Most of my garden time this month was spent harvesting. September is when most of the heavy lifting of the harvest occurs. I’m always amazed at how much food can be grown by one person on a small piece of land. This year’s harvest has been exceptional.
Sweet Potatoes and Onions
Here are sweet potatoes and onions. We still have lots of tomatoes, peppers, green beans, lettuce, squash, and more out there to be picked.
Lettuce
I had good luck getting late summer lettuce. I started seedlings indoors under lights and let them get good-sized before transplanting them to a bed. It’s almost impossible to start lettuce seeds directly in hot weather, so this approach really helps.
Weeds
I didn’t do much weeding this month, and now I’ll have to clean up the mess. It’s all good, though. The weeds are composted and their nutrition returned to the soil. I use no fertilizer except for home-generated compost. I’m letting a lot of the weeds decompose right in the garden. I still make a big compost pile that includes yard waste and household scraps.
Marigolds
I bought two flats of marigolds early in the year. I like to put some at the ends of the beds to add some color to the otherwise all-green or dirty look of a vegetable garden. It’s an inexpensive and easy approach. The marigolds thrive in the good garden soil and their brightness really adds a lot of garden cheer.
Marigolds and More
The marigolds that didn’t get into the garden were used by the back door to help create a small flower garden.
Harvesting will continue through the hard frosts, but most of my garden time now will be spent preparing the beds for next year.