Garden Update Fall 2021-May We Reap What We Sow

~ by Sn Paramjyoti Howe

Late summer and fall at Ishtadev Niwas is a magical time of the year. All our efforts now are now baring fruit. We shift our focus in the garden, from growing food, to the harvest. To this date we still have copious amounts of ground cherries, carrots, beets, and tomatoes to either pick and eat, store, or preserve for the winter. Carrots and beets go to the root cellar while tomatos are turned into Niwas tomato sauce. The tomatoes are harvested, roasted in the wood fired bread oven until slightly charred, pureed, and canned. We are also doing some dehydrating of green onions and ground cherries. These little efforts make the long winter months feel a little more bearable.

This is also the time of year where we begin planning for the next season. Due to the generous contribution of the Vahana herd (manure), we are going to do some major soil building in the lower garden called Rakhini. The tractor is also getting a new tiller to make that process a lot easier. Once all the gardens are prepped for next season we can then plant the garlic. We estimate that we will put about 900 cloves in the ground this year. For now we wait for the first frost to finish everything off and start to clean up.
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It seems that every growing season is an odd one here. Extreme heat at the end of June, a dry July and beginning of August, and a wet end to the summer keeps things interesting and offers many surprises, but the garden is always full of joy and some delicious snack. Today it is at its peek beauty with towering sunflowers, beautiful colours, and lush greens that will soon give way to the fall browns. I think i’ll go for a walk.