Tis’ the season to say goodbye to your summer garden. Last week I pulled out almost all of my summer plants and started the process of winterizing my garden. Gardening has always been therapeutic for me and a place I feel at peace. There is something special about sticking your hands in the soil and growing something from a little seed that nourishes your body and also makes you feel a sense of accomplishment. I get it. I get why so many people garden. I almost wish I had a year round garden but if I am being honest, it is also a lot of work.
I decided not to do a garden next year. I seem to be on an every other year trajectory since my previous garden was in 2019. And I am totally fine with that. However, I don’t expect myself to remember everything I learned this year come the Spring of 2023 so here are some tips to help me remember and, maybe in the process, they will help you too.
Succession planting: Next time I have a garden I want to plant my vegetables in a way that allows me to maximize my space and produce. Once I pull my first batch of radishes, plant more! Same with carrots and anything else that could produce another round of harvest fairly quickly. Also if I don’t want to plant the same thing, like putting cabbage where the radishes were, then I can plant something else in place of it that utilizes the space properly. Key words there, only plant something that is space appropriate which leads me to my next point…
Spacing: My spacing was a smidge off this year. I didn’t realize how big my yellow squash or cucumber plants would get (whoops). Next time I need to remember this and space them out accordingly to avoid overcrowding. Thankfully I used tomato plant cages for the yellow squash and it kept them really contained. I also used a square cage for the cucumber plants to grow up and it worked so nicely; these are definitely two things I plan to do again.
Thinning: I need to remember to take thinning out my plants seriously. I learned the hard way with my carrots and leeks. The leeks were the worst, I thought I thinned them out but to my surprise they never got very big and still seemed overcrowded when I finally pulled them last weekend. Next time I need to make sure I follow the directions and give them the proper thinning and spacing that they require to thrive.
Weeding: A note to myself and to you… make sure to weed your garden daily or at least weekly before you water, this way you will stay on top of them as your garden continues to grow. Also a perk of thinning out your plants is that you can see weeds that grow in between your plants better. If your plants are too close together it can be hard to see the weeds that are growing right next to your plant.
There you have it, those are my final thoughts as I close out my spring and summer of gardening. I am thankful for all the kale, cucumbers, carrots, and more that I have grown and consumed this year. I have loved watching my garden thrive and tending to it. But in all honesty, I am ready for this season to end and to cozy on up for the fall and winter. I guess my houseplants and friends’ gardens will have to keep me occupied for the next year. Bye-bye garden, it’s been fun!
The Salty Exchange 