This fall has been a gardener's dream: warm, sunny days, soaking rains, and frost-free nights. If there was a way for Mother Nature to make up for late spring snowstorms, this is the best we could have hoped for.
Walking through the garden right now, there are some sights that, if taken out of the context of a background of turning leaves and golden autumn sunlight, could just as easily have been taken in the middle of July as the second week of October.
This is the first year since I've had my own garden that we've gotten this late into the season without even the threat of the first frost (and if the long term forecast holds--fingers crossed!--it looks like we're in the clear for at least another week).
The flowers continue to bloom, the vines continue to fruit, and the garden is going strong. In October! By this time last year, the garden was
all but done.
Granted, some of the new growth will not make it maturity (reality is bound to set in eventually), but just the fact that I have new watermelons, tomatillos, tomatoes, pumpkins, and peppers growing strong in October is amazing in and of itself.
In a year that I've so often bemoaned how crazy the growing season has been, it sure is nice to feel gratitude for this late season gift of time.
What's growing in your garden this October?
Great pictures! We have some new growth on the squash plants and a bunch of new tomatoes. But will they ripen? I wish I had spent a bit more time/energy planting fall lettuces and other things because the weather really has been perfect! http://spygarden.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/48-obelisk-obelisk-obelisk/ Here's some pics of "new" growth on the "old" plants!
ReplyDeleteThank you! This has been a fantastic fall for "bonus" growth. We've had a few hard frosts, so most everything is done now, but for some broccoli, onions, lettuce, and root veg. I've been so busy with the garden even still, that I've been neglecting to regularly keep up with others I follow, so I'll have to click over and check yours out :)
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