An apparent detour: New garden update!

Yes, it SEEMS like a detour.

In September I wrote about delays in planting and germination, so transplanting some volunteer pumpkins without knowing what I would get.

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2025/09/garden-update-now-with-vocab.html 

They turned out to be more like gourds, staying quite small. 

There was another that mostly ripened, then got eaten by critters. A couple of other buds started growing, but were too late to get very big. It could be disappointing, but it would be so easy to have nothing at all.

I am also getting some clover coming in. It is either all volunteer or maybe there are some remnants from when I planted clover a few years ago. 

There is also some grass and weeds that I am going to have to deal with eventually., but that's not why I decided to post again.

Getting only three pumpkin plants -- only one of which survived -- left a lot of empty ground. I had mentioned cover crops and green manure last time.

Fava beans are popular for this. I think this is partly because of how they spread and their size, but also because of the nitrogen-fixing abilities of legumes.

I did not have any fava beans, but I did have some seed packets for peas and beans. 

I sprouted both and they all seemed responsive. Based on where I planted what, it was really the peas that took off. 

They did fill in a lot of the bare patches, and they added some interest, but getting such a late start I did not think they would get that far.

I have blossoms in mid-December.

Okay, it has been wet and warm. Those are not the worst growing conditions, but it is still a little cooler than spring would be, I think. Plus, there shouldn't really be any pollinators left. Without a frost, who knows?

Also, we are quite near the solstice. There are plants where if you plant them too close to the summer solstice, the change from days getting longer to getting shorter inhibits their growth, signaling them to shut down. I have no idea how the wintertime switch to days getting longer will work. 

I assume a frost will come at some point and that should still be a showstopper, but seriously, what do I know?

The planet is changing so quickly and unpredictably that it's hard to plan. We still plan, and plant.

One potential reason that people struggle with ambiguity is that lack of control. 

Not liking the lack of control is very relatable, but it doesn't change anything. Denial doesn't suddenly put you back in charge.

It's best to learn to adapt.