This past weekend I took to cleaning up my vegetable garden as well as cut down most annuals that I had lost in last weeks frost. The weekend weather was absolutely gorgeous..yet another reason why I love Fall the way I do. Its warm but not overly so and the light..oh the gorgeous Autumn light..I could hope for Fall all year long except I think I’d rather miss the anticipation of it more so 😉
Normally I feel sadness when pulling out all my vegetables but, as you know, this year was definitely not normal. Slow growing, poor soil and mosquitoes..oh the friggin mosquitoes!! How they haven’t died yet with the frosts is beyond me but this week they are absolutely terrible! Bring on the frost again Mother Nature..those bugs have got to go! Anyways, I put my music on, wore my wellies and got to work! Pulling, cutting and tossing into the compost pile (I started composting this year, did I tell you that? I feel like an all star now..haha) and all I could feel was excitement. Excitement for my plans for this space. Excitement for the chicken coop that will be built in here this Winter to share the space with my vegetables (just typing that makes me excited. Nerdy, I know..but hey..I love it!) I could visualize while I pulled out the rows where my beds would be next year, what I would plant and how it would look in 5 years when I really get this place roaring 😉
Still, I do not regret planting my garden this year (why would I?) Of course, I did it for the wrong intentions (who says I can’t do it all? Why can’t I be a new mom with a baby and take on a brand new 1 acre yard along with a 3,000 sq ft garden that has never grown a thing before?) But, it kept me on my toes, I learned its soil, I learned about its light and how things will grow in there, I learned about the weeds and how to control them, I sometimes just stood in there to get away from everything else going on, even for just 5 minutes and, let me tell you, it was all worth it. Growing your own food is always a good idea. Sure, you don’t need a huge garden like I have..just some dirt and a pot and you will never, ever regret planting a seed.
One thing that made me laugh this year were my pumpkins. Normally by September my vines are full of yellow/orange globes of goodness..the good ‘ol jack o lanterns for our carving fun in October. But this year? I don’t even know what happened..they just kind of..snailed along! 2 weeks ago my vines were still covered in blooms!! I knew I wouldn’t get a single decent pumpkin out of my patch this year..as a matter of fact, this is the largest pumpkin I grew in 2014
Its so small and cute..makes me smile
All in all, I am glad the work is done now for another year. We still have lots to do in there this Fall with soil prep for next Spring (we want to level the ground, bring in new soil, possibly create raised beds and of course, prep the area where the chicken coop will be going in the West of the garden)
Not all was lost though, I grew plenty of beans, carrots, potatoes, onions and corn to supply us with numerous meals this coming Winter..
and I even grew a zucchini! You know you have poor soil when you grow just one of these guys
and I left most of my sunflowers for now because their cheery yellow faces just feel even more so in Autumn. Plus, I wanted to give these little guys as much pollen as they could get while the weather is still warm
Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope you are having a great week so far!!
