September in my Garden

Not much is happening in my garden this week. I venture out between showers to grab a tomato or pepper but the five plus inches of rain this week means LOTS of mud!

I know we have nothing compared to those who have experienced 15  or more inches of rain. I'm actually enjoying some indoor time to catch up with some projects. After a dry summer, rain is music. But I'm guessing that my September garden list may need to wait until October.

September can be a wonderful gardening month. The weather usually cools, but the harvest is often abundant. The problem with September is that I'm usually burned out. No longer is fresh veggies exciting as in the spring. The war with the weeds and bugs has been given up. Chewed sweet potato leaves no longer make me angry. Just eat the old things and see if I care.

Because I don't really care that there is more beans out there. Three foot tall weeds fail to annoy me. I hope that no one walks back to the garden, since I choose to ignore it. I know that frost will soon come and put an end to all garden ventures. The garden will lay waste, slowly my enthusiasm will build, by spring I'll be desperate to get my hands in the soil again.

If the garden does dry out, there is plenty of garden tasks, if I'm motivated to get out there and do them. 

Here is my list of jobs for this month in my garden.

1.See if the ground hogs left any pumpkins untouched. A quick search apparently found every pumpkin, few that there was, with teeth marks. If any escaped, allow to cure.

2. Dig potatoes. Our late planting of potatoes is actually still green but the plants should be dying back soon. We like to plant the bulk of our potatoes late (mid-June) so that they are picked in cooler weather and last longer into the winter.

3. Continue enjoying the garden produce. We are still picking green beans, tomatoes, squash and peppers but it will soon be ending so I want to take advantage of each opportunity. Late broccoli is almost ready to begin harvesting.

4. Plant more lettuce and spinach for fall harvest. I also want to start our raised bed/hoop house again.

5. Clean up the perennial beds, trim back the old flowers and divide perennials such as day-lilies, so that they can get re-established before cold weather.

6. Plant some pansies in the bare spots of the perennial beds. Pansies planted now usually live through the winter and are the first cheerful face to greet the spring!

7. Dig the sweet potatoes before first frost. Not expecting to find much of anything. We planted late and the ground hogs have been eating the leaves all summer. But maybe...

8. As areas of the garden are finished for the season, spread some compost and till the soil.

9. Watch for signs of the first frost, and before it hits, pick all peppers. I like to chop them up, spread on baking sheets, freeze, then place in bags for easy use in recipes all winter.

Writing about it (almost) gets me excited about getting into the garden again! Some crisp autumn day, you will  find me out with my hoe, appearing to enjoy every minute. Today, I'll enjoy the rain and a cup of tea!