Not wanting wish away my summer but I really need to think about winter. The summer garden is in full swing and doing its thing. The tomato inundation has begun and it is such a pleasure to enjoy fresh at its best. The basil is positively flourishing and having both complimenting each other side by side on the plate is a delightful indulgence. If there is such a thing as tasting the seasons, this is summer in a nut shell.
But each season has its delights and pleasures. The late season chillies and peppers add a zing and warmth that works so well with freshly harvested pumpkins that ease us into the increasing cool weather as summer loses its grip. By this time the novelty of veggies from summer has worn off and we are looking for something else from our diets. It is difficult for me to imagine right now, but soon I will be so sick of tomatoes that won’t be adding them to every meal!
So with the autumn harvest covered, we need to look beyond to the depths of winter to ensure that what is on offer in the garden will satisfy cravings and desires in the same way. And that means sowing seeds. I love sowing seeds. Each packet doesn’t just contain nuggets of dormant organic material, they contain hope.
Reaching for my seed box and having a rummage is a great way to garden when it would be complete madness to be out in the heat of the day. It isn’t so much the heat that makes it unbearable, but the humidity. According to the app on my phone it is telling me the humidity is at 72%. It also says the temperature is 24°C but feels like 26°C. I’m not so sure about that because the garden thermometer I was given for Christmas but still haven’t put up yet – so it is still on my desk says 33°C and that feels more accurate. I’m a bit free and easy with the information I choose to believe sometimes.
It is amazing what the mind can do, as I selectively pull packets out of my seed box and gather together a collection of things that will largely make up my winter garden it feels cooler. As I read the instructions on the back of the packets my mind races ahead to those cold winter days when I will gain so much pleasure from gathering turnips for tea, or triumphantly harvesting a broccoli that won’t be riddled with little fuzzy green caterpillars. The freezing rain will drip off my fingers as I pick the last of the peas before the frosty weather truly sets in. The carrots will come out of the ground with a slurp as the water oozes out of the sodden soil and quickly fills the hole the carrot has left. It will be fab! It won’t be hot. Although I probably will be moaning about how cold it is. Such is life.
So once it cools down this evening or even in a day or two I’ll be out there sowing the seeds:
- Turnips – purple top white globe and Japanese Hakurei,
- Coriander and dill – because when we do manage to catch a fish on the boat we’ll be pleased to have these in the garden
- Winter triumph iceberg lettuce and some radish, should we want to crank up the heat and pretend it is summer, just for a moment.
- More beetroot and carrots because I can grow them all year round – so I should
- Cauliflower – although I’m not completely smitten with the taste, but I’ll give it another go
- Leeks and spring onions, because I can. I have some mini leek seeds somewhere that will be perfect for my Spanish spring onion festival.
- I have chicory seeds as well – but I’ve never had much luck with them so I’ll try, try and try again.
- I can’t forget the kohlrabi. I love kohlrabi and it would seem I can grow it all year round so why wouldn’t I want to grow it?
- I also have a spinach that it would seem can be sown now. How I have I missed that bit of info. I do like spinach.
The garden also currently has kale, flower sprouts, rainbow beets and parsnips that will be perfectly harvestable come the cold weather. This of course isn’t a comprehensive list as I may just need to pop down to the garden centre to check if there is anything I may have missed.
Come again soon – there is soon to be little green babies about the place – awhh cute!
Sarah the Gardener : o )
Awesome update thank you for sharing Sarah have a blessed day
Have a fabulous weekend Linda.
Cheers Sarah : o)
Your welcome have you read mylates
Hi Linda. It is great to see you sowing seeds for the new season already.
Cheers Sarah : o)
I love your phrase about seed packets being full of dormant hope. Happy preparations for autumn gardening…
Thanks Helen. We still have a month of summer to go, but I’m forced to think about next season. We always seem to have one foot in each season as a gardener – enjoying one and longing for the next.
Cheers Sarah : o)
Yes, indeed. At least there is something to look forward to all the time. I got my seeds out today and thought of your post as I got excited about what I’m going to grow this year 🙂
I so often read your posts with a bit of envy because you are able to have some winter growth unlike our positive dormancy at best and frozen tundra at worst. Although the positive is that we have a rest after our intense summer work. Your tomatoes almost make me think about starting seeds. I will have a hard time resisting the urge this year. We are swearing to a year off, and I intend to hang tight on that plan. We really need to empty the cellar before we think of adding anything. Happy gardening with the rest of your season!!
Thanks Lucinda. Gosh I think I would be completely lost if I didn’t garden for a year. I’m am always trying to plan and plant sensibly so there is just the right amount … never happens though!
Cheers Sarah : o)
I am living vicariously through you, Sarah. I can almost taste those tomatoes and smell that basil. We started some lettuce in the window the other day, but it will be a couple of months before we can get back out to the garden.
Hi Deb. It is so wonderful to just harvest instead of shopping. Although the countdowns to spring that keep popping up in my news feed is disconcerting – I’m not in a hurry to wish away my summer! However it won’t be long before I’m living vicariously through you.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Love the color in your photos! I am, personally, ready for spring and color here, but I recall being in this same place a few months ago.
I am trying so hard not to take this time of year for granted. It is easy to moan about the weather and not see the season for what it is – full of life, vibrancy and bright colours. Chatting with Northern gardeners is a great way to keep me from missing the best of what I have – even if it is a bit hot.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Enjoy it while you can!
I’m awfully jealous that you have warm weather when I am dreaming of it. Your garden is so lovely!
Thanks so much. It wont be too long that this will be the reverse and I’ll be the one dreaming.
Cheers Sarah : o)
Rummaging through seeds during the winter is a stress-reliever. The hope and promise of things to come. Thanks for sharing!
Sorting through seeds has to be one of the best parts of gardening. You can let your mind run away with you as to how this will be the perfect season and you can pretend the howling winds and summer rainstorms aren’t going to play a part at all this season. I hope you have a fab summer season this year.
Cheers Sarah : o)
I’m in winter here snd thinking about summer. I do love a good Canadian winter though😆
I am more than happy to share my sunny summer days with you because it won’t be long before I’m turning to the great big internet for a window of warmth oozing out of Northern gardens. Stay warm.
Cheers Sarah : o)
I am glad someone else lives in the hot summer,your winter garden sounds lovely!
Hi Cheryl. I always forget just how hot it gets. It is only for a week or two, but when it’s there it seems so overwhelming, but at the same time it seems somehow wrong to wish it away. I am looking forward to it dropping a couple of degrees though so I can continue to garden in comfort. And I don’t mind gardening in the cold either – well I say that now from the height of summer!
Cheers Sarah : o)