There are still some things I need to put away, like the rolled up fencing that the peas grew on this year, and the buckets of stakes. But all in all, the garden is finished for 2011. This year's cycle is complete.
The vegetables are in the freezer, the cellar, the basement, canning jars, or long ago memories of delicious meals. The heirloom field corn I grew as an experiment--an experiment that turned out very abundant results--is dried and in barrels in the barn for feeding to the chickens this winter.
Now is a time of rest from weeding and watering and harvesting.
Now the cycle begins again: now is the time for planning next year's garden! Now is the time for research.
Like any gardener, I'm always looking for ways to get better soil, healthier plants, and bigger yields. Just because I've grown cukes, tomatoes, corn, etc for fourteen years doesn't mean there's not room for improvement.
Soon, the seed catalogs will start arriving in abundance. They are all ready trickling in this month, but the ones I really want, the organic, open-pollinated and heirloom ones, won't arrive until around Christmas time.
I have a short list all ready of what I want to grow for next year:
Federle, Brandywine and Mortgage Lifter tomatoes
Red Zeppelin and Candy onions
Black Beauty Zucchini
Bodacious sweet corn
Bloody Butcher field corn
Cayenne, Jalapeno and California Wonder peppers
Red Pontiac and Kennebec potatoes
That is just a sampling off the top of my head.
Gardening never truly ends; it is a cycle that goes round and round. Plan, Plant, Tend, Harvest, Plan, Plant, Tend, Harvest. . . It is a lifestyle.
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