September is here! It seems like all summer we get this little drizzle of fresh produce coming from our gardens. Towards September, the little drizzle suddenly becomes a flood zone as the tomatoes and peppers finally ripen, the melons finally pull away from the vine and fruit is abundant. All this happens just as the weather starts to cool and remind us that the end is near.
I did my very first canning last week. As the owner of a very, very small home, canning has never been appealing. Where do I store it all? I choose to can 4 pints of pickles and 4 pints of pepperoncinis, a reasonable amount that will fit under the bed! I also froze some simple tomato sauce. It was easy and I think I will be doing this every year. The dehydrator has also been humming along, helping me take care of the giant watermelons I get from the market. It will be interesting to see how the pickles turn out in about a month.
This is also the time when I start to feel a little tired of being a greenhouse farmer. The watering, the harvesting, the massive amount of tomatoes! I think I like the germination and fruiting more than the harvesting. Sometimes it seems like a bit of chore to make use of the vegetables I spent all summer cultivating. Todd and I have decided that next year we really only need two tomato plants and five chard plants. Enough with the big garden, we are going to simplify as we always do.
The cool nights have been so nice! Having the windows open and listening to the crickets again makes sleep so much more enjoyable. I love these transitional times, I feel like I can hit the “start over” button all my plans and move forward with new ideas.
