A Season of Change

Here's my last harvest of the summer season. Most of this was a surprise, since it was not at all visible in what had become a tomato-and-bean thicket! With this long Georgia growing season, the little veggie patch really went haywire, and I realized I had planted too thickly in the small space. Next summer I will  cultivate fewer plants and will likely yield just as much produce. This is the way I learn best -- trial and error. Learning about gardening and reaping the harvest has been a joy this season, but the summer season is over.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday dismantling the veggie thicket, and reaping the last harvest. I have saved some of the beans I found all dried up behind the matted vines. I can use them for seeds next summer! I loved growing the chinese longbeans. The only summer season veggies who were still behaving well were the Japanese eggplant (look at the lovely specimen in the harvest bowl above) and the green bell pepper, so I decided they can stay for a while. I planted the new veggies around them. After the cleanup I put a little fresh soil in the garden and planted cauliflower, broccoli, collard greens and cabbage. I also planted some pansies that will be lovely in salads.  In all my years, I have never tried an autumn gardening season, so I am eager to see what happens. The garden will be jam-packed again, since these veggies need a bit of elbow room. But there will be nothing growing in a vine formation, so while the veggies may spread a bit, they won't be travelling and bullying the others like the cucumbers and crookneck squash wanted to do this summer.

Here are a couple of photos of what I've sown:

Learning, practically through experience, is a passion of mine, and this garden has afforded me ample opportunity for it, as well as ample fresh, healthy sustenance for myself and my family. There is nothing like eating food straight from the earth, still teeming with nutrition and warmth from the sun -- talk about feeding body and soul!