the above-ground season for the jerusalem artichokes is over and it was looking a bit like an eyesore even by my " always appreciate things when they are on the edge of decay" rundown, seedy standards...so i took action and removed the stalks, leaving the multitude of tubers in the ground for a removal, replanting, and disbursment later this month...if the first plant was an indication i have alot to remove...the chinese yam vines are fading and doubtlessly it wil be time to harvest the yams soon as well....they are supposed to be about three feet down as opposed to the six or eight inches for the sunchokes and i am delaying a bit until the cowpeas mature...i harvested eight pods today, including the ones in the third photo...i bought a pound of cowpea seeds this spring and now i am reaping the next generation...reading tells me that the seed remains viable for two or more years so i shouldn't have to resupply my experement in "green manure"...the intital investment promises to be self-sustaining and that is philosophically sound for the garden...the tomatoes that have been poking along all season in the garden on campus and at home are starting to come around and now it's a race with frost...they are sub-tropical perennials and i cannot help but wonder if there was some sort of daylength issue going on...research has eliminated all but one non-potato andean tuber ( yakon ) as a candidate for growing in northwest indiana because of daylength problems and it could be that the same problem is ailing the tomatoes who seem to be responding to shorter days...we have done well in establishing the garden this year...made some mistakes and learned alot none the less...a bit more harvesting to do and then we will be mulching the garden for winter, doing more reading, and planning the second season...can't wait.
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