Winding Down

As summer wanes, the constant heat and dryness have taken a toll on much of my garden. To make matters worse, I switched to an evening watering schedule now that the school year has resumed. By the time the sun is low enough to make watering tolerable, the plants look wilted and thirsty.

I have been taking out plants, or parts of plants, and adding them to the compost pile as they start to wither. I find that I am sad to take the plants out! I have a relationship with them! I feel they have been faithful to produce and I should keep taking care of them until they die naturally! The rational part of me knows this is absurd and I am slowly removing the ones that are spent.

I just can't seem to pull up the watermelon vine. We have had several small but wonderful watermelon moments. I tend to baby it along with extra water and plant food. To just jerk it from the ground doesn't feel right! So I keep telling myself that some winters arrive late in Texas and there may yet be something to harvest.

The few plants I have cleared out have been lovingly chopped up and laid to rest in the compost pile. There they will while away the winter, being slowly consumed by bacteria and bugs. I will be able to greet them again next spring as a few molecules will live on in next year's garden!

Wilted tomato vines still have tomatoes!