End of the Summer Garden Reflections

I can hardly believe that it is fall already. I can see it in the leaves just starting to turn brilliant reds and oranges. I can feel it in the crisp cool morning air. Yet, my mind is having trouble believing that summer is over.

Though the garden is still producing, the crazy overwhelming time of the harvest is done. It is a good time to look back at the summer and the garden to evaluate and plan adjustments for next year.

The early summer weather was perfect, warm without being too hot, and enough rain that I never once watered the garden. The latter part of the summer was dry. I probably should have been watering, but it didn't get done.

Even without watering, I harvested the first of the green beans from the second planting yesterday, the beets are looking good, and the sugar snap peas are starting to bloom. I guess our red clay soil is good for something. What has suffered though are the tomatoes.

They looked so big and promising early in the summer. I was looking forward to a huge crop this year, but the harvest has only been trickling in. Water, I'm sure, would have helped, but even then I'm not sure there would have been enough. We are talking about doubling our tomatoes plants next year.

The hot peppers are producing like crazy. I've been pickling and making jam from them. We've also eaten some stuffed with cream cheese or refried beans and cooked on the grill. They are so good, but we probably don't need to plant quite so many next year.

Flops this year include green peppers and anything that vines. I'm not sure what the problem with the green peppers is. They did not produce last year either. The plants that vine, yellow squash, zucchini, pumpkin and cucumber all fell to squash bugs. I am thinking of planting them in a new bed next year, or perhaps just taking a year off from planting them.

The beans and corn did well, but I am considering planting less corn next year. It just takes up too much space for what it produces. A few rows for eating are a must, but I'm not sure that planting enough to freeze is the most efficient use of our garden space. I have other things I'd like to plant.

We never planted any cabbage, and there are other things I'd like to try like okra and broccoli. I'm also itching to get strawberries and asparagus established. One other thing I need to remember is to buy extra seeds for lettuce. I was unable to locate any at the end of the summer to produce a fall crop.

Overall this summer was a good gardening summer, but there will be some changes made next year. I have all winter to plan it!