It's Almost Over (well, not really ...)

The end of the growing season always elicits mixed feelings here, both for me, and I think I can safely say for my daughter-in-law as well; she too grows lots of veggies and fruits, and does some canning; we both fill our freezers with produce, soups, sauces, and pesto.
Residing in an area with the shortest growing season in the continental US, we find it hard to imagine living in, say, Florida and having to maintain this level of work for weeks and months longer. Knowing that our first serious frost will likely hit sometime in the next week or two is a relief, in a way.
And then, the cleanup. All the trellising that supported peas, green beans, tomatoes must be taken down; two or three dozen 6-foot-tall metal T-stakes have to be pulled and stored away. Pole bean vines have entwined themselves around the tepees so firmly that they’ll need to be cut away, and the poles stored. There’s row cover here and there, metal hoops, irrigation T-tape, wooden stakes, the assorted flotsam and jetsam of the growing beds to be cleared. A few rows have black plastic that needs to be taken up. The browned, dried remains of all those corn, cucumber, tomato and squash plants will go into the field compost pile, along with the mounds of weeds we’ve been pulling.
Kale, broccoli, carrots and lettuce can stay in the field for awhile longer; light frosts won’t bother them, and will actually sweeten the kale. Once there’s a row that’s been cleaned, composted, and tilled, next year’s garlic will be planted and mulched. And we’ll see how long we can keep the greenhouse tomatoes and peppers going – it would help if the broken door was replaced!
Ideally, we’ll be spreading lime and some other soil amendments this fall; ideally, I’ll be tilling and sowing some winter rye. But we’ll see. Weariness outweighs motivation at this time of year, and it’s soooo tempting to just put things off until spring. But despite thinking that this season was not so great, with the heat and dryness, I find that the freezer is indeed full again and there’s much to be thankful for.
Yet I haven’t even mentioned prepping the daylilies, the perennial beds, or the potted plants for winter! That’s another post for later.
Meanwhile, thoughts turn to quilting and knitting ...