Since autumn decided to cheat us out of four weeks of summer, we decided to cheat at autumn’s schedule and plant a garden.

Fall gardens are not new; they’re just new to us. Our routine for decades has been to start planting lettuce, radishes and onions before the last frost has even thought about sprinkling itself onto spring lawns.

Summer crops of tomatoes, squash, beans and peppers go in next, just as soon as dangerous frost is out of the way. Notice I said, dangerous, not danger of. There is always a danger of frost, even snow.

In 1898, Iowa and Nebraska had snow in July. The year before that Colorado Springs, Colorado had several inches of snow in July.

Closer to home, frost covered everything up in Greenville in early September of 1917. The Greenville Journal reported that, “ice formed on plants, severely biting leaves and stalks. Tomatoes and other garden truck suffered, losses amounting to hundreds of dollars.”

 In 1826, August 8 found white frost coating yards and gardens in Warren, Ohio and September 9, found the white sparkly stuff again had settled in.

In 1883, in Eaton, Ohio, early frosts startled residents when they awoke on numerous September mornings. As far back as 1789, early heavy frosts are reported to have so seriously damaged corn crops that the early settlers of Marietta, Ohio, had a dangerous winter of low to no provisions. But, enough of this frosty history.

At worst, our peas and lettuce will get well-chilled and short-lived. At best, we’ll be eating fresh salads in October and dreaming of next spring’s seeds settling into a soft, warm earth.

Still, planting garden in autumn reminds us of the word cattywampus. I admit we originally thought of it while looking at the helter-skelter direction of garden rows. We never were good at getting straight rows. But never mind that; Grandpa always said you got more for your labor that way.

No, cattywampus seemed to sum up the whole situation. Crooked rows, seasons on a bias, cold air in August and warm air in September. The word cattywampus is a mouthful to say but simply means wrong, awry or on a bias or crooked. So, this is the year of a new, if not awry, adventure in gardening.

Here’s what we plan on doing with all the crops just before the snow flies.

Contact Connie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Box 61, Medway, OH 45341

Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas with Ham

  • 1 pound fresh sugar snap or snow peas
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ cup finely chopped cooked ham
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper

 Pods should be young and very flat with only the hint of tiny peas in them. Wash and drain pods. Place in saucepan with a small amount of water, cook until crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add ham, garlic and thyme. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Drain pea pods. Add to skillet and sauté for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 6-8. Note: First published in Taste of Home 1999 Annual Recipes, this dish has had 5-star reviews on Allrecipes.com for a number of years.


Mixed Greens Chef Salad

  • Fresh picked salad greens such as: Simpson’s Curled,
  • Red Salad Bowl, Buttercrunch, Escarole, Mixed Greens
  • Other fresh veggies sliced, cubed
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Cooked chopped meat such as ham, chicken, steak

Favorite salad dressing

This is a do-it-yourself, add-what-you-like kind of meal. The greens should be very young, only about 4-5 inches tall. Wash greens well and drain well.

Add other fresh veggies such as carrot curls, cooked peas, young snow-pod peas, celery,

steamed young green beans, sliced cooked beets, tomatoes, even cooked corn from the cob.

Add chopped egg and or meats. Drizzle on your favorite dressing. Don’t forget the roasted garlic and croutons or sunflower seeds or walnuts. Even a garnish of grapes or blueberries or strawberries is nice.


Roasted Garlic

  • Two heads fresh garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Ground black pepper

 Wash garlic heads and let air dry for a couple of days. Break cloves apart. Leave paper skin on cloves. Place number of cloves desired in a deep microwave-safe bowl. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons oil over cloves. Toss to coat well. Add pepper and toss again.

Place bowl in microwave and cook on high for ONLY 40 seconds. Do not cook longer. A sizzling sound indicates moisture is being released from cloves.

Remove dish and set on heat-proof surface. Let garlic cool for a few minutes. Place cloves on plate and remove papery skin. We found the easiest way to do this is to spear the clove with a fork, slice the root end off with a sharp knife and the garlic should slip out of the skin. Place garlic back in pepper/oil in bowl and toss. Use in salads, add to casseroles, eat plain, add to mushrooms and/or onions prepared for steak garnish.

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