September Is the Other New Year’s
We call this first part of September the “Fall Planting Blitz.” Feels pretty accurate as we race to plant dozens and dozens of client gardens before day length gets too short, all while the weather has everyone in Middle Tennessee feeling like summer saved its worst for last.
We'll be honest: everyone is tired right now. The team's tired, the gardens are tired, and a lot of our clients are a little over it too. The recent heat wave left beds looking messy and bedraggled; the kind of sad-looking garden that makes even people who love this hobby start avoiding eye contact with their tomato plants.
And then we show up, clear out the mess and transform the space into tidy, freshly composted beds full of well-watered seedlings. You can watch it happen in real time — that little flicker of oh. Maybe this is still fun. Maybe it's not over yet.
Let me assure you: it's not! September is the other New Year's, a real, legitimate do-over, right when you need one most. New plants, a clean bed, and a few months left to make this season actually feel the way you wanted it to. So for inspiration, we asked the team: you've got about three months before the end of the season. What's one thing you're doing to make this season count? Here are our September “resolutions”:
Lizzie: Fall is actually her favorite garden season — she likes it better than summer, red russian kale over cucumbers any day. Her one goal this fall: really good cabbages. She's growing the Caraflex variety, and if it comes in well, that's success.
Emily: Stretching her summer harvest as long as possible while simultaneously starting all her fall favorites — greedy in the best way, getting both seasons at once. (Abi seconds this! BLTs ‘til the frost comes)
Kate: Preserving the last of her summer crops — canning, freezing, whatever it takes — so there's something to enjoy in the middle of winter.
Sarah: I’ve had Samin Nosrat’s cookbook Good Things ok my counter for months, and recently I’ve been trying allll the dressings: green goddess, ginger miso, house herb…. Now I just need the greens to go with it! I’m going to have a mix of arugula, red romaine, salanova, mustard and bok choy every day of October.
Abi: Savoring the cool mornings in the chipped metal chair in the corner of my garden, with coffee and my journal and the big fat bumble bees visiting the dahlias all around me. I want to just BE in my garden and not work in it all the time.
If any of these sound like your own garden goals for the next few months, you're in good company. Whether you're chasing one last harvest, starting fresh, or just trying to enjoy the dang thing for once, there's still time to make it happen. Just maybe pick early morning or evening until the weather breaks! 🥵
