Reader, it has been a while

I have fallen hard off of the writing bandwagon. I’m not even writing in my personal journals or responding to mail. This past bit has been… well, it has been something. I feel that I have grown a lot and also not at all. I want to write, I just can’t force myself. I need to find the inspiration, but maybe it will find me.

I still frequent the garden, although I let it wild itself. I had hopes that if I just let the garden grow with minimal assistance, nature would do its thing. And, well, yes. Nature definitely did its thing.

After sewing 9 pumpkin plants this past Summer, I harvested three tiny pumpkins. And, as happy as I am to have had small victory, I am sad for the plants that were ravaged by squash bugs. Next season, we’ll have to try again. Maybe adding some netting will help? Planting flowers that repel squash bugs? I’m not quite sure which way to go. This season was slightly disheartening, but small lessons were learned. I am very hesitant to use chemicals in my garden, so, I guess Winter will be for research.

The pumpkin starts. They did eventually grow up the trellises. They also did not last long enough to grow up the entire trellis, dang squash bugs.

The smaller plants below the pumpkins are radishes and carrots. The radishes started on the left and the carrots on the right But then… puppy got bored and started digging. So, the veg landed where ever my little hero decided they needed to land. It’s not quite time to harvest them yet but they have also grown considerably since this July 2022 photo.

The Fall garden is quietly receding but is still very much alive. This week, I sowed garlic, and I am hoping that things go well and I can harvest in July, 2023. The sowing part ws a thing of magic. I sat out at the table with both puppies at my feet while I peeled and listened to Adele.I believe I planted 6 heads of hard neck and 6 heads of soft neck. I placed the bulbs wildly and at random. We’ll have to see what becomes of that. And, in wildly abandoning any sort of plan, I’m going to have to figure out how to plant around the garlic, which will (fingers crossed) be harvested in July… the middle of growing season. Now that I have thought about it…my concern is that I used too much garden space and will need to find workarounds. Maybe next Fall I will plant garlic solely in fabric planters. But also, this feels like a later problem. Winter will be for planning.

A few photos of the first garlic sowing. I hope these popsicle sticks last the winter.

After the garlic was planted, I decided that I also needed to prepare the garden for its first winter. I started with purchasing seeds for next year. The box arrived two days later, and I went about organizing the packets.At first, I had thought to organize the seeds by the month in which they need to be sown. And then I realized that I may not have enough space for that. I reorganized to group the packets by item. I’m hoping that next year goes well, because I will already have what I need to get started…well, except I will need more soil. Winter will be for lists.

After organizing, I’ve begun to bring all of the empty containers to the shed, and I’ve moved the trellises inside there as well, just so that they will not be damaged by the snow. The beds now look very bare, and maybe I need to look into some sort of winter interest. Or a greenhouse cover for raised beds? that would be amazing. To grow food in the snow. Oh, what a concept.

I also put the grapevine in the ground. I hope this vine lives. I have not had much luck in the past with fruits. I think the best bet is to leave it alone and let it go wild for the first few years, and then later focus on trimming and scaping. I so badly want to walk out to my back yard and eat grapes. I want to make grape juice. I want the aesthetic. The whole thing. This is also the first thing that I have actually planted in the ground of my back yard. Everything else is in containers. And that worries me. Because the squash bugs exist.

The short version is that I have hopes for this grape vine. I covered its base with leaves. I’m hoping for the best. Just like with this blog. I am hoping got actually keep up with it this time. I’m hoping to research this winter. I’m hoping to continue to write this winter. when the Time seems to speed up and slow down at once. Shorter feeling days and long late nights. I hope I can continue to write.

Reader, thank you for being here.

Advertisement