Oh, August garden, you give SO much! There are piles and baskets and handfuls and buckets of food coming in from the garden these days. Headed to the kitchen for preserving, and for eating. And the pigs, as you can see, are rather enjoying all the leftovers and garden surplus. So handy that they're positioned in the pasture just a fence over from the garden, it's as simple as tossing it over the side.
Some fall things have gone in - turnips and parsnips are planted, and a bed is being prepared for garlic (though that won't go in the ground for a while yet). I never did find the culprit of the tomato thief, though I am picking tomatoes just before they're ripe so as to get them before the culprit does (I do think groundhog or woodchuck). On the other side of the garden, it is voles, I believe, eating so many of our potatoes. It was a little heartbreaking to start digging a few up and find that most were eaten, at least in that first outside row. I need to explore more today. This has never happened before! But, interestingly, this year has been free of the usual pests we encounter in the garden - hornworms, squash bugs, potato beetles, etc - and instead full of bigger critters - woodchucks, groundhogs, and voles. The garden is just too big to fence deep enough to keep those fellas out, so I'll have to get creative next year about adding some deterrents to the plants most vulnerable. Always something new, in the garden to learn, isn't there? SO many things to learn.
While the days of summer are winding down, and our schedules are beginning to shift to the fall activities to come, I am comforted by the garden. Comforted by the knowledge that there is a whole lot of September goodness yet to come. September in the garden is just delightful - still so full of giving produce, and so much cooler and more comfortable to work in. I look forward to it all...
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During the growing season, I share a garden update once a week. If you are doing the same (on any day of the week) in your own online space, please leave a link in the comments section below so that we can take a stroll through your garden! Or simply, in your words, share what you've been up to in your own garden. Be sure not to miss the comments of these posts, as the garden wisdom shared by all of you is such a beautiful thing to see - I learn so much every week! Thank you, friends. And blessings on another year in the garden!
