Mid-September and the garden is beginning to look a little sad. The greens aren’t as green, a few brown leaves have appeared and some of the garden has already been harvested and rototilled. But despite that, many surprises can still be found in every garden spot, bucket and afterthought location.

One gourd variety self-seeded right on the edge of the ready-to-use compost bin. Some of these bright green and yellow gourds are bigger than some of my pumpkins. Wow! They sure won’t make a nice, neat display in the center of the kitchen table, but they are guaranteed to invite lots of comments.

Many of my 48 tomato plants managed to escape the worst of the blight or fungus that plagues my favorite vegetable every year. I’m not sure what I’ll do differently next year. I planted clusters of tomato plants in three separate areas far away from each other, but because the fungus that destroys the plants is airborne, it traveled to all the plants eventually. Luckily, many of the plants had set fruit and most of those grew before the worst of the blight hit.

A cousin of mine who has had the same problem year after year finally decided to plant her tomatoes at a neighbor’s house a couple of miles from hers. I’m thinking I should buy or grow the more expensive fungus-resistant varieties next year.

But I’ll also hold out hope for drier weather next year. This year was wet, which increases the likelihood of fungus/blight. When the weather is on the dry side, the fungus can be held in check by watering only at the roots and not spraying the tops of the tomatoes.

Mid-September also means that the corn is finally ready to eat, the blackberries are done producing and the wildflowers have arrived. At least a half-dozen varieties of goldenrod are growing out back, along with white and blue wild asters, and some fall flowers that I have yet to identify.

The sunflowers, in their colorful array of lemon yellow, deep yellow and autumn reds, are at their peak. The best looking ones self-seeded, rather that those I intentionally planted. This is just another example, along with my giant gourds, that Mother Nature does what she darn well pleases.

Mid-September is also the time to prepare for my area’s annual big event – the Franklin County Fair. I’ve chosen the best of my various crops to place in competition, along with some of my canned vegetables and jams.

From now through mid-October, we can harvest the root crops, such as carrots and beets, and the late varieties of potatoes. We can also pick and dry herbs, start to clean up the areas that once grew vegetables now gone by, and preserve some of the harvest for those cold, winter months — while continuing to feast on whatever happens to be ready to eat.

Some thoughts on September garden tasks:

* As each section of a garden is harvested, be sure to thoroughly remove any grass or weeds that also shared the space. Fertilize with compost or some other environmentally safe produce, then rototill.

* Plant a cover crop, such as buckwheat or clover. This will boost fertility for the next season’s plantings, increase the organic matter and prevent erosion.

* Look for crops that may winter over and don’t rototill those areas. Parsley always winters over for me. Place a thick coat of mulch over a plant or two and you’ll have fresh parsley early in the spring. I have also found that some lettuces, dill and occasionally carrots will also winter over if covered properly. As for flowers, the hardy violet and its first cousins, Johnny-jump-ups (or violas), may also appear in the spring.

* Buy some inexpensive wild flower seeds and scatter them in a field or backyard area that isn’t regularly mowed. Bright red, orange or yellow blossoms may very well appear in the spring. One year, a beautiful maroon sunflower managed to grow through a mass of brush and blossom as I was planting the garden. Another time, huge orange and brown gloriosa daisies seemed to appear out of nowhere.

* Plan your perennial flower garden now. If a particular plant didn’t do so well where it was planted this year, find a friendlier place for it. Choose the bulb flowers you want to perk up the spring and plant them according to package directions. All perennials will benefit with a good application of fertilizer or compost, too. Some flower beds may need more soil. Now is the time to add it.

* Divide whichever perennials need more space. Besides bulb flowers such as tulips and daffodils, rhubarb and horseradish may also need additional room to grow.

* If memory isn’t a strong suit, take pictures of your garden so you’ll know where to plant or not plant a vegetable. Note: The same area should not be used for the same crop year after year.

* If this year’s garden wasn’t all that was hoped for, look at it as a learning experience. Every year is certainly different. I’ve heard from many people that their cucumbers didn’t do well at all, and some gardeners never had a chance to tire of eating summer squash and zucchini because so few grew.

* Take a chance and plant one more crop of lettuce or spinach. If nights don’t drop below freezing, you may have a few more meals of fresh garden salads, right from your garden.

* Never give up! Every growing season is different, with some crops producing incredible amounts of food, while others refuse to grow at all or very little. If this is your first time growing a garden, chalk it up to experience, research what could be done differently, and think ahead to next year and the joy of seeing tiny seeds push through the soil.

And finally, kick back and think about all that did do well, how this made you feel, and the fresh, delicious vegetables that were taken right from the magical earth, cooked and served at the dining room table.

Eileen Adams has been growing vegetables, and a few flowers, for 40 years. Every year is different and every year feels new. She still experiences the miracle of seeds turning into beautiful flowers or tasty vegetables. She may be reached at petsplants@midmaine.com.

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