Fall Gardens

Its been a while. The garden and kids have kept my wife and I very busy. Summer planting came and went. The squash plants are already huge and I have zucchini almost ready to pick. I finally got the drip system finished tonight. Now the corn is on the system, so the only things not on a drip system are my fruit trees and some blackberries. I still have plans for more blackberries, so that isn't a problem.

We were inundated with lettuce and peas. We couldn't keep up with them, so we gave some to friends who did the local farmer's market. We also have been sharing with friends and neighbors. The lettuce is bolting so much now that I'm not sure that we'll be eating much of our own until September.

We were late getting the Swiss Chard in, so we can substitute with it in the meantime. I still plan on planting more. We will also be starting several varieties of lettuce indoors in a few weeks for Fall planting. We'll be doing Romaine, butterhead and more leaf lettuce. I'll probably do some spinach too. I will be pulling up the current peas once they stop blossoming and will plant more for the Fall.

The bush beans are thriving, but I am a little late getting the pole beans in for Fall. They need cooler weather for better production.

The carrots didn't do terribly well, but I didn't really expect them to thrive in the cool weather. I'll be getting several varieties in this week. I am really looking forward to trying out the SugarSnax variety that was recommended for excellent taste and sweetness.

I think the best thing about all the work is seeing my oldest kids taking responsibility for weeding, watering and harvesting. The work is good for their character development, and it is often a good opportunity to talk about important things to us. The additional benefit is seeing all but my second son eating vegetables right out of the garden. he eats the fruit, but get him near the peas or broccoli.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.