The spring started so strong in my garden. I had the biggest crop of strawberries I have ever had. The raspberries came in early. My seed-starting skills had finally produced a surplus of plants. When school got out in May, I planned to use the downtime that the early part of summer break offers educators to get things moving.
It was a perfect combination of events that got us to this overrun mess of a garden. In June of this year, our oldest daughter got married at our house. The garden got mildly neglected. It was unfortunate because June offered perfect growing conditions. It rained every night and was sunny during the days. It was perfect for the flowers we grew, as well as for the weeds we didn’t sow. The week after my daughter’s wedding I had my wisdom teeth removed and a few complications from that took me out a little more than I had planned. Then I jumped into the back-to-school rush.
When I examined my garden last week, I realized it was producing in spite of me rather than because of me. I’m incredibly grateful for the perennials and messy cover crops I planted when more productive aspirations reigned. All is not completely lost. Flowers, beans, tomatoes, and okra are doing great. Those incredible blackberries and raspberries are thriving. But there’s a lot of wild and weedy spaces. My garden has taken better care of me than I took care of it this summer.
Where to Start
I thought about just letting everything die back this winter and starting over next year. But then I decided to keep a few things alive because I do love plucking cabbages out from under our row covers at Thanksgiving. And the only way I can get a crop of carrots to produce is if I overwinter them. So here’s what I’m going to do instead. And if you’ve found yourself on the weedy side of a garden, here’s how you can salvage it.
- Resist perfection. Every part of your garden doesn’t need to grow year-round for it to be worthwhile. I’m covering up about half of my space because I don’t think I can (or want) to manage a full-scale garden at this point in the year. I’ll keep the tomatoes growing and add a few fall crops, but half of my space is getting covered up. My son took a weedeater (and even a mower) to the parts that were really crazy to make it easier for me.
- Take it one step at a time: I have roughly 28 3×7 ft wide rows in my garden. It would take days to get them all into a suitable shape. So I’m starting with a few that need the most urgent attention and celebrating the victory of getting one taken care of each day. My goal is to get a good start this 3-day holiday weekend, and then take care of one each day after that. By the first day of fall, things should be a little more manageable. I might need to a second visit from the weedeater. My back and spirit will thank me for not overdoing it.
- Grow a few things you really love: I love lettuce and greens in the fall and winter. It just isn’t something I can grow easily in our hot summers due to bolting so it feels like a special treat to eat arugula with homemade bread–something I love to make in the winter. So I’m investing my efforts there and lowering expectations everywhere else.
- Put out cover crops: The cover crops were a lifesaver when things went south this summer. Everywhere they were sewn, they grew prolifically and kept out the weeds. I’m going to plant both cold- and warm-season cover crops this fall and winter to ensure I’m “covered” in case things get out of hand again. No pun intended.
A New Season
As the number of people who eat around my dinner table consistently shrinks due to jobs, weddings, graduations, night classes, and high school events, I’m not sure I need the giant garden of years past. So I’m converting a lot of space to some of the perennials I love and enjoy in excess. All the blackberries that I forgot to prune and let grow wild this year will make a great source of free perennials. I’m looking forward to a bigger patch of beautiful low-maintenance dahlias next year.
I’m embracing a new season of growth and life at the Newcomb Farm and not letting mistakes of the past get me down. It’s a good metaphor for the season of life I’ve found myself in right now. And I’m grateful for the new seasons and for new mercies every morning.
