The slow transition to fall has been glorious this year. Yesterday we spent most of the afternoon bulk harvesting radishes and beets. Today we will continue the beet harvest by harvesting first bunches then bulking the remaining crop. The final touch will be broadcasting a cover crop of winter rye, triticale, and vetch over 9 beds that housed garlic, onions, leeks, celery, daikon radish, beets, peas, lettuce, spinach, arugula, and spicy mix, not to mention a handful of neglected eggplant and some wild broadcasted turnips.
The beauty of the season’s ending is simplicity. There is very little to figure out. It is like when a relative passes away and you can clearly see their life, process your relationship to them, unpack, and store any baggage being carried. The relationship has ended, there are no new interactions to question.
Death of the garden is bittersweet. Bitter for the ending of all the abundance, plants, and most of the fresh food. Sweet for all the cover crops germinating, the seeds to be harvested and cleaned, and the rest for both bodies and soil.
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