September greetings fellow gardeners and nature enthusiasts,

It’s now the 18th of September, and true fall is just around the corner. Then comes the equinox, and after that? Time ticks inexorably on; no use complaining. Damn, it gets dark so early now…

Let’s see, what noteworthy stuff happened this month? The drought drags on, challenging success in the gardens at every turn. With all the hand watering and soaker hoses oozing life-saving moisture, the surrounding scorched soil seemed to suck everything dry in no time flat. Consequently, yields are low and certainly not the tastiest.

We are most grateful, however, for this exception. Remember that cucumber patch I mentioned in my August blog? Well, it burst forth, and we were able to produce 28 pints of heavenly bread and butter pickles before it succumbed to downy mildew. Here is evidence of what happens with that dreadful disease in little over a week. Sigh. Tomatoes have only yielded enough for fresh eating and a couple of batches of Grandma Johnson’s mouth-watering tomato soup. Nothing could be better with grilled cheese sandwiches and, of course, accompanied by those pickles!

*A well-deserved break for a hardworking mom. And an Ody, of course!*

Here’s something I’ve never seen this happen here before. Yellow jackets wiped out my raspberries at the height of fruit production. They descended on ripening berries by the droves, sucking out delicious juice and rendering the fruit unusable. My only explanation for this behavior is a desperate need for moisture and nutrients during this desert-like season. My solution was to blast them with the hose in the afternoon heat for a couple of consecutive days, and that helped. I’ll get some late berries, but no raspberry jelly this year.

I’m now waiting for enough peppers to ripen for one batch of red pepper relish. I’m afraid I shan’t be forgiven if daughter, Meg, and son-in-law, Travis, don’t receive their favorite condiment. A mother’s work is never done ☺️.

*The beginning of the brew process with homegrown hops*

Speaking of Travis, I forgot to mention one of his many talents. He won first prize at the California State Fair several years ago for a craft beer he created. Well, that certainly cemented the fact that we now have a family brewmeister. So last year, when one of our suppliers offered started plugs for a “very acceptable” variety of hops, we went for it. Long story short, I planted Peter and Thumper. Knowing nothing, I was disappointed at season’s end, because not much happened. Silly girl, I thought hops were an annual! Wrong again. This year, (unlike Thumper in a different location), Peter went nuts along the chicken fence, producing enough hops for Travis, nephew Josh, and Josh’s wife, Claire, to brew, brew, brew! Results coming mid-October; full report in October blog. Excitement mounts…

In a different vein, if you need to do any lawn repair work, it’s best to do it immediately. The window of opportunity for best results closes by month’s end. Crabgrass can’t be controlled this late by any other means other than digging it out. If you can get lawn seed to germinate and establish itself before the ground freezes, you will be ready to apply your Blue Seal Safe ‘N Simple all-natural Weed Control at the appropriate time (timing imperative) in the spring. That puts you in sync with nature and will produce a healthy, beautiful lawn. Check out our website for full lawn care details.

I simply can’t end this blog without mentioning critter happenings. On September 5th, Gene called me to the west kitchen window. “Look, there’s a goat at the edge of the woods”. It turns out to be an immature piebald deer- not unheard of, but not common either. My jaw still dropped at the sight of a white deer with big brown blotches.

Late summer drew swarms of bees to “Autumn Joy” sedum. They also loved my patch of cover crop buckwheat. Lots of other pollinators joined in- a very reassuring sight.

As Gene and I sat on the porch enjoying our 4 o’clock beer last Saturday, the 13th, our last hold-out female hummingbird flitted from our tall red cannas to a twiggy dead branch on our sassafras. Catching our full gaze for sure, she flicked her tail three distinct times and then took flight south. That’s the last we’ve seen of her. Do our critters know us, or what?

For now, I’m gathering up a few more odds and ends in the main garden as the season winds down. I’m already thoroughly weeding, culling out poor performers, and getting it ready for chopped leaf compost. Clean-up for those further away niche veggie gardens will depend on my waning energy levels.

Lastly, just a few reminders:

A lovely selection of fall bulbs is in.
Several varieties of our famous garlic bulbs are due to arrive in early October.
Upcoming Bulb Seminar Saturday, Oct. 11th at 10 am.
Upcoming Bat Seminar on Saturday, October 25th, by Meg Harrington, our very own endangered species biologist.
Get excited about our upcoming Truckload Wild Bird Seed Sale in November.

That’s it for now.

Judy

September Musings 2025

Nashua Farmers’ Exchange