Good morning! Welcome to Morning Chat for August 30, 2022!

garden snacks and garden transition

Our life lately revolves around the garden – watering, trimming and the best part harvesting! It amazes me every year that I work for months to get the garden to this point, and it really only lasts just weeks. And since we are in Montana, we never really know how long we will have until the cold winds start to blow, turning our once lush green garden into a winter playground for our ducks.

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This summer we have been hot. Usually, the area we live in has a blanket of smoke most of the summer which tends to drop the temperature 5-10 degrees. But this year, with the exception of a couple days, we have had clear skies. Which makes the garden happy. Our corn is nice and tall, and I have been patiently watching silk start to develop, giving the promise of yummy grilled corn in our not-too-distant future. The tomatoes and jalapenos are also enjoying the extra warmth as they plump and ripen. One of my favorite things to do is to go to the garden and pull a handful of fresh Sungold tomatoes off and enjoy them while I rummage around other parts of the garden. That’s summer for me.

But, like the seasons, change comes. And our garden is no exception. I had planted sugar snap peas in the spring and have just finished pulling out the last of the vines that had given us so many yummy snacks. Like the tomatoes now, they had been the veggie to enjoy on so many trips out in the late spring and early summer months.

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Soon it will be time to harvest the bounty of summer and transition the garden to its fall and winter growing. Our winter garden is nearly as diverse as our summer garden. Spinach, Chard, and Bok choi, are always favorites along with broccoli, kale, and Mache that will pull me to the garden in the cold winter months. Giving me a little does of garden therapy every time I open them up. And with that the promise of next summer.

-Dawn