September: Monthly Review

The official photo for September 2021

This post has been a long time coming, and there are no valid excuses other than the oft heard “life happens” or “it’s been busy” or “writer’s block” and truthfully, it’s been a bit of all those. The looming threat of frost and thus the end of yet another growing season always triggers a bit of dread-based lethargy. Surprisingly, that’s coupled with periods of frenzied activity trying to pull every last bite from the potager, taking cuttings from anything that looks even remotely root-able, and trying to savor each and every last bloom before it fades or freezes. Weirdly, even while the body is trying to make the most of this year’s gardens, the mind has already switched gears to the possibilities for next year’s glory! And, it’s allergy season…need I say more?

September was exceptionally warm and sunny. There were actually 27 sun-filled days! Of course, that translates into not much rain, so lots of time was spent dragging hoses. Deadheading also took lots of time, but it’s worth it to keep the flowers blooming and the gardens looking tidy. Some days it was just too darn hot to work, so time was spent taking notes and jotting ideas. The last of the mulch was finally shoveled off the truck. Many fall crops had to be reseeded due to poor germination. A look at the photo above shows that many of the trellis crops were finished and the trellises were cleaned off. The sprawling vine crops began to yellow as the squash and pumpkins matured. And paths were given a weed.

Some new irises arrived and were planted. And, there was lots of time spent studying bulb catalogs and writing and revising orders. This was partly because of unavailable varieties, and partly because as the month passed the dreams for next year expanded! The Geo seed catalog arrived (on-line because of a paper shortage!) and hours and hours were spent reading all the fine print and making out an order. Of course, this had to be revised a dozen times as well.

I’d forgotten how much time meetings, luncheons, book club (it was my month to be the presenter “A Thousand Acres”) eat up. D also wanted to take a short trip in his little car, so we went with the MG club to northern Ohio, and then stopped to visit his last remaining aunt in Toledo. And, we also did a bit of entertaining while dining outdoors is still feasible.

There was LOTS of harvesting, but not much preserving, as the jars are all full and canning lids are scarce so most of the produce was given away. Only 14 quarts of tomato juice joined the shelves this month.

Harvest-wise, 225.5 pounds were gathered from the potager’s beds. Tomatoes and melons accounted for most of the weight, but beans, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash (Bossa Nova is DEFINITELY on the list for next year!) onions, carrots, lettuces, radishes and herbs also contributed. That’s down a bit from 2020’s 282.75 lbs. partly due to lack of rain, and partly because I’d reduced the number of tomatoes and peppers purposefully.

So, now you are caught up for September!

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