Did you hear it? Did you catch just a few bars of The Hallelujah Chorus coming from the direction of Brownwood Community Garden? As the rain and cooler temperatures finally made their appearance in Brownwood the middle of this month, our gardeners, volunteers, and even the plants seemed to be rejoicing as they breathed a sigh of relief.

What a difference a few degrees and some rainfall have made at the Garden! The peppers are once again returning to a normal size. Although they produced all summer, they were only a fraction of the size a pepper grown in favorable conditions should be. Tomato plants are blooming and just starting to set fruit, hopefully in time to put on enough growth before cold weather hits. Even if the tomatoes are still green, plenty of people find uses for them, or they can be ripened indoors. Those monster Armenian cucumbers that were planted in the summer and have produced well beyond our highest expectations are now winding down, but our fall Armenian and regular cucumbers are stepping in to take their place. The garden beds that were solarized during the extreme heat of the summer to help control our nematode problem were replanted the latter part of August with yellow squash, zucchini, and white scallop squash and are just starting to produce. We struggle to grow these during the spring due to vine borers and squash bugs. Just as the plants begin to bloom and put on their first squash or two, those two pests spread the word around town. Before long, squash bugs are everywhere, and it’s all out war. Unfortunately, we’re soon outnumbered, and the squash plants go down in defeat. So far this fall (knock on wood) we’ve not seen squash bugs in the area, and we’d appreciate it if this fall crop remains a secret. A dreaded vine borer or two have been spotted, but we recently started injecting the squash stems with bt, an organic control method, which protects them from the borer while not harming any of our pollinator friends. As long as we faithfully do our part on a weekly basis, we seem to have finally won that war. One day we will actually pick our last fig for the year, but so far, if you’re willing to look long and hard, pull a few branches down, or can reach to the tops of the branches, you will likely be rewarded with a few sweet delicacies. Our one bed of black eye peas is producing, but we’ll have to wait a bit longer for the green beans. Tatume squash, the one we planted due to its heat tolerance, continues to bloom beautifully but is not as prolific as expected. We’ll not pass final judgement quite yet. It still has time to prove itself worthy. The few cantaloupe and Israel melons that were planted are a sweet treat when one happens to ripen. Unfortunately, okra has been a huge disappointment. Sadly, the nematode tolerant seeds we planted ended up not being as effective as we had hoped. One bed was removed toward the end of the month, and treatment of that soil will soon begin. On the bright side, the sweet potato vines are looking absolutely gorgeous as they wind their way along the pathways, green and lush. Two varieties that are new to us, one that produces purple potatoes and the other, a nematode resistant variety, were planted this year, and we are excited to see what treasures lie just beneath the surface. Participants are encourage to join our treasure hunt. Tools provided.

Visitors are always welcome at the Garden, and as things are cooling down a bit, more people seem to be venturing out of their air-conditioned houses and finding their way to the Garden. A team of individuals who participated in the Walk Across Texas event, supported by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, gathered for an evening of activities. They learned how to manage nematodes, practiced pruning, harvested vegetables, and enjoyed the fruits of their labor during an exciting midway event. Additionally, they kept track of their miles to make the most of every moment. A few days later, a group of Brown County Christian School students joined us to help harvest, screen compost, and attend to other gardening chores. As both groups will tell you, wear comfortable attire if you happen to stop by, as you possibly will be given the opportunity to spend some time getting closer to nature.

So, it seems crazy that where we were keeping an eye on the high temperatures what seems like just yesterday, now as we watch the weather on the news or check it on our phone, we are keeping an eye on those nighttime lows. Production will slow as things cool off. We’re prepared for that. What we hope to avoid as long as possible is that damaging cold front that sneaks up on us, usually sandwiched between days of comfortable fall temperatures. It may be just one night, but that one night could be enough to take down the garden, leaving it nearly unrecognizable and definitely unproductive. We hope to have another month or even more to do what we find to be rewarding endeavors: enjoying the exercise, the fresh air and sunshine, the camaraderie, but mostly being a part of feeding those we can impact the most, those we may even unknowingly rub elbows with right here at home in Brownwood, Texas.

{Article by Jan Green}