Dear PDX Urban Farmers,
Walking home the other evening, I found myself moving through cool pockets of air, experiencing a certain relief, with another clear sign of fall’s approach. I don’t know about you, but these whiffs of autumn are clear in my garden too– I’ve noticed the squash leaves starting to give in and grey, the chamomile wilting, while every bowl in my house is beginning to fill with Honeycrisps. And as I watch these transitions, I feel tenderly about the season ahead of us.
I also find this sentiment harder to summon at the height of July and the entrance of August, the traditional window wherein many Portlander’s begin to establish their fall gardens, starting their kales, broccoli’s and other brassica’s, as well as the more root-y crops, like kohlrabi and parsnips. If you’ve overlooked this window, I encourage you to consider starts, as it’s not too late to put winter and fall food in the ground.
Meanwhile, September has its own opportunities for sowing autumnal foods, especially beets, kales, radishes, carrots, lettuces, mustards, as well as replenishing cover crops, like fava beans. Just like summer, fall has its tributes to its following seasons, and September makes a good time to start spring seedlings – here I think of alliums like garlic, onion sets and shallots.
All in all, gardening makes me consider how in every season there are inclinations of another season, and the cyclical nature of most gardening. With that said, I wish you the pleasant stirrings of this next transition. As always, feel free to reach out with all your edible gardening needs.
Happy Harvest,
PDX Urban Farms
