By: Gwen Miner, Supervisor of Domestic Arts The rainy cold weather this summer is a part of any conversation that I have had this summer when it has come to gardens in general and our Kitchen Garden here at the museum.
The five beds in Lippit Garden Our Kitchen Garden at the Lippitt Farmhouse is laid out as a garden would have been for much of the nineteenth century: geometrically in beds. The garden consists of five beds. Three of the five as of this writing are slowly growing. Two, because they were either under water or wet most of the summer were a lost cause by July. At this point we are harvesting potatoes, turnips and early cabbage for use, but is looking like we won’t have much to “put down“ in the cellar for winter use. For the most part though, the development of the vegetables is where they would be the end of July or early August even though it’s already mid-September.
A bed with growing plants. 
A bed that is too wet. 
Small turnips Lessons from this cold, wet summer:
- Obviously, one cannot control the weather.
- I am glad I do not live in the mid-nineteenth century and am not dependent on the foodstuffs I grow.
- Location, Location, Location or “Situation” as the garden manuals of the nineteenth century stated is of the most important consideration. Never site a garden at the foot of a hill…
The days are getting shorter and the nights colder, so I am not sure if things will grow much more, but I do have to start thinking about harvesting what we do have. Stayed tuned for storage or “cellaring” of your winter vegetables.
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