Garden Gab Sept. 22nd

Happy Autumnal Equinox to you! We have officially crossed from summer to fall in the Northern Hemisphere and coming to the end of the height of the growing season. Although summer is over, the gardening and preserving season is far from ending. 

Some of you may be asking the question, “Where have you been?” I have heard from my biggest fans (all three of you) that you missed reading my article. To that I say a heartfelt thank you! This article is more of a let’s catch up instead of a specific topic. I ended up with unexpected events (sinus surgery yuck!) on my plate over the summer and had to put some things on hold temporarily. The Garden Gab article being one that went into holding pattern. I will leave this world with an unfinished To-Do list, but have recuperated well and am getting back up to full speed ahead.

I am typing this while watching my stock pot of plum juice come up to temperature, to then go into the canner. While this year’s season in our garden has not been record levels of produce, it has been enough to cut the grocery store bill (that’s my goal) by providing more nutrient dense produce. I still have enough bounty to keep me busy preserving salsa, hot sauce, jelly, juice, etc.

Successes: We added a small flock of chickens in April. We have not had a flock for a few years. I remember how much I love hanging out with chickens and how much I missed them. We now get a few eggs a day.  I inoculated a small garden bed with Wine Cap mushroom (Stropharia rugoso-annulata) spawn in the early spring. It is producing fabulously and are delicious! I have added a dwarf fig variety to live in a pot on the patio. I planted my garden tower with smaller pepper varieties, Orange Hat micro tomatoes and mini marigolds. It looks the best and has produced the most of the four seasons I have had it. Winter squashes are doing great so far; acorn, butternut, hubbard and pie pumpkins. Apple and pear trees are loaded. Tomatoes have done fair. I successfully grew okra and melons in my hoop house. Cucumbers held their own. Celery is looking good. 

Hassles: I have not picked a single zucchini from my garden this year. Not a one. Go figure (shaking head in disbelief). The plants just did not grow well although I had them in several different locations throughout the garden. Carving pumpkins same.  Onions made it but all stayed small. Most pepper varieties were slackers (exception of those in the garden tower). The coleus and sweet potato vine ornamentals on my front porch are all infested with aphids and white flies. I frequently rehome frogs and praying mantis to those pots. 

Oh well, you win some and you lose some. That is why I plant extra to factor for the hassle margin. There are no fails in gardening. Only hassles and learning opportunities. A garden is never done. A garden is just a perpetual running list of To-Do’s that you have stop, look around at all you have accomplished and enjoy the beauty.  

How did your garden grow this year?

Here’s to growing all the things,
Shannon