As summer ends, we see a garden grown tall beginning to recline closer to the ground, leaves browning, and spent flower heads bowing graciously in departure. This garden is always rising and falling, and our human role as custodians is simply to move the temporarily captured sunlight of a plant from one form to another. The bodies of these plants, which have lived out their lives on this patch, will undergo a further transformation, eventually emerging as finished compost—the stuff out of which the next generation of plants will grow. Our role is to keep the cycle moving, to keep tinkering, and continually learning to be more appreciative.
We had a gorgeous harvest of tomatoes this year, which featured in delicious salads, soups, and sauces. Our winter squash, having cured in the sun, now goes into the cool dark to sweeten. Late peppers are still ripening on their stems, while those that ripened earlier have been dehydrated into pepper flakes and powder. We strained 3 quarts of honey, and a jar of precious Hopi blue corn awaits its transformation into masa, then tortillas. We’re finding new applications for passion fruits on a daily basis, as we collect them from the ground.
We’ve brought down two beautiful racks of bananas and check regularly on the season’s final crops—Fuyu persimmons (the kind you can eat crisp without fear of astringency), a variety of figs, and a great underground haul of Japanese sweet potatoes.
Ushering in the fall means removing the old plants, as well as planning for the new season. In the realm of annual vegetables, we’ve been starting seeds for cool winter crops, including beets, dill, and fennel. We’ll also grow staples like garlic and potatoes.
We’ve also been propagating medicinal herbs from cuttings. With this technique, you simply cut the tip (a segment of several inches) from a living plant, then place it in soil and allow it to grow new roots. This method works for many members of the mint family (Lamiaciae).
Did you know that the mint family includes all the Sages (genus Salvia) and Basils (genus Ocimum)? We’re propagating Pineapple Sage, Vana Holy Basil, and African Blue Basil via cuttings—all plants that attract wonderful pollinators and provide medicinal teas from their leaves and flowers. Autumn and winter are the best time for establishing perennial plants, when we will be planting these rooted cuttings for use by the BirdHouse Community Apothecary.
With the help of BirdHouse member Emma Stark, we’re also preparing a bed to grow gourmet Winecap Stropharia mushrooms in a perpetually shady corner of the garden.
Stay tuned for future garden updates!
