The ancients believed that the Dog Days, those sultry weeks between July 3 and Aug. 11, would drive both humans and dogs to madness. That’s when Sirius, the ‘Dog Star’ in the constellation Canis Major, rises spectacularly in the late-summer sky. Greeks and Romans believed it added its heat to the sun’s, causing even hotter weather and an array of misfortunes like drought, disease and bad luck.
It’s Sept. and I can’t blame my problems on the Dog Star, but these days I’m often feeling like one over-stressed gardener.
If you grow fruits and vegetables, it’s harvest time. I keep reminding myself that all this bounty is what I was dreaming about way back in March when I planted those tiny tomato seeds. But my husband and I can’t eat it all, and I don’t want to waste a single bite, so I’m preserving as much as I can. I’ve been roasting trays of tomatoes at 400 degrees when the temperature’s been in triple digits outside. While the results are so satisfying, it’s time-consuming work that takes time out of my day when I would prefer to be doing something cooler.
One positive change in this growing season is that for the very first time, I have a list of local food banks that accept fresh produce donations daily. Need a break from making jam or canning tomatoes? Take the week off! You’ll be refreshed when you return. To find out where and when you can drop your extra produce, go to yhne.ws/ycmgfoodbanks.
It’s times like these that test a gardener’s resolve. Non-gardeners friends might roll their eyes and wonder, “Why go to all this trouble when you can buy anything you need at the store for just a few bucks?”
Even life-long gardeners sometimes question whether our work is worth the time and effort. Feeling overwhelmed is normal at this time of year. Cut yourself some slack.
Try setting the alarm to go off a little earlier so you can get out and garden when the morning is still cool. Not only will you feel more comfortable, but harvesting fruits and vegetables early in the morning when sugars are higher will ensure that they also taste their best and store well.
The same holds true for cut flowers. Harvest them before the heat of the day wilts them. Cut them at an angle with a clean, sharp knife or pruner, remove all leaves that will sit below the waterline and plunge them into cool water with a flower preservative added.
It’s at this time of year when gardens look more like overgrown tangles. Weeds grow by leaps and bounds, seemingly overnight. If a gardener turns their head to weeds now, they will not miss this opportunity to take over. If allowed to go to seed, weeds are guaranteed to return next year in exponential numbers.
Weeding will be easier a day after a deep irrigation, and don’t forget a deep mulch to prevent re-growth. Focus on weeding one small area at a time as you move through the garden.
Last year, they were spectacular. This year, I had a gardening disaster with a huge patch of sunflowers I was growing for bees and bouquets. It was totally my fault. I can’t blame it on my husband, bugs, pathology or the weather.
But one thing I’ve learned in all these years of gardening is that just as it is in life, gardening failures are the best learning opportunities. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to patch things up. I just look the other way when walking through that part of the garden. I remind myself that a picture perfect garden is likely an AI image cooked up by someone who wouldn’t know a tulip bulb from a golf ball.
If reality, a perfect garden couldn’t be farther from the truth. Trying to achieve that ideal can be disappointing and frustrating.
Even experienced gardeners admit that every year presents unique challenges. No matter how hard we work and plan, gardening is unpredictable, and every year is different, for better or worse. Accepting that your garden will never be perfect allows you to focus on its positive aspects.
Planting a seed and watching it grow from nothing into something spectacular is more than providing food or flowers for you and your family. It’s one of the most meaningful things we can do. I know that everyone reading this has similar stories from their own gardening year that are just as compelling.
To all who have plowed and planted, hoed and weeded; laughed and cried and cursed in the garden this season, I send heartfelt thanks and appreciation. God bless you for growing a good life. Don’t ever stop.
Carol Barany and her husband, John, found paradise on 1 1/3 acres just west of Franklin Park, where they raised three children and became Master Gardeners. Contact her at florabundance14@gmail.com.
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