end of september garden

This September was like every other. I want it to feel like Autumn, but Summer lingers on. This was a hot month, and we had steady rain as well, so the garden is actual green and producing well. The flower blooms are still stunning, which if anything is going to be dry, brown and crispy, you DON'T want it to be your flowers. I continue cutting flowers to bring indoors, something I love to do. I'll cherish these blooms as really we are in the final countdown until the first frost, which should come mid-October. The photo with Roone holding the watermelon is from a couple of days ago and shows that the plants are still green, colorful and thriving!

what a handsome watermelon model!

We planted one 4x4 bed with watermelon seeds saved from one we bought at a farmer's market a couple of years ago. There was only one melon that grew to be worthy of harvest, or so we hoped! From the outside it looked great, but I kept expectations low thinking I'd slice into it and it would be all white. Not the case, thankfully! It was bright red and sweet to the taste. We made it last over two dinners as a side dish. We could have eaten it in one setting, of course, but I wanted to make the moment last. Even though we only harvested one melon, that's not a big deal to us. The area given to these seeds was small, and we don't need a huge supply of watermelon. This is one of those "fun if it works" plantings.

This was a great time to add reading, writing and 'rithmetic (along with U.S. presidential studies and U.S. geography) to our days since the garden can mostly be left to itself. The tomatoes are still producing, I'm harvesting a bit of kale here and there, and hopefully before the frost I'll have a good supply of lima beans and possibly red beans, but they did not grow quickly so I don't think I'll have a very good return on them. The harvesting totals are getting higher and I doubt we'll top 500 pounds for the year, but if I'm able to consistently reap tomatoes in October it's a possibility.

Total pounds harvested thru September are 474, 

an addition of 98 pounds from 376 in August!

190 lbs ~ Roma Tomatoes

95 lbs ~ Potatoes

57 lbs ~ Beefsteak Tomatoes

47 lbs ~ Blackberries

27 lbs ~ Carrots

10 lbs ~ Garlic

14 lbs ~ Squash

12 lbs ~ Watermelon

9 lbs ~ Onions

3 lbs ~ Golden Beets

3 lbs ~ Green Beans

3 lbs ~ Cherry Tomatoes

1 lb ~ Cucumbers

1 lb ~ Sweet Peppers

1 lb ~ Tomatillo Tomatoes

1 lb ~ Lima Beans

Some items produces amazingly well and others did not. 

Usually we have an amazing amount of green beans, cucumbers and peppers, 

but this year did not so they really just served as garnishes for other main dishes.

However, we're so pleased that in a simple backyard with just under 1,000 square feet 

devoted to vegetables, fruit and herbs we are able to harvest this much food for our family!