Change happens

There is nothing that highlights changes like absence. The old saying goes that a watched pot never boils. The same can be said for your garden, and really life in general. On Friday I drove back to Alabama to visit my Alma Matter and several friends from college. I arrived back home yesterday afternoon. I ended up being too worn out to really look at the garden from any closer than my driveway. But today I found a pleasant surprise, tomatoes I thought would never ripen suddenly had. Even more exciting is that my raised bed is flush with newly germinated seeds of several kinds. What will soon be my fall crop of mustard, carrots, collards, swiss chard, and lettuces are popping up with great speed. My fall squash plants are thriving and putting out little creeper vines too, which means I have to put up some trellising. That will hopefully keep me from having the same problems I've had with my tomatoes. Mainly that they have sprawled out and nearly taken over a single garden bed. 

On a less exciting note weeds and grass also has a way of popping up when you turn your back on it. That means there is some weeding and grass pulling in the newer beds to begin soon. After that will come some serious bed prep and mulching to choke out the weeds. Of course if that all happens soon enough I can plant out all my root vegetables and some cabbage varieties.