Extending the Season

Found on Etsy. This print can be purchased here.

Today we’re celebrating a small miracle

Our vegetable garden is still alive! Previous efforts always crashed and burned in July, when the heat drove us indoors (like a snow day, but less fun). Some plants would up and die, others would pump out all sorts of goodness that we left to rot on the vine. Sometime in September we’d wander outside, assess the mess, and begin the tedious job of clearing the beds.

This year has been different, for lots of reasons. First of all, we started with a clean slate. The raised beds were brand new and filled with “virgin” compost delivered from a local nursery. We’ve had virtually no weeds. Second, we were able to start seeds early and germinate them using heat mats and grow lamps followed by a greenhouse, before planting them outdoors. The area is also fenced in, which has kept the rabbits out and, so far, discouraged deer.

There are psychological reasons, too. We adopted a “little and often” philosophy, meaning that there is always something you can do in the garden, and if you do something every day, you will be far better off than if you didn’t. Sure, we missed days here and there, but the routine became enjoyable and it was also fun to do together. Oh, and have I mentioned that we are two retired empty-nesters? I may be underestimating the impact of having time on our hands. But I honestly don’t think gardening requires that much more time, it’s just that the time is easier to find. We’re not wedging gardening in between work, dinner, and helping kids with homework. Don’t get me wrong: we still need to solve the Crossword and Wordle (we do have our priorities), but our days are definitely more relaxed and fluid.

Source: tetris.com

Fall Planting

So we’re still in the game, enjoying the fruits of our labor, and ready for a new challenge. Back in March I listened to Meg Cowden discussing succession-sowing strategies on A Way to Garden, and impulsively bought her book. But the Ghost of Gardens Past appeared in a dream, reminding me that we had never successfully grown food in the autumn. I put that crazy idea out of my head.

Until now. I pulled out my trusty Virginia Cooperative Extension planting guide once again, to identify which crops were candidates for fall planting, and the optimal time to plant. That gave me lots of ideas, but then I was faced with finding available space. How do you plant fall veggies when your main season crops are still in the beds? To make room, I’m currently trying to harvest all of our current crops as soon as they are ready. It reminds me of playing Tetris. Or maybe defragmenting a Windows PC hard drive (is that still a thing?). Either way, it’s a bit of a race against the clock.

Because of the space challenge, and admittedly because we have no idea whether our efforts will succeed, we’re starting small this season. This past week I sowed a bit of lettuce and kale, and will do more in two weeks time. Similarly, I planted small amounts of beets and carrots and will sow more once all the shallots in the bed are gone. We’re experimenting with basil in containers; although it’s not hardy enough to survive a frost, perhaps we will be lucky and enjoy it before the weather gets too cold. We also want to plant more parsnips, probably in the bed where the basil grew all summer. And finally, we ordered some garlic which won’t even ship until late September. The tomato bed should be empty by then, right?

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