Putting Away the Spring Garden

Broccoli plants forming secondary flower stalks

This year I am aiming for a true 3-season (spring-summer-fall) garden.  My goal is to keep every bed in continuous use, or at least to not let them grow any crops of weeds.  So far my only complaint is that I really dislike pulling out crops that are still producing food, no matter how slow that production might be. 

The broccoli plants above had to go, despite the fact that they were producing some nice side-shoots, because it really is time to get the winter squash going if I want to have any before the squash bugs overrun me.  The same thing applies to the lettuce heads I pulled early so I could get the peppers and eggplants in the ground.  I have noticed the bottoms of the peas in the front bed are starting to yellow, so even though they're still producing well, I'm confident I'll be able to re-purpose that space soon as well.

R was a little confused when he came back to the garden earlier this week and the broccoli was gone.  It's been one of his favorite crops this spring.  I don't like to see him disappointed, but this is one of the things I like about gardening with him.  I like showing him the changing of the seasons.  I don't want it to be like switching a backdrop; it's a real, visceral part of his life.  The days of broccoli and strawberries are finite and precious - maybe shorter than we expect.