August 30th – September 5th, Week 23
RuthAnn’s Weekly Garden Diary
Documenting Progress and Reflections in the Garden
My attempt to document the planting, growth, harvesting, and preserving of our family’s 8000 square feet of garden.
Northeast Iowa Gardening in growing zone 4
Last frost date May15, First frost date September 15
August 30th to September 5th , Week 23
One and a half, that is the number of days I had at home this week because of back-to-back speaking engagements. Dipping our toes into September means we are in a race against frost and the end of the gardening season, so every day in the garden feels especially important. I tried to make the most of the limited time I had, prioritizing the crops that wouldn’t wait for a few days, keeping in mind that the forecasted heat would significantly speed up ripening.
What we harvested this week:
- Many bowls full of red raspberries, frozen.
- 25 pounds of concord grapes that we turned into 8 quarts of grape juice concentrate and 4 pints of grape jelly.
- Macintosh apples that we have dehydrated for school lunches.
- 40 lbs. of tomatoes washed cored and put into the freezer for sauce making.
Garden Talk:
The first planting of buckwheat is in full bloom, and the bees are busy. While observing the hive I noticed the bees coming back loaded with pollen! This is a good sign for late summer!
The rain knocked much of the buckwheat down so it will be a challenge to mow it off before it goes to seed but for now it is doing exactly what we need it to do, keeping the weeds down and providing a food source for our bees. And while it looks untidy, I have accepted that she, (the garden) is past the fresh beauty of youth and must now be appreciated for the legacy (harvest) she leaves.
The tomatoes have blighted completely and very few green leaves remain. The tomatoes that are left are smaller as the stress of the blight caused them to ripen before they were fully mature in size. Here in zone 4, I don’t mind a late summer blight like this because it helps us get a more complete tomato harvest. Dryer summers often mean that my plants don’t blight but then frost puts an end to our harvest well before the tomatoes have all had a chance to ripen!
A few morning glory seeds found their way to life and their purple and blue blossoms are mixed in with the Tromboncino squash hanging from the arch, giving the garden fairy tale feels. The first Yard Long beans are beginning to rattle like a maraca when the wind blows through the garden, and I am hoping to get more than a quart of dried black beans from them this year.
Reflections
Finishing strong.
I miss the lively hummingbirds now that they’ve gone south for the winter, but I’m determined to finish strong. For me, finishing strong isn’t just about staying disciplined and harvesting every crop; it’s really about ending the gardening season with gratitude, which will inspire next year’s efforts.
No one likes repeating an unpleasant experience. If I end this gardening season feeling defeated, I find it harder to get excited about next year’s garden.
It’s unhelpful to focus on my mistakes and waste energy blaming myself.
I want to focus on identifying mistakes and addressing them with a growth mindset.
Examples:
A heavy rainstorm knocked over the tomato alley, putting stress on the plants and cutting the season short. However, having a growth mindset means acknowledging our mistakes and using them as learning opportunities. The tomato fence design we found online likely wasn’t intended for soft, sandy soil like ours. Next year, we’ll add more posts to better support the cattle panels during storms.
We lost our favorite apple tree, as well as a smaller one, due to improper pruning over several years. However, I refuse to give up on growing apples. Losing a tree is difficult, but having a growth mindset means moving past disappointment and using what I’ve learned to nurture new trees that will produce plenty of apples for years to come!
I’ve noticed that my learning improves when I list out everything that didn’t go as planned, reflect on my disappointment, and discuss or write about how we’ll approach things differently next season.
What about you, are you sitting in the shame and disappointment of garden things that went wrong or n maybe even things that were neglected or are you taking a growth mindset and finishing the season with a positive attitude and a growth mindset.
