>> Kayla Siefried
Welcome October! I must admit, it’s hard for me, a person who absolutely thrives in summer, to be so welcoming of October, a month so classically representative of autumn. And yet, this year, I’m so ready. I’m ready to finish the harvest in the garden, pull in the winter squashes, tuck in the carrot’s beets and parsnips with a whole lot of leaf mulch, and stake up the overwintering purple sprouting broccoli so they can withstand the autumnal winds.
Summer this year was great, but it was also so dry and full of fire in our province. I’m so incredibly happy to be writing this on a rainy September day, a slow steady drizzle that the soil can soak up. And may it keep on coming.
As I did some reflecting with friends on the equinox, we used nature as a guide: what abundance from the summer season are we grateful for? What do we want to let go of as the leaves drop away from the trees? And what are we ready to open to, as the darkness grows more abundant? I invite you to reflect on these questions too!
When I pondered the last of those questions, I realized I have a LOT to learn from the various gardens I tend. At this time of year as the days get shorter, and temperatures get cooler, plants slow their growth, focus their energy on roots stability and growth, and many go completely dormant. My summertime pattern of outward action, doing, and filling every moment of my day with tasks is coming to it’s seasonal close. What I’m opening to this autumn is learning from plants: to slow down, relearning how to just sit and read, how to be more settled, satisfied and still.
So, while you pile the leaf mulch on your gardens (protect that soil!) perhaps you’ll ponder what your garden has to teach you. And don’t forget to give the Compost Education Centre a call or email us with any gardening and composting questions that come up as you put that lovely garden to rest.
