In Between Gardens – Breathing Space Before Winter Planting

Are you summer exhausted?

By late summer, the garden feels like it has taken everything out of me. The tomatoes don’t wait for when I have time, the zucchini seem to double in size overnight, and the preserving pots have hardly left the stove.

For weeks it feels as if every hour has been devoted to harvesting, chopping, canning, freezing, and storing. It’s a beautiful kind of abundance, but also a demanding one. By the time the last of the beans are pulled from the vines, I can feel that familiar sense of summer garden burnout settling in.

And then, something changes. For a short while, the beds seem to exhale along with me. The frenzy slows, and I find myself standing in that rare, quiet season in between gardens. It’s not quite the lush peak of summer anymore, and it’s not yet time to plant garlic or kale for the winter. It’s a pause, an opening, a moment to breathe.

During these days, I let myself step back. I wander the garden without clippers or baskets in hand. I notice the way the soil has shifted, which crops thrived against the odds, and which experiments didn’t quite work this year. My tools finally get scrubbed clean and oiled. A few raised beds are cleared, and the ground is left bare for just a little while before mulch or compost is spread. The chores are still there, but lighter, softer, like the garden is offering me permission to rest.

Soon enough, thoughts of the winter garden begin to stir. I picture the garlic cloves I’ll tuck into the soil, the rows of onions, the sturdy greens that will carry us through colder days.

I think about layering in compost, sowing a little cover crop, or letting a bed or two simply rest until spring.

But for now, I linger in the quiet between seasons.

This in-between time is a gift. It’s where reflection takes root, where I remember why I grow food in the first place and what I want the next season to look like. It’s also where gratitude rises: for the jars stacked high in the pantry, for the lessons learned in the heat of summer, and for the chance to start again.

So here I am, gathering energy in the pause before winter planting begins. Not rushing, not forcing, just breathing in the stillness that lies between the seasons of work.

According to the weather forecast, this weekend looks like the last of the "summer" evenings when its still confortable and warm to sit outside after 8 o clock at night.. I will truly enjoy it! Its with a slight sadness of leaving the summer behind, and at the same time an exitement and anticipation about what autumn and winter will bring. I am slightly excited about starting the first fire place of the year and cozying up in the sofa infront of a rawring fire and a good book. It might still be a while to go, but still, the feeling is nice.

What are you looking forward to most now that the hectic summer season is coming to an end?

What do your “in between gardens” days look like? 🌱 Do you dive straight into winter prep, or do you give yourself time to pause and breathe before the next season begins? Share your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear how you balance rest and work on your homestead.

Enjoying one of the last warm summer/ fall evenings in the garden.