The Value of Taking Stock

In our fast-paced world, it’s often easy to put off the time to reflect on the year’s successes and failures as we plow ahead into the holiday season. But now is a great time, while memories are still fresh, to look back at the gardening year and see what worked and what can be changed.

In my own garden, we had a bountiful crop of tomatillos, tomatoes, leeks and cucumbers. The squash patch, unfortunately, was decimated by wet spring weather and hordes of slugs. Next year, I will start my squash plants indoors and transplant them, to get a jump on the season if it’s wet again, and I’ll diligently patrol the patch for slugs, at least until the plants are established.

Our summer was hot and dry so many of the fungal diseases we normally get didn’t appear until much later in the fall, when most of the harvest was already in. We did, however, get many visitations by imported cabbageworm butterfly whose caterpillars gobbled up my young cabbage, kale, and bok choi seedlings. A note to self: place the floating row cover over the nursery area as well as in the garden, to prevent damage from happening in the first place.

One nice habit that I put in place this year was using an Excel spreadsheet to note the dates I planted and transplanted my seeds and seedlings. I was then able to note when the first harvest came in as well as any other comments such as “seed ran out!!”

I’m already receiving requests from seed companies to start putting orders in for 2013 so having these records on hand is very helpful. If you’re like me, I often have stashes of seed all around so now is the time to amalgamate, take note of what’s missing, and then plan for the next season without doubling up on seed that’s already on hand. Most seed lasts for 3-5 years so it’s not necessary to buy new every year.

One nice thing that I like to do at this time of the year is visit farmer’s markets and see what kind of produce is still around. If you like a particular squash, the person who grew it is right behind the table and you can ask them what variety it is. Most farmers are very forthcoming. They know that although most gardeners like to grow as much as they can, there’s a limit to what can be grown in an urban setting and they’ll continue to be able to sell produce.

So, as the days shorten, and wonderful stews are bubbling on the stovetop, take a moment to reflect and take stock of the year. I love the winter for re-charging my inner batteries. By the time February comes around, I’m itching to start planting and the season starts again.