(Late) September Gardening

DSC_0023

DSC_0001

Milo’s face says it all. Basically, aw, man, how did we get into this mess?! We turned our backs on the vegetable garden in August and September, only lightly tending to the produce that was giving us what we wanted. But even the kale had wound and wrapped its way up through weeds and the raspberry bushes reaching for the sun in an attempt to survive. Our tomatoes stopped producing ripe fruit long ago, and our mint and basil had gone to seed a month ago.

DSC_0011

Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful autumn day here in St. Louis– warm in the sun, cool in the shade. Bright sunshine and perfect gardening weather. And with lots of storms on the horizon this week, the boys and I decided to tackle the inevitable job of garden clean-up. Right after I put Emil down for a nap, we got to work.

DSC_0013

DSC_0004

DSC_0015

With specific instructions on which plants to leave alone (the basil, chard, and chives might last a bit longer), I sent them in and let them pull, dig, explore, and destroy. And while I know they enjoyed planting the garden, I believe they found that un-planting the garden was more fun!

DSC_0017

DSC_0020

DSC_0026

DSC_0031

DSC_0033

Plus, they found all sorts of treasures, like snail shells and a live snail; earthworms; rolly-pollies; and a few toys given up for lost months ago.

DSC_0037

But the best part was just getting plain old dirty. Emil joined us and added to the fun, and we worked late into the afternoon as the shadows grew longer and the light faded and I realized, elbow-deep in mud, that I had not given dinner a good thought yet. Ah, life goes on without us realizing it sometimes, you know?

DSC_0045

Now it’s time for a few fall crops, don’t you think? We will definitely be planting some kale plants, perhaps some broccoli too. Have you had any luck with planting fall crops this late in the game? If we have another extremely mild winter like we did last year, we might find these crops more worthwhile than expected. Or… it will be a complete disaster. Happy fall to you!

6 thoughts on “(Late) September Gardening”
Post your thoughts

  1. What helpful little workers! And Milo with that garden tool looks like a little man. So cute.

    And, as someone who can barely keep house plants alive, I have no business giving garden advice! I aspire to be a garden owner! Someday. 🙂

  2. Un-planting does sound like a good time! Looks like they had fun. I meant to plant some late season stuff, but I’m worried it’s too late here, it’s been pretty cold. We’re going to do garlic though. I’m excited for that 🙂

  3. Hey Lauren! I absolutely adore checking out your posts of you and your three boys! Jerry, the boys and I just moved down to Arkansas from Chicago and now I get to be home for the first time! So excited. Anyway, we were hoping to throw in a few fall plants before it got too cool and I love your little kid-sized gardening tools. They look so much more sturdy than some of the ones I’ve seen. How do you like them? Where did you pick them up?

  4. Hi Monica! So glad you are getting to stay home now– it’s really an awesome gift! We received the gardening tools as a gift from Andrew’s brother and sister-in-law and I am not sure where they picked them up. But we really do love them. They are super sturdy and work like real adult-sized gardening tools. I will ask where they got them and email you!

  5. i love your dress in the most recent post – the whole outfit! i tried to leave a comment but it didn’t work. hoping this one sends. your garden looks lovely and how nice to have such good helpers. i love your style! hope to come back and see more… thanks for visiting me and for your kind comment.

  6. It looks like they had such a good time! I love that you’re teaching them these gardening skills so early and having them get out with you and do things. It’s also cool that your yard seems to be a really safe and enclosed space. I’ve been reluctant to bring Audrey out with me while I’m doing serious yard work because we have a lot of thick wooded areas in our yard, and I have worried about her getting bitten by a snake or something. But now that she’s a little bit older and listens better, I could probably start getting her involved like you did with your boys.

Leave a Reply to anushka Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*