“The wise know that too much doing and a thing won’t get done. The secret to manifesting on the highest level is to find the perfect amount of doing and non-doing to allow the doing to be done. Sometimes much more can be accomplished simply by letting go and trusting.”
~Jackson Kiddard
Every year at this time, I complete the cycle in my veg garden with a ritual. We pick the last of the veggies, and thank the good earth for providing. We then fertilize the beds with compost for next year, and add the last layer of leaf mulch. It is my farewell to these beds, and there is sadness with letting them go.
This fall letting go seems to be a larger theme in my life. Or maybe it is just that this fall, I am noticing it more. But whatever it is, my heart is heavy as I accept so many things. The loss of loved ones, letting go of mementos as I clean and clear….and finally letting go of the idea I can maintain my gardens anymore.
All this letting go will certainly open me up for new things to happen on my path, but it is hard to let go, isn’t it? But before I let go of this year’s veg garden let’s see some highlights…..
At the top of the post, are the new bell peppers we tried that resist blight and other fungal diseases. These are the first successful bell peppers we have grown and they were huge. I will be trying them again next year.
I also tried all new tomato varieties this year. I grew three varieties of hybrid cherry tomatoes….all did well. One determinate hybrid red tomato also did nicely along with one yellow-orange hybrid which out performed all others. It was so sweet even my red-tomato-loving husband couldn’t stop talking about it.
The plum tomato hybrid did poorly, and I will go back to the hybrid I used before and loved. I already have a new tomato garden plan for next year. It allows me to add 2 more tomatoes, and I hope to grow a couple of heirlooms.
The eggplants did fair because of the cold beginning to our growing season and cool summer. Actually, there was a lot of fungal disease in the cool, wet garden so squashes also did poorly with a minimal harvest.
Cucumbers were at the mercy of the cool weather yielding only a few small jars of pickles. But the dill we grew from seed was huge, and a great performer this year.
Basil grew nicely well into October so we made lots of pesto, and froze some of the leaves for later use.
Tomatillos were slow to start, but came on strong in September when we finally had a heat wave for about 3 weeks. I am hoping to do a profile on this interesting veggie in the future.
Our prolific rabbits got into the bean bed and ate all the bush beans that had just begun to form in July. But thankfully they did not get to the pole beans which once again gave us too many beans. We gave away several bags and still were flush with them.
Every 2-3 days we picked large quantities from late July until early October. Good thing we love beans.
The weather also limited the growth of our onions. We started them late and then the cold weather kept most small in size. Most of our garlic was also small.
Lastly the carrots were fabulous, but not the beets or lettuces which were minimal. It was indeed a strange growing season.
How did your veg garden perform this year? Did you have a great harvest? What’s your favorite veggie to grow?
Last of the Blooms in a Vase (Almost)
For this harvest post, I thought I would show the last of the flowers in the garden (almost). I put them in the first vase I ever bought…a crystal bud vase.
A beautiful deep pink echinacea, one cosmos and a bit of lavender surround a hydrangea.
And popping out of the top and bottom are 2 repeat blooms of Belle a Woking clematis. Love what they add to the vase.
I had so much lavender reblooming, I had to cut more for another small vase. Of course I thought my blooms were finished given we had a hard frost in mid-October…..but nature and my garden surprised me. I’ll share the surprises in the coming weeks.
I am joining Cathy@Rambling in the Garden for her wonderful In A Vase on Monday meme. The pictures shared here were created with my iPod Touch camera and two free apps, Pixlr and Prisma.
I am posting poetry, almost weekly on Sundays, on my other blog, Living From Happiness. You can read my latest poem here.
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