Weed It and Reap: The Growing Season’s Still Going Strong

By Victoria Rolfe

The author during her September harvesting

Now, as fall flavors the air, the days begin to shorten and the weather cools, garden production is winding down. There are still plenty of fresh vegetables to harvest out there, but the frantic pace of August’s veggie madness has tapered off. Some of your plants may have shut down production altogether, either depleting their resources or succumbing to one or another pest or disease. But even in summer’s twilight, there are still some seeds to sow.

It is not too late to plant one more round of your quickly maturing cool season succession crops such as lettuce or radishes. You can extend your growing season by continuing to plant right up until fall.

A late season crop of lettuce emerging

And there are some crops you can grow through the winter months. Do not be so quick to pull up the kale. You can harvest the leaves right up to (and sometimes even through) the winter months. Sow some spinach seeds in September and you may be rewarded by a very early crop come next spring.

This kale may keep going strong into the winter months

The flower beds are not quite ready to give up the ghost either. There are still plenty of things in bloom out there during summer’s farewell performance.

Hydrangeas get even lovelier as they mature

Coneflowers continue to delight well after midsummer

Cannas are still flourishing

This summer phlox is still blooming well past its typical expiration date

And some flora hold off on their blossoms as if to give us something to look forward to before another growing season winds down to its final conclusion.

They’re not called fall anemones for nothing; they’re beginning to open in early September

Two types of pink sedum now join the party as a perfect complement to the purple Russian sage already in progress

These purple alliums are gorgeous next to the bright green kochia

Morning glories on my front porch have finally opened up their bright purple faces to the dawn’s early light

And some flowers that are now coming into their own just say autumn with their orange and yellow color pallet.

These mums, gloriosa daisies, and red sunflowers are making us think of the refreshing crisp weather just around the corner

I hope you have had a beautiful gardening season and are now relaxing as you reflect on the glory that nature has bequeathed you during the past few months. If you are new to the magic of gardening, it can be especially awe-inspiring. But even we seasoned gardeners never lose our joy and delight in the surprises that await us each and every summer. Bon jardinage!

Nothing says Happy September like a bouquet of sunflowers!

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Victoria Rolfe has had a love of gardening all her life, from the time she was a tiny child coveting the daffodils growing in her neighbor’s yard (and wondering why she couldn’t have them in her own), to her teenage years when she took her pot experimentation in a different direction by growing the seeds she extracted from the bag into a beautiful marijuana plant on her bedroom windowsill. She went on in her adult years to feed her family by growing a huge and bountiful vegetable garden, as well as beautifying her three-acre property with an array of ornamental trees, bushes and flowers in the magnificent Hudson Valley region of New York.

Victoria learned a great deal in the process of all this plant experimentation. She then added to that knowledge by taking courses with the Cornell Cooperative Extension to become a Master Gardener Volunteer. In her volunteer capacity, she helps to educate the public on gardening through classes and information booths, most notably at the Dutchess County N.Y. Fair each August. Throughout the summer months, Victoria is most likely to be found among the weeds, either in her own garden or those of others who actually pay her to play in their dirt and do the thing she loves best, delight in the magical world of gardening.

Victoria is not only a gardening aficionado; she is also passionate about helping people live a better life on less money. Visit her website and blog at brightfuture2budget4.weebly.com, or email her at brightfuture2budget4@gmail.com.