The Fall Garden is Planted

4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.  Jeremiah 29:4-5

It all started in the Garden, didn't it.  God is a gardener!  In Genesis 2:8 He planted a garden in the East and put the Man He created in it.  God communed with Adam in the garden and He would walk with Adam in the cool of the evening and fellowship with him there.  I think God meant for us to be in the garden and perhaps that's why I feel so at home there.

Gardening isn't always easy, though.  Growing conditions aren't always optimal, with it being too dry or too wet, with pests and critters, poor germination, crop failure, etc.  For instance, October is normally our driest month.  Not this year!  October was wet and so far, so is November.  On October 27th, in a brief lapse to the rain, we harvested the sweet potatoes, worked up the soil with a garden fork and hoe, and pulled up 8 rows and planted.  I am about a month and a half later than when I normally put the garden in.  This bothered me at first, but with the weather conditions, there was nothing differently I could have done.  You make the best of it and keep moving forward.

We have four varieties of carrots, kale, three varieties of beets, six varieties of lettuce, mustard greens, celery, cilantro, radishes, bok choy, parsley, three varieties of cabbage, two varieties of broccoli, three varieties of cauliflower and sugar snap peas.  I'll plant spinach a little later.

A couple days after planting, the skies opened up and it has rained every single day.  I walked out tonight with a flashlight to check on the progress as it has been too dark to assess the situation.  Did all the rain negatively affect the garden?  Well, the cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower are very happy.
Many of the other seeds have germinated, but I'll know more this weekend when it is daylight and I can better inspect things.

I know for certain that I'll have to replant carrots.  We have cats.  Outdoor cats.  Upon opening up the soil, the garden looks like a fun thing to dig in.  The cats promptly dug up a row and a half of carrots.  I am learning patience.  My first inclination is to dig a big hole and turn the cats into fertilizer for the garden, but the cats are pets and that would not endear me to my cat-loving family.  Sooo... I'm working on putting fencing up around the garden that will prohibit the cats from entering the garden.

I'm looking forward to tending the garden over the next four months, weeding and then eating the fresh produce that we grow.  There is nothing quite like picking sugar snap peas right off the vine and eating them while standing in the garden, enjoying the sweet taste and beautiful view.