The Garden: Early September

A garden in early September is a lesson in patience.

I planted the seeds for Butternut Squash on April 7. I have cuddled, transplanted, watered, untangled, downsized, and touched these veggies for five months. And even though they look ready, they are not ready. Caleb is itching to harvest them, as am I.

Chloe was by my side today. I asked her if she is strong enough to lift one of the squash. She promptly demonstrated her strength and then sorta rolled her eyes at me. She's four. I love her.

A few days ago I harvested the remaining corn and then immediately put the plants in the compost bin. These days the compost bin fills at an alarming rate, yet I am always able to shove more garden in there. It collapses quickly and makes way for more. 

These boxes are emptying with each new day. Mom says we could probably harvest the potatoes as the plants are slowly dying (that's how you know when to harvest them). But neither of us is ready for actual potatoes in our kitchen so we decided that they're better in the ground for a few more days.

With the corn and beans out of the way, the carrots are finally visible. I'm not holding out much hope for them, because they were sort of snuffed out all summer. Note to self: don't plant carrots next to giant vegetables.

I've been busy being a new adjunct professor and Mom has really stepped in to help me out. She paid Caleb $2 to go outside and harvest the tomatoes for me. This is what remains. And when he brought them into the house, she washed & cored & diced them for my freezer. 

I have four beautiful eggplant growing in my garden. They are simply lovely.

A flower box full of lavender. Any ideas on what to do with it? I'm thinking of drying it out and setting it around my house so that I may enjoy the smell. Or maybe I'll make some tea?

Just two months ago I was training these vines to climb vertical. They obeyed and prospered and now they fade.

This empty space is where 10 zucchini and 10 summer squash plants lived for the summer. Now, they are slowly decomposing and we'll use their remains next year to add nutrients to their former home. Ah, that's a beautiful idea.

Today's harvest: two buckets of tomatoes, a cantaloupe, and the last zucchini.