Working the garden every year gives me renewed respect
for farmers. It’s hard, dirty, sweaty work, but at the same time oh so
fulfilling when you see your plants mature and thrive. Not everything lives of
course, but the crops that do come in make it that much more worthwhile.
I’ve pulled over 20 pumpkins out of the yard this year, a
couple bag’s worth of string beans, and the tomatoes are coming in really well
right now (and tasty too). Of course gofers took way more of my lettuce that I
would have wished this year and the crows find my corn just as tasty as I do
apparently. But my grapevines and sunflowers did extra well to make up for it,
so I consider it a pretty decent harvest.
So how do you reconnect with nature this time of year? It’s
Indian Summer and turning into Fall for us (which is our best time of year),
but what’s the weather like where you are? How are you enjoying the harvest
season?
I reconnect when I don't have to mow the lawn as often! Yeah, I'm not much for the great outdoors. Glad your garden did so well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I still don't care much for mowing lawns. They suck a lot of water and don't do much else.
DeleteI used to be in charge of my parents' yard while I was growing up, so I enjoy living in a condo where my HOA fees pay other folks to keep up the grounds. I do enjoy mountain biking and surfing, though -- my way of staying in touch with nature.
ReplyDeleteYes, HOAs are good about that, but I'm still a bit of a do-it-myself kind of guy when it comes to the yard.
DeleteI'm an apartment dweller barely hanging on to my bamboo plant, so I'll do nature a favor and stick with harvesting words :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you wound up with a wonderful bounty. Do enjoy it to the fullest :-)
It's tough to garden in an apartment, but I did try when I was in college. I met with "mixed" results:)
DeleteI only have an herb garden right now (even though we have room for a bigger garden outside) but I love always having fresh basil, cilantro, rosemary, and chives on hand :) My hubby is the green thumb, so I'm sure someday we'll have a few more goodies around :D
ReplyDeleteAlright, basil is a good one...I love to make pesto from it:)
DeleteOhhh... so neat you garden, Mark. I grew up with an amazing garden and eating fresh veggies is one of my favorite things about fall. We're starting to move into cooler weather here in Utah. Autumn is amazing here... the mountains with the leaves... sigh...
ReplyDeleteAnd 20 pumpkins??? Wow!
It's hard to go back to store-bough produce after tatsing the real thing fresh in your yard, huh? At least it is for me, and that keeps me gardening. Those pumpkins will come in hand come Halloween:)
DeleteThat's a lot of pumpkins! How wonderful! I don't work in my garden much, but my husband loves it. I've been enjoying the zucchini and cucumbers daily. Yum.
ReplyDeleteSounds tasty:) I used to grow zucchini, but now I eat my pumpkins. They go really good in pancakes:)
DeleteI wish we would grow some pumpkins. They're so colorful. Our tomatoes and corn turned out really good this year.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! What kind of corn did you grow? I'm looking to try a new variety:)
DeleteI need to hit up your place for the kids to buy pumpkins this year!! Lol
ReplyDeleteYeah, we'll propabaly still take our little one to the local Pumpkin Patch for the experience even though we grow them ourselves:)
DeleteI wish I could grow pumpkins, string beans, tomatoes and corn. But no garden for us as we live in an apartment.
ReplyDeleteAn apartment does present challenges, but I've grown tomatoes and peppers on a condo deck, and even know someone who did composting in their apartment.
Deletei love gardening and I wish I could spend more time in our backyard:)
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Yup, time is often hard to come by. I always wish I had mroe of it:)
DeleteVermont is definitely the place to be in autumn. The air is getting crisper and leaves are starting to turn. It does mean winter is coming - a bitter pill to swallow. But fall is to be cherished.
ReplyDeleteI love the changing of the leaves and would definitely like to do a trip to New England for that one year:)
DeleteI don't do vegetables, but I enjoy planting flowers. I did put a grapevine in along the fence. It's three years old now and we're starting to get some good grapes from it.
ReplyDeleteAnd get a scarecrow for that corn! :P
I totally need a scarecrow...gosh it sucks to be outwitted by birds:)
DeleteI've tried to grow pumpkins a few times now without any success. I think the possums like the pumpkins too much.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I compensate by growing lots of pumpkins...and I keep an eye out for raccoons.
Deletelove your list of tasty fall harvest treats!!
ReplyDeleteand more people should experience farming so they can appreciate it!
happy fall!
Happ Fall to you too:)
DeleteI love gardens! It's still toasty where I live.
ReplyDeleteGlad it's warm for somebody...I have a feeling that our Indian Summer is ending a bit early, but at least that means the Fall weather will soon be here:)
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