The Day I Put My Community Garden to Bed for the Season

Hey, all, miss me? It's been a month since I last posted. In August I gave my community garden plot a report card (see The Day My Garden Gets a Late Summer Report Card), and just as I did in school, I discouraged myself. Then I remembered: I am a beginner vegetable gardener. It's all good. I re-energized myself and began to envision my 2019 community garden experiment.

On a cool September morning, I visit the garden at 7:30am to harvest tomatoes and peppers and to see what the rains have wrought. The garden is empty, quiet. Chipmunks leap over plots, finches enjoy the remaining sunflower seeds, tomato plants look peaked and lettuces end their growing season. The garden is bidding adieu for 2018.

To my surprise, two globe tomatoes redden in my plot, and I clip them off to ripen at home and protect them from pesky chipmunks. The cherry tomatoes are split and gnarly. I pull out the vines and cut them into bits for the compost bin. My cucumber and patty-pan vines go, too, neither one truly successful. 

Mid-August radishes are red and deformed but still tasty, and arugula planted at the same time starts to pop up. The biggest surprise is the bell and poblano peppers, which enjoy a late-season growth spurt. I leave them be for now so they can grow. Finally, I sow two lines of arugula seed. I hope to see fresh arugula before the first frost hits. As I leave the garden, I walk beneath a trellis filled with purple morning glories, brightening the day. 

This summer of 2018, I hoped to supply all my own vegetables and not to buy vegetables from green markets or from grocery stores. A tall order for a first-year community gardener and perhaps too high a threshold. In 2019 I will reset expectations and focus on my favorite vegetables: globe tomatoes, arugula, radishes, cucumbers. 

Ciao for now!  
-- Diane Tunick Morello