Brutal Honesty and the Death of the Garden - Part I

It would be easy, you know, to keep this blog full of posts that show an orderly, beautiful garden; one that never has any weeds, any bugs, any hint of down time. any sadness. But life isn't like that and gardens aren't either. There are two times during the year (in this part of the world, anyway) when everything is a mess. period. Although it's time to start over, we haven't done anything about that yet. We can go out and gather a little of this and that, but only because we know where it is. Nobody else would venture into the field, because from a distance (and even up close, really), it looks like a wasteland.There are a few vegetables yet to be had. But pulling them up or mowing them down and plowing it all under requires a particular state of mind. Not to mention the time and the effort and enough dry days to get the tractor into the field. So what is out there that can give us a week or a few days of summer vegetables before we say goodbye? a few eggplants, maybe some tomatoes, peppers that would go longer if we left them.

Still, as you wade into the morass...you come upon a few surprisingly vigorous things. The okra will be with us as long as we allow, or until we just get tired of cutting it every day and a half. The crazy fence, strung last summer exclusively for loofas, is the heart of the remainders. Planted with cucumbers and birdhouse gourds, and laced with many, many more loofas (which cannot be killed and will come up and thrive no matter what you do)...this fence will stand lush with vines well into the fall...and the hot peppers - almost lost in the masses of old tomato plants and fallen -over bell peppers; they too will go on and on...unless we just tear up the row. And then there are large expanses of things that used to be, like the watermelons. Sale today. $2. The very end of the selling of the summer produce. And the rows of lovely sunflowers. They're long gone from the field, but held onto the fenceline until a week ago. I write this post not to depress people...it's depressing enough for me as it is! I just thought a little honesty was in order. If you follow the garden, you follow it through it's entire life. One big thrust of activity - pulling, plowing, tilling...and the hope of the coming season begins. And that's not as hard as it may appear. On the other hand, my personal shame, The Late Summer Decline of the Herb Beds is indeed enormously intimidating. And that post is next. In the meantime, I can always think back just a couple of months, and remember how glorious it has been.