The Madman Is Celebrating
Here we are smack dab in the middle of the full Harvest Moon on the 20th and the fall equinox on the 22nd. How exciting, the madman is celebrating two events. And, it looks like he has planned a multi-day feast. This was the fourth full moon of the summer. You see, moons don’t follow our calendar schedule and although summer has three months, sometimes an extra full moon sneaks in. This doesn’t happen very often.
Celebrating The Harvest Moon
If you missed the full harvest moon, don’t fret. Since the moon’s path across the sky is near the celestial equator at this time of year, it will look big for a few days yet. It will rise close to sunset and set close to sunrise. The harvest moon gets its name because it shines upon farmers working hard to harvest their crops before frost. With the extra light, workers could stay in the fields long past sunset. Remember, our ancestors never had the benefit of tractors with headlights.
The harvest moon is a floating moon – not because it hangs in the sky, but because sometimes it’s in September and sometimes it’s in October. It is always the full moon closest in time to the equinox. If the September full moon is closest, it becomes the Harvest Moon, and October’s moon is called the Hunter’s Moon. If the Harvest Moon falls in October, then September’s moon is called the Corn Moon. So, to follow this, you really have to know the astronomical calendar. The madman does, and he knows that this year the fall equinox is two days after the full moon or tomorrow, September 22.
Celebrating The Fall Equinox
When I asked the madman why we celebrate the fall equinox he just looked at me and said, “It’s a quarter point on the wheel of the year, that’s always worthy of a bonfire.” But, of course, his explanation didn’t end there. As I’ve said before, he knows his astronomical calendar and tomorrow, on the fall equinox, the sun will be midway between its highest point in the sky on the first day of summer to its lowest point on the first day of winter. Interestingly, on this day, there is equal daylight in both the northern and southern hemispheres of the earth. But, our northern days are getting shorter and their days are getting longer. We are looking towards winter; they are looking towards summer.
The Other Side of The World
Ancient civilizations didn’t know much about what was happening on the other side of the equator, but they did know that winter was coming. Time to gather and store the harvest and celebrate nature’s bounty – with a bonfire, of course. But, here in Connecticut, there won’t be a lot of celebration. Harvests have not been great. At first, the madman was trying to figure out what he did wrong. Our crops were okay, but not great. We got our share of produce, but couldn’t put up or share our usual amount.
During the growing season, he thought he did everything right. He did a soil test, and added amendments appropriately. He watered his transplants carefully and thoroughly, and he routinely scouted for nasty pests. And, he mulched, and removed weeds. He even did his planting dance. Why wasn’t the harvest better?
An Answer from an Unexpected Source
Then his answer came during an episode of the local morning news. He says he watches it for the weather even though the forecasts are never right. One of the news stories was about how tough the summer was for Connecticut farmers. The camera highlighted some tomatoes that were ruined by all the recent heavy rains. “Those tomatoes look like ours,” he exclaimed and promptly stopped looking for what he had done wrong.
Not Celebrating Too Much Water
It wasn’t him, it was too much water. Thank you, Mother Nature and next time, space it out some more, 3” of water per hour is a bit too much. You could send some of it to the West Coast – we have had enough and they could use it. According to the Northeast Regional Climate Center, the above normal rain fall we have experienced in the past few weeks has eased our drought conditions. In fact, as of Sept. 16, the average stream flow and groundwater levels range from normal to high for Connecticut.
As we were told in the Master Gardener program, our plants do well with 1” of water per week. Our growing season started out dry – Connecticut has been in a drought for the past few years. But, by the end of summer, we had more water than we could handle. Rains flooded the fields and acres upon acres of crops rotted.
Farming is Tough
In best conditions, agriculture is a tough business. Losses this year have been devastating, and our hearts go out to an industry that gives us so much. It makes our rotten tomatoes easier to take. As the madman always says, “I’m glad I don’t do this for a living.” Next time you are out and about, stop by your local farm stand and buy something. And, while you’re at it, thank them for their efforts.
All in all, we did okay this year. We had nice crops of potatoes and onions, but we harvested them in July before the August rains came. The suicide tomatoes (you know, the early ones that may or may not make it) gave us the best tomatoes. The madman suspects that’s because they were planted in nursery pots where drainage wasn’t a problem. The tomatoes planted in the ground showed early promise, but heavy rains did them in, just like the crops of the real farmers.
The Struggles of Eggplants and Sweet Peppers
This was not a good year for eggplants. The fruits were neither very large nor plentiful. The same can be said for the sweet peppers, but if you walk down the Row of Death, you’d think you were in the Garden of Eden. What’s the difference? Each pepper grows in its own 3 gallon nursery pot. Identical hot peppers set in the ground didn’t grow as well.
We were getting good summer squash until the rains came in July. And, since we tried to fool the striped cucumber beetle by planting our cucumbers late, they didn’t stand a chance. Beans, too. They were good until the roots became saturated and the bean support towers were blown over by one of the storms – it’s hard to remember which one.
Really, We’re Not Complaining
It may sound like we are doing a lot of complaining, but in fact, we are not. This is not our livelihood. We garden because we want to and we do enjoy the fresh vegetables. Besides, when we are out there looking at rain stunted plants and a monarch butterfly drifts by, we smile. After all, we garden for the native wildlife; and our Moon Garden, Meadow and flower beds were great. But, we note the low points in our journal so we can improve the tactics for next year. We usually plot our strategies over a cup of hot cocoa in the dark of winter.
But, today is a lemonade day and the madman looks ready for a glass.
