Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Turn, turn, turn



To every thing there is a season.  No place is that more obvious than in the vegetable garden.  Now is a transition season for me, and one of my favorites.  As you can see, the Sungold tomato plant is still producing, much more than we can easily eat.  The cayenne pepper ripens a few pods every couple of days.   I pick them as they ripen, and keep them in an open basket in the kitchen to dry for use this winter.  They, along with the parsley and basil, are the end of the summer's plants.  But, not the end of this year's garden.  Not by a long shot.

My favorite garden season begins now:  the fall and winter garden.  Here you see young broccoli plants, transplanted, beyond all possible luck, the day this week that ended in a full inch of rain here at the house.  This is a bit earlier than I usually put in broccoli transplants, but I wanted two good weeks to keep them watered before I was away from the garden for a bit in September.  The same day I transplanted these beauties I direct seeded some kale and some chard.  It will be a feat to get good germination in this heat and the very loose new compost in the bed, but I am watering daily and giving it my best shot.  I had the seed laying about, and figured it is worth a try.  If they don't make it I will look for transplants for replacement in a few weeks.

So, here the fall garden begins.  I can hardly wait!