much, much better tasting than those bland Tenderette bush beans I planted this spring. But the Tenderette held the beans high above the plant and where easier to pick. But I didn't much want to eat them. These are tasty for eating but a pain for picking.

So I have some REALLY nice looking Rutabagas. I think chelle said you wait till after frost to pick them? I also have a few Golden Beets and a few white turnips. Then I have some again, really nice Purple Top Turnips that are eating size.

These would all be from those root crops I planted at the beginning or so of August.

I am making veggie soup on the crockpot and it smells divine. And no where near ready to eat yet.

Dug up a couple dozen volunteer potatoes today. Made a big batch of chili stew with a few of them. Boy are these potatoes nice and juicy. Unlike the store bought ones. Tomatoes and peppers are all that's left other than herbs. Everything else has been composted.

I have only ever had store bought potatoes as I have never tried growing my own.