It's the first day of fall. I would love to write an amazing post about what that means astrologically, spiritually, and historically from a mythological perspective....but I just don't want to. I'm in a mood and basically I'm just trying not to crawl in bed or open the bottle of wine that's been calling to me all day from the kitchen. I have a good reason for feeling this way, but I don't want to talk about that either....so let's talk about the garden.
I'm really started to notice how certain plants are starting to die back while others are at their height. The beans, which only produced 5 lousy pods, are dying back. Still scratching my head about why they were so unhappy. The corn has also finished and I've cut down nearly all the stocks. I've got two tall ones left standing and I'm having a hard time parting with them. They just seem so regal standing guard over the garden, it feels wrong to cut them down even though I know its time. Some of the squash are dying back, which is probably a good thing, since the leaves are so dense it takes me forever to even find the fruits and veggies hiding out underneath.
On the other end of the spectrum the cantaloupe is doing great. We already had our first one. The roommates and I all sat down and ate it together. You would have thought I had brought some strange fruit home from another country the way everyone oohhed and aahhed over it. It was the very first melon I've ever grown so I am pretty proud of myself. There are quite a few more out there ripening up as we speak. Also, we have watermelons that are close to being ready. My fingers are crossed that they turn out to be the sweet deliciousness I have been dreaming about for the last few months.
The tomatoes and peppers are also doing better, although not quite the turnout I had hoped for the heirloom tomatoes. I've been picking the tomatoes as soon as they have a lick of color to keep them safe from our furry masked bandits. Got two small black prince tomatoes the other day. The more I look at them, the less I want to eat them. They are such a dark reddish maroon color, they look like coagulated balls of blood . I told my friend, Dane, last night if any of his body parts turn that color he should go straight to the hospital. He was in the middle of cooking dinner. He refused to use those tomatoes and I got exiled from the kitchen. Lesson learned, don't talk about hospitals or blood around food.
I also discovered recently that these strange little squash I've been picking and complaining about were actually baby pumpkins and butternut squash, both of which I've grown before. I feel pretty stupid now, but at the time I was really stumped trying to figure out what they were. Anyway, there are still a few types of squash growing that I'm mystified about, but I'm just ignoring them now to see if they turn into anything recognizable before I throw another fit and embarrass myself again.
Supposedly, it's going to start cooling down this weekend. I guess I should start thinking about a fall/winter garden. Maybe this time around I will label stuff so I actually know what I'm growing....but then again that just sounds like it might take the mystery out of it. Let's be honest, surprising myself is half the fun.
