It hit 103 degrees yesterday. It's so hot I don't even want to go out there and water, and my cucumber and squash leaves are like half-raised pool umbrellas by nine in the morning, although the crops in general seem pretty happy, those heat-lovers (especially the lamb's quarters!). Not like the spring lettuces that would scream for mercy the second the heat passed 75 degrees, or that kale that simply decided, "I'll show you. I'll turn bitter!"
But the calendar does say August 10, and that does mean it's getting to be time for change. It means beds need to be cleared out, compost tossed and added, and new seeds planted if I want to have a true four-season garden. And I do. Because a man named Eliot Coleman talked me into it years ago in his book, Four-Season Harvest. As the FoodShed Summer Reading Pick of the Week, Four-Season Harvest can only inspire you, especially once you realize that Eliot is gardening in Maine.
The big strength of this book is the details Eliot gives about ways to get through the winter--from greenhouses to cold frames, tunnels to root cellars. Last year, I used a cold frame over what had been a very productive fall garden lettuce patch. I was able to pick a bit during the winter (okay, we're talking three weeks in January here), and once we hit mid-February (which is pretty much the true kick-off of spring here in Atlanta), my lettuces were ready to shine. That was also kale's time to take center-stage, and we ate it daily. It shocks me how many folks in Atlanta consider summer the only season for gardening. The summer garden is my least favorite, and usually the most difficult because of pests and this incessant heat.
So, I have to admit. I'm sick of eggplant. I'm sick of squash. I'm even getting a little bored, if you can believe it, with the heirloom tomatoes. The thought of clearing a bed or two, smelling the sweet soil in my hands, and imagining what is yet to come when cool breezes blow once more and butterflies abound is nothing short of refreshing.
And, here in Atlanta, school starts Monday. And you know what that means? Summer Reading is now over.
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1 comments:
Don't clear everything, Pattie, save some seeds. Things going to seed attract insects that help to control other insects - you need some plants of every stage of growth to have an ecosystem (like in a native forest). Secondly, each time you save seeds you are selecting plants that did well in your area.Each year that you select the best you are helping get the most from your own conditions. If you always buy seeds you are growing seeds from plants that did well somewhere else.From Kate
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