Seasonal bounty

As always, the month of October presents unusual opportunities and dilemmas when it comes to fresh from the garden vegetables.  The late plantings of broccoli, cabbage, kale and other greens are there for the picking, but you can only eat so much fiber every day.  But the countdown to really freezing weather is under way, and even the hardiest veg can only take so much temperature abuse.  I'll wind up harvesting way more than we can eat and storing it for as long as possible.  Meanwhile, I tried an Italian variety of cauliflower which is making lush growth but is refusing  to make heads.  A couple of mornings in the mid to upper 20s are predicted this week, which should put an end to that particular experiment.  I have found a few winners in the "Seeds from Italy" catalog, but also a fair number of disappointments.  Open pollinated varieties may sound good on paper, but the hybrids offered by most US seed companies usually outperform them and are more reliable for the average gardener.  I should have planted "Snow Crown" if I wanted a good late cauliflower.  We received nearly three inches of rain over the weekend which while not really helping late crops will play havoc with plans to get the seed garlic planted before the ground freezes.  Ah, gardening on the NCR... gotta love it.