A Case for a Season of Rest in the Garden

‘Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.’ — Ralph Waldo Emerson

In Central Texas, our summer high temperatures remain in the upper nineties for three to four months, and once the evening temps hit 75 degrees or warmer, many of our summer crops will stop producing fertile flowers and hence, cease to produce fruit. While our hardworking farmers and farm workers continue to harvest and plant crops so that we can have food to eat, I want to encourage backyard gardeners to take a rest from gardening. Here is my case for making the fourth season of gardening, the season of rest.

Historically, and I mean way back in ancient times, farmers have understood that fallow fields are necessary to maintain fertile soil thus producing healthier crops the following season. A fallow field is one that is cultivated but left unsown for a period to restore its fertility. With plenty of land to farm, good farmers rotate their crops to allow some fields to become fallow. Soil health is the key to a healthy garden, so allowing the soil to rest is very important. This fallow time in the garden also allows us to conserve other resources. I haven’t done the math, but I tell novice gardeners in Texas that if they are utilizing municipal water to keep a summer garden alive, they are most likely running on a negative resources output — using way too much water to produce very little harvestable crops. There is also the problem of the heat. Not only does it cause plants to go dormant, it is really hard on human and animal health. I think gardening should be enjoyable and provide health benefits and while I agree that sweating is great for a detox now and then, the effect of the heat and sun day after day is not worth it. We need to accept that we don’t live in the same climate of Northern California where the summer harvest is bountiful. In mid-July, I put my entire garden to bed except for one that grows heat-loving plants — okra, peppers and eggplant. I will revive them again in mid-September. During this time, I especially like to buy produce directly from local growers at our farmers’ markets.

Rest grows better crops, literally and figuratively. During this rest time in the garden, you can take advantage of resting yourself too. We tend to think that only a productive garden is a successful garden, which unfortunately is also a metaphor for our personal and professional lives. For me, this is a practice in patience. Normally a busy-body, I tend to fill every hour of our day with activities. But when I commit to a time of rest and relaxation, I can spend idle time with my kids, floating in water, reading, and taking time to plan the fall garden. And, because of this fourth, fallow season, I can look forward to and appreciate the time when the scorching Texas temperatures finally break, and it’s time again to enjoy working in the garden.

Rest and reflect to recharge and create.