October 2025 E-Magazine
- Jane Shellenberger
- Oct 3
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 8
Fall Harvest
The other day my friend Nina stopped by with some sweet corn from Munson’s in Boulder.
Munson’s Farm is well known around here for its luscious sweet corn and winter squash, among other things. Nina is chatty and outgoing, and used to work at their farmstand years ago. Bob Munson said she could sell ice to an Eskimo. The other day, when she picked up the corn, Bob was explaining how climate change has affected our growing season.
For one thing we aren’t getting many September frosts anymore so the corn has a whole extra month. (That’s a plus, but as a horse owner I’ve noticed the flies are sticking around a lot longer too!)
She also shared Bob’s insight into harvesting winter squash. It’s important to cut off the water a couple weeks before harvesting, he says, so the squash knows to start producing the natural waxy coating that allows its flesh to store well. Most commercial operations don’t do that, instead applying a wax after harvesting, but because the molecules in that wax are different the squash doesn’t get the message and rots from the inside much more quickly.
Since we published a Harvest print issue for more than 20 years we have lots of articles on harvesting tips and how to store the produce we grow. I’ve excerpted some of these for this October e-magazine. Because it’s easy and I like the taste of peaches and plums in the depths of winter I’ve been flash freezing fruit. I have a lot of pears and apples this year too so I’m about to dry some and make butters.
I’m also including a short video above from Bella Cloude, an herbalist for 50 years, who sent a short video clip showing some of her favorite immune boosting herbs. Her company is Mountain Spirit Herbs.
We had to put our old sorrel horse down last week. He was 29 and suffering. After that sad event my daughter and I drove up to the high country to walk in the forest. The aspen are spectacular this year, a real lift for the spirits. The cottonwoods and rabbitbrush all around Hygiene are also getting glowy. Unfortunately, the huge increase in small engine, flight school air traffic all around Boulder County and Longmont, especially, has shattered the peace we used to have, but it’s still a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
Soon it will be time to collect bags of leaves for the garden beds.
- Jane Shellenberger
After the Harvest
Jump start your spring vegetable season
By Jennifer Bousselot
Growing up on a small family farm I remember how the demands of the crops increase as the season progresses. By harvest time most of our energy seemed to be used up – like we needed the rest and didn’t have any to spare for preparations for spring. Vegetable gardening in Colorado can feel like that too. However, if you have energy to spare this fall, there are a few things that can help jump start your spring vegetable garden season.
Fall Planting
Garlic is the quintessential fall-planted vegetable crop; few vegetable gardeners would pass up the opportunity to plant a crop that is so universally useful in the kitchen the following summer.
Eight Ways to Preserve Your Harvest
By Pam Sherman
Do you have too many zucchinis now, but not enough in winter? How can we enjoy our garden's bounty throughout the cold season? Here is a brief tour of some of the many ways humans have preserved their harvest from the dawn of gardening through today, with comments from our family's experience and experiments. Start by choosing the methods you prefer and which bring out the best in the particular food you are preserving. Try to preserve within 48 hours of harvesting; rinse and cut out all bad spots.
Winter Fresh Produce From Your Garden
By Deb Whitaker
A friend told me recently that she wanted to drop her CSA because she didn’t want box after box of the same root crops all fall. I took that as an invitation to wax on about how to preserve produce until spring. When I finished she simply said, "That's just too much work." I realized I’d made it seem overwhelming. Preserving your bounty for the winter can be complicated and time consuming, but it doesn't need to be. The single most important thing is to just begin by finding the coldest place available, ideally a constant 32º-55º F.
Harvesting Tips
By William J. Dagendesh
Harvest supply kit
Children’s old backpacks and giveaway canvas tote bags make a handy harvest kit. Fill with a knife, plastic bags, scissors, & other handy harvest supplies.
Bubble wrap
Bubble wrap is invaluable for harvesting fruit that can bruise or split. Line the inside of baskets and buckets, and between layers of fruit when filling a container.
By Keith Funk
Q: I planted some pots of coleus last spring which have grown into beautiful plants. I’d like to keep them through for next year. They are too big to bring the whole plant inside. Are they easy from cuttings?
A: I’m a big fan of coleus and they are remarkably easy to propagate from cuttings. Take cuttings from the most vigorous tip growth, about 6” long, removing all but the two uppermost leaves. I use clean, 4” pots and fill them with fresh, high-quality potting soil. Insert 4 cuttings per pot. One in each corner. Give the pot a good soak and loosely cover the whole thing with a clear plastic bag to retain extra humidity. Place the pots in a warm, brightly lit location out of direct sunlight. Once you start to see new top growth (2-3 weeks), they are ready to tip out of the 4” pot, separate and repot individually in a good quality potting soil in 4” pots. As the winter progresses and your new plants grow, you can take more cuttings to build up your stock for spring.
Gardening Events
Check our Colorado Gardener Calendar for an updated list of events including gardening classes, seed swaps, plant swaps, garden tours, webinars, conventions, sales, online webinars and in-person events.
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