A lot has gone wrong in my garden this summer. I look back on my posts and it seems that all I’ve been doing is kvetching about blossom end rot or squash vine borer or poor germination. I’ve even gone so far as to complain about my gummy pruners. That’s it. It all stops here. Well, it’ll actually all stop here tomorrow when I prepare for fall gardening. I’m going to rip up most of my tomatoes, which have succumbed to Xanthamonas or Septoria or something. They are slowing withering, despite a recent fertilizing and good watering. Oh well. From what Ive heard, whatever blight has befallen me also has befallen most of the other gardeners in my area.

Deciding what to plant next for fall gardening

Whats going in place of the tomatoes? Will I sow a whole 20 square feet of lettuce and spinach seed? Will I transplant some cabbage or broccoli seedlings into that space? Maybe a last crop of chard? Hmmmm, the possibilities are nearly endless.

Honestly, I have absolutely no plans for that space for fall gardening. None. That portion of my garden is taking a hiatus until next spring. It won’t be totally bare: My summer dill has reseeded itself and is using good weather to make hay while the sun shines.

Spinach, lettuce, and beets

I have sown a small row or two of Tyee Spinach, Vulcan Lettuce, and Golden Beets. I am sure with the fine weather we are having now in the Northeast that I’ll see germination pretty soon (Hurricane Irene willing, that is). I can keep that lettuce and spinach going for a while. Beets, too. Some row covers can help when chills really set in. But I’m fine with a quick-in-quick-out fall planting and harvesting this year.

You see, I’m ready for a break. I’m ready to put my summer veggie troubles aside, slow down a bit for fall gardening, and reap whatever comes from this late-summer harvest. Stopping, resting and evaluating is a good thing, and I haven’t done enough of that this year. A thin fall crop may be just what Im looking for.