Turning from summer into fall, our garden continues to bring forth fruit. 🙂

At the beginning of the season, I only expected growth through August, but this garden has exceeded my expectations. Since our last update, our active garden yielded these results by the end of September:

Strawberries

When I came outside after a thunderstorm to check on the garden, I found a visitor caught in the net.

Brave Paul freeing the bird caught in the net.

Scared to death, I gave him a lecture on staying out of my garden, and then asked Paul to free him. I then reset the net, but the little nibbles on the strawberries continue.

Even with the “sharing” with the birds, our plants produced 16 strawberries.

Tomatoes

Our four cherry tomato plants produced 66 tomatoes even after losing so many when I pruned the plants in August.

Cucumbers

The cucumber plants did not recover. Though done for the season, I really enjoyed the cucumbers and will watch them more closely next year.

When my son brought home a couple of Lima beans from a project at school, we planted them in the empty part of the garden where the cucumbers had grown. Though no sprouts yet, we continue to water.

Lettuce

Also gone are our romaine and our butter crunch bibb lettuce. Learning that lettuce does not like heat, we might need to find a better place to grow lettuce next year.

Peppers

Harvested 1 beautiful green pepper which I rinsed, dried, and placed in the freezer.

Carrots

The green leaves are growing taller which usually means the carrots have grown as deep as they can. I will harvest these this month and report back in November of the results.

Onions

Like the carrots, the green stems are growing more. Looks like I have some digging to do to rescue the onions from the earth.

Herbs

With the herbs growing so well, I again cut, dried, and stored more parsley, basil, and oregano. Since they continue to grow, I will continue to prune and dry these herbs.

September 3, 2012                September 23, 2012

Continuing to grow and produce, our garden provided our family with strawberries, tomatoes, a green pepper, and herbs during September. Though I am not as faithful with the watering, the cooler temperatures seem to retain the water enough for growth.

In using time wisely, I have come to adore our garden and check on it often. Besides the fruit, I enjoy the conversations and development shared throughout the process. Love the opportunity to teach in action. Learning along the way!

Question: How do outdoor activities spur conversations at your home?