UTMEBs: That's a great gardening story! One of the fun things about gardening is when you get surprised. One of my surprises this year is a Cherokee Purple tomato plant that volunteered next to my orange tree. I let it go and began trellising it up a post. It will be my first heirloom of the season that I harvest (I was later getting the rest of my transplants in the ground). It is healthy and lush and full of fruit. To answer your question, my garlic is not an elephant type but rather Polish Softneck. One of the traits of Polish Softneck is its large size. It's also the hottest (raw) garlic that I have ever tasted! I was brought to tears, runny nose and chasing down water when I tasted a small sliver of it yesterday.....and I eat habanero hot sauces and grow my own chilis so I like the heat! This stuff is wicked hot!.....at least to me it is :P

I make this recipe every year during the holidays - I know mashed potatoes are one of the easiest things to make, but IMHO it's also one that can be successfully made ahead, so I don't bother when we have lots of other things going on. With the meal you've described, this really would feed 12 as a side dish, so you could either double it for really generous portions and seconds, or just increase by 50% for about the right amount. Becky * Exported from MasterCook * Rich Mashed Potatoes Recipe By :Becky Chatham Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Freezer Potatoes Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 4 pounds Potatoes (12 medium) 4 cloves garlic -- pressed 1 package Cream cheese -- (8-oz.) 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 1 stick butter or margarine 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons Salt 1/2 teaspoon paprika Grease casserole dish. Cook potatoes and pressed garlic in water, drain, mash. Add butter, cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper. Beat until fluffy. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. This keeps in freezer, but thaw bake when ready to use. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Makes one 9x13 pan or two 8x8 pans.

The real issues are needing separate storage areas so that you don't accidentally accelerate the ripening of the one thing or another and some are best left in the dark (think root cellars). On the herbs, some should be air dried and they are usually tied into small bundles and hung up so that air gets them from all sides. Some also dry better in a dehydrator. Don't you love being so much more involved with your food? I too loved the "California" drawer, they really work but being open to both the area below the floor and into the attic it functions like a chimney in the case of fire and are probably not permitted by code anymore.

When do you plan on harvesting the potatoes? My potatoes were all harvested in June on my 6a garden so you must have planted pretty late to still have then in the ground. Buckwheat takes about 6 weeks IIRC to go from seed to bloom and that is in the heat of summer so with waning daylight in the fall it may take a little longer. That being said, garlic can be planted pretty late as long as the ground is not frozen*. * Zeedman, one of the serious garlic growers and collectors here on GW, tells of planting garlic into frozen ground using a drill and auger bit to open the planting holes so I guess that would give you well into December as long as the snow wasn't piling up. What does NS stand for in your location (NS zone 6a)?