Is it just me, or is it hard to believe that it's September already? Wasn't it just a moment ago that you and I were talking about starting our gardens, and what we would plant; and now the days are so much shorter and the air is crisper. We can still fool ourselves for a little while but fall is coming!
I was pleased with our garden this year; things did much better than expected, with both the perennials and the annuals. Best results: sweet potatoe vines in our planters took off running and never looked back, they were just beautiful! Disappointments: tomatoes that seemed to be very slow to ripen on the vine. We had several varieties and they were all like that, in spite of having a very nice crop of green tomatoes. Oh, well, there is always next year!
A casual conversation the other day prompted an interesting question about "is it worth it to grow a garden?" I think I know your answer already, but these are my thoughts. I would say yes, yes, yes. If you have space for a garden, doesn't even have to be much space, you can plant a little of a few things like lettuce, peas, carrots, a couple tomato plants and a couple cucumber plants and eat fresh from that little patch for most of the summer. The flavor of your own garden produce is outstanding, plus you know where the produce came from and what went into it or on it. How can anyone say that with a patch of ground sitting there, waiting, it is not worth it to spend a few dollars on seeds and eat for the summer? If you have space for a larger garden, you can expand into things like potatoes, squash, cabbages, corn, and possibly fruit trees. At this point, you might have enough produce to freeze, can, or pickle, and then you're eating for a portion of the winter.
Economics aside, a garden gives so much more than just the produce. It is a place of peace and quiet, of connecting with nature and seeing the bigger picture of life. It is a place to realize that even in some small way we can all care for the earth. For families with children, you plant a lot more than seeds when you work with your kids in the garden. You spend quality time with the kids, teaching them how to care and nurture their little plants; you teach them where food comes from; you give them the pleasure of working side by side with you; the thrill of picking their first little fistful of peas from their own patch!
You're giving them the chance to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine, where they will grow and blossom just as surely as your plants. Those are a lot of positive returns for the price of a few seed packages!
I will be forever grateful to my Mom and Dad for giving me my first "garden" when I could barely toddle. The times we spent out in the garden together were absolutely priceless to me, especially now that those precious memories are all I have of that time. We'd pick peas and talk about life and I had the joy of being with the people who were my absolute best friends and teachers, my parents. So don't ever doubt the value of a garden, it is priceless in so many ways!
The next meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society is on September 21 at the Sunshine Room, SIGN, at 7 p.m; we'll hear John Senkiw talk about backyard birding. And the Fall Plant Sale is coming up on September 23, so mark those dates down!
Till next time, enjoy the garden.
