2024 is now history – another year in the books.  Like many previous years, we feel blessed to have been able to grow fresh produce to help feed those in our local area who may struggle to afford it. To be able to accomplish this while doing something you enjoy, plus meeting new friends and getting outdoors in the fresh air, well who can complain about that? Ok, possibly we complain just a bit during the dog days of summer.

November brought an end to the warm season crops in the garden. With the upcoming Christmas season and its many activities, plus the need to get the winter rye cover crop planted so it could germinate before the temperatures dropped much more, the decision was made to remove all remaining tomatoes, peppers, okra, and squash. It was hard to uproot those towering okra plants that were still producing in the middle of November. They had produced so much better this year than last when they were hit hard by nematode. Actually, we still found nematode this year, but thankfully they were not as severe, and amazingly most of the plants seemed almost to shrug them off and defy what we would have expected- yellowing plants that were very low on production. Many of the fall tomato plants were loaded with green tomatoes, some just now starting to show a hint of pink, and the plants were working overtime trying to get those tomatoes ready to harvest. They would probably not have had time to ripen on the vine anyway, plus we knew many people look forward to making those fried green tomatoes or using them in other special recipes. Peppers were still producing, but as the temperatures dropped, production slowed.  Finally, most of the fall squash had produced a few squash before being hit with nematode. This was not a surprise since those beds had that same issue in the spring. Only one bed, the scallop squash, was not ready to give up quite yet, but a few very cold nights finally helped to change its mind. So, we put it out of its misery and sent it to the compost bin. The last of the summer crops were now gone.

By December, the garden was mostly bare. Only one cilantro bed, a few radishes, and some lettuce remained of the once thriving garden. What a change from the towering okra and lush peppers and tomatoes that had previously greeted us as we entered the garden!  (Completely expected although a little sad nonetheless.) But work in the garden was not over for the year. Compost was added to the beds along with shrimp meal which contains chitin. This is used in our multifaceted fight against nematode. Most of the beds were also planted with cereal rye as a cover crop which will add organic matter to the soil as well as help to control nematode. We use several different approaches in that fight, some when the garden is not in production and others when production is in high gear. A few of the remaining beds were not planted with cereal rye since they will be put back to work in the very near future

It all starts over again in January when we expect to plant over 1000 onions and then tidy up the garden after another busy year. For now, we celebrate growth in the garden as well as in ourselves. We celebrate new friendships and memories that were made. We celebrate being able to assist those in need.  We look ahead to the possibilities in 2025 – the perfect garden growing perfect produce under perfect conditions. These are the days to dream. These dreams are usually short lived, but for now, we choose to dream of the potential that awaits in that former baseball field which years ago started as someone else’s dream – a dream to see that empty field become a community garden. THAT dream was NOT short lived. Here we are 15 years later, Brownwood Community Garden, producing over 8000 pounds this year and going strong.