The Fall Garden Is In

We have been rushing around at the end of the summer so much to do. Am I the only one who feels like this summer went by in the blink of an eye? I think it’s a nesting reaction before it gets too cold out to do anything. I am not sure why it happens; but it does every year from around the mid to late August until Labor Day every single year and sometimes well into September and October depending.

I have learned to choose my battles when it comes to our fall garden. I seriously ask myself these questions:
What are we likely to eat over the winter?
What have we had success with?
What will make great additions to the food we have been eating?

Once I mull my answers over I think about how we eat in the winter. The first thing that comes to mind is that we eat a lot of crock-pot or slow cooker meals, we eat a lot of home-made soups and stews, and we eat tons of stir fry.

My favorite fall veggies that go great in these types of dishes are:
Bok Choi
Swiss Chard
Sweet Potatoes
Mustard Greens
Kale
Variety of lettuces
Collards
Carrots (although we will probably not get a harvest of them)
and of course we have a huge Jerusalem Artichoke harvest coming in right now.

The other really compelling fact about a lot of our fall gardening choices is that they are mostly all power foods and we need to eat for health and the more we add to our diet will keep our immune system up as the weather does become cold for our particular regions. My husband has always contented that the weather does not affect our immune systems maybe it doesn’t for some folks but for me it does….I’m an emotional person as those of you who read my blog know. If it gets cold, dark, and rainy for weeks at a time I’m more likely to get sick because my immune system is down now whether it’s down because I’m emotionally down I’m not sure but it seems to be a trigger for me. Eating those power foods and getting plenty of rest and hitting the gym or taking walks makes me feel better and then my immune system stays boosted. It’s common sense to me but we have all been in spaces where we let ourselves get run down by forces outside our control.

Have you taken a deep breath and gotten your fall garden planted? Is a fall garden a possibility where you live? Here in Coastal North Carolina it can actually be one of my favorite seasons in the garden!

I am so excited about all of the soups and stews in the fall forecast this year I can’t wait! I truly do look forward to a cooler breeze in the air and I have loved the cooler mornings…how about you?

I wish you all a beautiful week….until next time!

Fondly,