We have been having a beautiful fall here in Montana. Could be compensation for last fall’s early snows, could just be a cruel hoax and we will be under a foot of snow next week. Whichever it is, I’m fascinated by it. The weather in central Washington, eastern Oregon and coastal Oregon, all places I’ve lived, was so bland, so normal and predictable. I had grown complacent in my 180 day growing seasons, quick spring warm-ups, long, warm falls. Sure I grew beautiful, bountiful gardens. I loved it. It was in my blood. I remember my dad, who had been raised on a small family farm outside Birmingham, Alabama, lamenting the difficultly of raising a decent pepper, tomato and corn crop five miles inland of the Oregon Coast. He had no idea. Or maybe he did. I’ve never gardened in the south but have enjoyed Phillip Oliver’s southern gardening blog ‘Dirt Therapy’ It looks so beautifully warm, and absolutely lush. Perhaps moving from a humid, subtropical climate to a cooler, marine climate is as disarming as moving from a semi-arid (with excellent irrigation systems) to an alpine climate. Could be. I am certainly out of my gardening comfort zone. I’ve bought books, a few I’ve listed on this page as my favorites. Eliot Coleman’s ‘The Winter Harvest Handbook’ has given me so many wonderful ideas to extend the season. I highly recommend it. I am still working on improving the soil in the spot I have chosen for my garden. It’s my thing, what I studied in college and I have so much fun with it. I’m expecting some of the most beautiful, crumbly compost from a calving barn to be delivered very soon. I must go prepare!
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