Preparing for the Fall Harvest
Well, it’s that time of year when we need to plant indoors, fix up the beds, and remove the dead and dying plants from the garden. Even my little garden is thinning out and needing a good once-over before I plant again. Most my cucumber plants have yellowed and slowed their production, the tomato plants look like they’re dying, and I’ve got to rip out the rest of my much-too-old lettuce.
And yet things are still going well.
The three bush beans that I planted have furnished nearly a full serving for six adults over a week’s time. The carrots that have been ever so doubtful are growing decently, and even my beets have thrived.
The last month or so feels like it has flown. All of a sudden my well maintained garden looks like a nightmare, and the weeds on the border have crept in nearly three or more inches. What doesn’t help is that the last cucumber that I planted has grown to massive proportions, with some four vines almost five feet long. (And they claim you can put a cucumber plant in a three-foot by three-foot space, hah!)
Of course, while I do have to work I also have to start things like broccoli indoors while I prepare my garden for the next plantings. I feel almost like Damocles, except that it feels like a big sack of flour is dangling over my head. It would help if I didn’t have to amend my soil and add more compost thanks to the hefty rains this year (by the account of one long-time gardener, this wasn’t a good year for a new gardener) but such is life.
At least I’ve seen the worst water can do in my region!
