9.5.26 - Harvest and Hope
Transcript
INTRO
[Intro music fades in]
Good morning, friends, and welcome to another episode of The Keep Growing Podcast from Bob’s Market and Greenhouses. I’m John Morgan, coming to you from right here in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
We’ve been growing flowers, friends, and family right here since 1970, and this podcast is one more way we share practical tips with our neighbors across Mason, Belpre, Gallipolis, and the rest of the region.
Let’s dig in.
This week runs from Saturday, September 5th through Friday, September 11th. Labor Day sits right in the middle of it. September around here is harvest and hope in the same basket: jars on the counter, empty beds waiting on the next crop, and those first cooler evenings on the porch. Summer is still filling the kitchen, but go outside in the morning and fall is already tapping on the door.
WEATHER FIRST
Saturday still has some summer left in it. The National Weather Service has a chance of showers and thunderstorms—about fifty percent—with highs in the upper 80s to around 90 and heat-index values that can still poke near 100 in the afternoon. If you’re out early, that’s the comfortable window. If storms pop later, do a quick walk-through afterward: pick up debris and check hanging baskets.
Sunday looks like the handoff. A front moves through, skies clear, highs settle in the lower to mid 80s, and overnight lows drop into the lower 60s. That’s the first stretch this week that actually feels like September.
Labor Day Monday is mostly sunny and friendly—mid 80s, nicer nights. Tuesday and Wednesday warm back up, partly cloudy, upper 80s to the lower 90s in spots. Thursday brings a smaller chance of showers and storms, around thirty percent. Friday looks mostly sunny and a bit cooler, highs in the lower 80s. That’s a good outdoor day if Thursday’s rain stays light.
Plan the heavy lifting for Sunday through Monday and again on Friday. Water deeply when plants need it, especially containers, hanging baskets, and anything you just put in the ground. Light sprinkles don’t cut it in this pattern.
MAIN GARDEN FOCUS
Harvest the weekend, then make a little room.
The Almanac still has us picking what’s ripe so plants stay productive. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, and okra don’t get a federal holiday. If ripe fruit sits on the plant, production slows down. Keep picking.
Labor Day weekend is also a good time to dig late potatoes as the tops die back. Don’t wait until the vines are a soggy mess. When the tops have yellowed and fallen, loosen the soil with a fork, lift the hills, and let the potatoes dry in the shade for an hour or two before they go into a cool, dark spot. Leave any nicked ones on the kitchen counter and eat those first.
While you’re out there, take notes. Which tomato earned its keep? Which pepper sulked in the heat? Which zinnia was still showing off in early September? Variety name, where you planted it, and how it handled the summer. Future you will thank present you. A walk through the garden with a notebook still counts as celebrating Labor Day. The garden doesn’t punch a clock, but you can.
NEXT UP
Stay after the weeds, start cover crops, and water the new plantings.
That’s the September headline from Uncle Jim’s Almanac, and it fits this week.
Weeds that flower now are writing next spring’s to-do list. Pull them before they set seed. Bag anything that’s already heading out. Don’t compost those seed heads if you can help it.
If a summer bed is spent—cucumbers that have given out, squash that’s done, beans gone woody—clear it. Healthy material can go on the compost pile. Diseased or heavily infested plants should leave the garden.
Tuesday is a strong day in the Almanac to seed cover crops on that empty ground. The goal around here is to get most grasses and legumes in by mid-month so they can put on growth before a typical mid-to-late October frost. You’re feeding the soil and covering bare dirt so weeds don’t move back in.
Water anything newly planted. Fall watering matters as much as spring watering. Young trees, shrubs, divisions, and fresh seed beds dry out even when the air feels milder. Deep and less often beats a daily sprinkle.
If you’ve got crowded peonies, Wednesday is on the Almanac for dividing them. Water those divisions in well and don’t let them sit dry through that midweek warmth.
MOON PHASE
Friday, September 11th is the New Moon.
In the old gardening traditions a lot of us still follow around here, the New Moon is a prime planting day—seeds and transplants.
If the bed is ready, seed lettuce, spinach, and carrots. Soil is still warm enough to germinate, and shorter days are coming, which those cool-season crops like. Sow shallow, keep the surface evenly moist, and don’t let a crust form. A lightweight cover helps if the sun is still sharp or if flea beetles show up on the greens.
It’s also a good day to set hardy evergreens and other trees and shrubs while roots can still settle before winter. Dig the hole, water them in, and mulch—not piled against the trunk. Friday’s forecast looks mostly sunny and cooler than the middle of the week, which is kinder on new roots than a 90-degree afternoon.
You don’t have to believe the moon to use the day. Empty ground, cool-season seed, and a tree that needs a home are good Friday work either way.
One gentle note: Friday is also Patriot Day. A quiet hour in the garden is a decent way to mark the 25th anniversary.
RECAP
To Recap:
• Saturday still runs warm with a chance of storms and a high heat index. Harvest early. Sunday through Labor Day look like the pleasant window.
• Keep picking. Dig late potatoes as the tops die back. Write down what earned a spot next year.
• Stay after the weeds. Seed cover crops on empty beds. Water new plantings. Midweek heat comes back, so don’t tease the soil with light sprinkles.
• Friday the 11th: New Moon—lettuce, spinach, carrots, and trees and shrubs if you’re planting.
• Typical first frost here is still mid-to-late October. We’ve got time. Use it.
CLOSE
Check out our website at bobsmarket.com for show notes and more. The September Almanac is there if you want the whole month laid out week by week. And if you’re thinking about fall color, stop by your local Bob’s in Mason, Gallipolis, or Belpre and see what’s on the benches this week. We don’t guess from the microphone.
Until next time, get your hands dirty when the weather allows, stay curious, enjoy that first hint of porch weather, and, of course, keep growing.
[Outro music]
