Running • Coaching • Gardening • Stories
09/05/2026
The harvest continues - and so do the weeds
The end of summer
I can't believe August is already gone and we are now quickly moving into the fall season down here in Delaware. Temperatures are still "tropical" as the weather reports state, with the high on September 1, 2026 reaching 90º plus degrees.
Despite all the weeds, hot weather, dry weather and bugs, I am still able to harvest some decent crops, despite my freezer no longer having space to store veggies. The last harvest of green beans took place on August 30, which I gave mostly to one of my neighbors. Overall on a small section of land 4 feet by 8 feet, I was able to collect 17 lbs of beans.
Waiting for cool weather
I am anxiously waiting for fall, hoping the cooler weather, easy winds and colorful leaves start to make their appearance, as I have become a bit tired of summer. For the last 10-12 years we have gone south for the winter, so enjoying a full fall has not been on our radar for quite some time.
This will be the first year where I am not preparing for a five month departure from our main home, enjoying the mild winter temperatures of Southern Florida. To be honest, I won't miss it. Coming from a Northern European background, constant warm weather just seems to take some of my drive and enthusiasm out of me. My walks have been a struggle, although I do complete them, as the sun, humidity and temperature has beaten me up a bit.
I think living in Delaware, where you get one or two snowfalls (as was the case last year), is ok, since the snow and ice don't last for too long. I still remember one winter up in Mansfield where we could not get on the track for training purposes until April 20.
Meanwhile, the garden needs to be shut down slowly, but surely. Lots of weeds to knock down, various sections cleaned up and covered with black plastic to kill of perennial weeds. The one to two year old strawberry plants need to be cleaned up, as weeds have taken over despite using plastic weed barriers.
I have cucumbers, pickles and peas growing as a second season crop and they look decent. This will be my first attempt in getting some late season veggies. In the meantime, it seems that the grass needs to be cut three times a week. As the nights get colder, I will give the grass a shorter haircut, prepping the front lawn for reseeding.
A weedy issue This is my 7th season of trying to have a nice looking backyard garden that produces fruits and vegetables worth sharing with family and friends. Each year I run into the same problem, weeds take over the garden and healthy crops end up getting destroyed earlier than normal.
Despite every effort to keep up with weeding, it is the weeds that win the contest, hands down. For example, I have weeded the blueberries 4 times this growing season. I lost a big crop due to an early frost and then weeds became the narrative. My third weeding experience resulted in 5 huge buckets of weeds that filled my entire recycle bin. Today, the blueberries are again under weed stress like never before.
Since I am cutting the lawn between two and three times a week, I figured out why the veggie garden is under attack, season by season. Hot, humid, wet weather comes across as being the culprit, rather than anything I haven't done. Two weeks of weed growth is like not cutting the lawn 4-6 times in a row. You can image what the grass would look like. This fact is the reason, in my opinion, for the huge amount of garden weeds.
I am going to try and move the majority of garden vegetable plantings closer to the house, where I can keep a closer eye on each row of veggies. I intend to build raised beds (wood or metal) to better control any weed invasion. This will take quite some effort, as I will also have to fix how the lawn sprinklers will work and having to install drip irrigation.
With temperatures finally dropping a bit, fall cleanup begins in earnest, one small step at a time. I have learned to focus on one project at a time, giving enough time to get to finish the project before being distracted by other projects. There is lots to do, but the doing can be fun, as cleanup of dead plants, weeds and other items needing attention, get it. I am hoping I can get at least 50% of the projects I have ahead of me done before it gets too cold to work outside. Two projects take priority: the lawn needs to be detached and the back veggie garden needs to be taken down (cleaned up of left over veggies and lots and lots of weeds.
Below are photos of my garden on September 15, 2026….not a pretty sight, to be sure.
I can't believe August is already gone and we are now quickly moving into the fall season down here in Delaware. Temperatures are still "tropical" as the weather reports state, with the high on September 1, 2026 reaching 90º plus degrees.
Despite all the weeds, hot weather, dry weather and bugs, I am still able to harvest some decent crops, despite my freezer no longer having space to store veggies. The last harvest of green beans took place on August 30, which I gave mostly to one of my neighbors. Overall on a small section of land 4 feet by 8 feet, I was able to collect 17 lbs of beans.
Waiting for cool weather
I am anxiously waiting for fall, hoping the cooler weather, easy winds and colorful leaves start to make their appearance, as I have become a bit tired of summer. For the last 10-12 years we have gone south for the winter, so enjoying a full fall has not been on our radar for quite some time.
This will be the first year where I am not preparing for a five month departure from our main home, enjoying the mild winter temperatures of Southern Florida. To be honest, I won't miss it. Coming from a Northern European background, constant warm weather just seems to take some of my drive and enthusiasm out of me. My walks have been a struggle, although I do complete them, as the sun, humidity and temperature has beaten me up a bit.
I think living in Delaware, where you get one or two snowfalls (as was the case last year), is ok, since the snow and ice don't last for too long. I still remember one winter up in Mansfield where we could not get on the track for training purposes until April 20.
Meanwhile, the garden needs to be shut down slowly, but surely. Lots of weeds to knock down, various sections cleaned up and covered with black plastic to kill of perennial weeds. The one to two year old strawberry plants need to be cleaned up, as weeds have taken over despite using plastic weed barriers.
I have cucumbers, pickles and peas growing as a second season crop and they look decent. This will be my first attempt in getting some late season veggies. In the meantime, it seems that the grass needs to be cut three times a week. As the nights get colder, I will give the grass a shorter haircut, prepping the front lawn for reseeding.
A weedy issue This is my 7th season of trying to have a nice looking backyard garden that produces fruits and vegetables worth sharing with family and friends. Each year I run into the same problem, weeds take over the garden and healthy crops end up getting destroyed earlier than normal.
Despite every effort to keep up with weeding, it is the weeds that win the contest, hands down. For example, I have weeded the blueberries 4 times this growing season. I lost a big crop due to an early frost and then weeds became the narrative. My third weeding experience resulted in 5 huge buckets of weeds that filled my entire recycle bin. Today, the blueberries are again under weed stress like never before.
Since I am cutting the lawn between two and three times a week, I figured out why the veggie garden is under attack, season by season. Hot, humid, wet weather comes across as being the culprit, rather than anything I haven't done. Two weeks of weed growth is like not cutting the lawn 4-6 times in a row. You can image what the grass would look like. This fact is the reason, in my opinion, for the huge amount of garden weeds.
I am going to try and move the majority of garden vegetable plantings closer to the house, where I can keep a closer eye on each row of veggies. I intend to build raised beds (wood or metal) to better control any weed invasion. This will take quite some effort, as I will also have to fix how the lawn sprinklers will work and having to install drip irrigation.
With temperatures finally dropping a bit, fall cleanup begins in earnest, one small step at a time. I have learned to focus on one project at a time, giving enough time to get to finish the project before being distracted by other projects. There is lots to do, but the doing can be fun, as cleanup of dead plants, weeds and other items needing attention, get it. I am hoping I can get at least 50% of the projects I have ahead of me done before it gets too cold to work outside. Two projects take priority: the lawn needs to be detached and the back veggie garden needs to be taken down (cleaned up of left over veggies and lots and lots of weeds.
Below are photos of my garden on September 15, 2026….not a pretty sight, to be sure.
There are six blueberry bushes hidden in those weeds, despite having cleanup out the area three times this season.
Strawberry field, covered with plastic, weeded out early. Now, weeds galore. There are at least 80 plants hidden in the weeds.
Late season pickles and cucumbers, damaged by lack of rain and weeds.
Late season peas, lots of flowers, so far.