This week I want to take a step back and talk a bit about the essence of the garden.

You might be thinking: Huh? What are you talking about?

As frugal gardeners—and I think this is true of most gardeners—we look at the garden in a practical, utilitarian manner.  How much food can I get out of this small plot of land? How can I maximize my harvest? Can I make my front yard look fabulous on a budget?

But a garden is so much more than just a place to grow food (or plant pretty flowers!)

It’s a place to take a breather, to take in the world, to enjoy peace and quiet, to appreciate life, and to watch what’s going on around you. I think we forget this sometimes. And it’s a shame! Frugal gardeners are all about making the most of what we have on hand, aren’t we? So we should make time to appreciate the garden space for all its incredible qualities.

And it’s possible to do this even if your garden consists of a single potted tomato.

You don’t need to feel bad if your garden isn’t frilly and fancy. There’s no need to have an extravagant English garden to enjoy your time there. Pull up a chair—the comfiest you have—and spend a moment among the plants.

You don’t need to be working every minute. You can appreciate the garden for what it is without toiling away.

This year, I left my garden behind. I planted a few things in the spring, but depression took over and left me with little motivation and energy to do the things I needed for the garden to flourish. I harvested some peppers, cherry tomatoes, and kale, but that’s about it. For a brief moment, I thought to myself. Maybe this is it. Perhaps I’m done with gardening.

And I quickly realized that was a nonsense thought. I’m lucky to have this space full of bright sunlight, teeming with creatures. Whether I return to the full gardening experience or I continue to take an extended break, I’m aware that there’s something to be gained from simply going out there and breathing in the fresh air.

The garden isn’t just a place where I plant things. It’s a place where I observe life in action. Even if I’m not actively planting, there’s plenty of action to notice, from squirrels bounding among the branches of the grand maple tree to birds chittering as they make secret plans to head south.

And so my challenge to you this week is to take a moment in your garden where you stop, pull up a chair, and just sit there. Watch the critters take their last nibbles of plants and pollen before the colder weather sets in. Smell the air as it changes from warm to chilly. Feel the sun on your face. And enjoy the essence of the garden.

Whether that’s sitting on a balcony, hanging out next to a potted tomato plant, or laying out in the grass.

It’s time to start thinking about winding down for the season. Especially if you live in a cold climate like me.

You’re probably thinking: “Wait. Isn’t it too early?”

True! It’s too early to be shutting down the garden just yet. You’re probably still harvesting. And maybe you’ve even planted some cool-season crops that you plan to harvest in the fall.

So that’s why I’m talking about winding down and not closing up shop.

It’s time to start thinking about winding down, which means it’s time to think ahead. It doesn’t mean you need to do everything all at once. By starting early, you can do a gradual cleanup of the garden. This strategy is a whole lot less overwhelming than a complete cleanup at the end of the season.

Winding down for the season: How to do it

Here are some things to think about as you walk about in your garden this September.

Get rid of any dead plants. Do this now. Wait too long, and the ground will freeze, making it tough to pull out plants completely. Pulling plants now also decreases the chances that pests will make a home out of the dead foliage for the winter.

Add organic matter to empty slots in the garden. Start amending the soil now in preparation for the spring. You don’t need to wait to do it all in one fell swoop, though. As you toss dead pepper and tomato plants, add compost to those spots.

Put away spring-specific tools. Tidy up tools and supplies you don’t need anymore. This includes seed starting stuff. Many gardeners keep these supplies hanging around because they’re in ‘growing mode’ throughout the summer season. But now it’s time to put those things away. Clean them up now, so they’re ready to use in the spring.

Plant bulbs. Some flowers and perennials do best when planted in the fall. You don’t want to plant too early, but now is the time to start thinking about what you might want to plant and where.

Collect other supplies. Already bought your fall planting bulbs? Great! You’re right on track. You might need other supplies for your garden wind down, though. Grab things like mulch and soil amendments now, so you have them on hand when it’s time to use them for things like protecting perennial and tree roots from freeze-thaw cycles.

Ask someone for help. Tree leaves are still bright green, but they’ll start turning vibrant colors and dropping like flies when fall arrives. If you have many leaf-shedding trees around your garden and home, enlist some leaf raking help now. Ask family and friends if they’ll help you when the time comes and offer some fresh produce in exchange for a helping hand.

Catalog your seeds. Take stock of what you have on hand for next year and make a note of what needs replenishing. I like to take a break from gardening in the winter, so I try not to think about seeds or other garden-related things when it’s cold outside. But I always make sure to check my seed collection before closing up shop. You might decide to save some seeds from plants in your garden if you’re running low.

What’s your take on winding down for the season? Do you do it all at once, or do you take it slow like I do?

I know not all frugal gardeners like this kind of piecemeal approach to closing up the garden. But for gardeners with limited energy stores, taking it slow can be a real help. As a gardener with a chronic illness, sometimes small tasks can feel insurmountable. Breaking them up makes it possible to get them done and reserve energy for cooking all the lovely produce I harvest.

I’ve only used my garden hose a handful of times this season. I filled my garden boxes up with perennials and a few plants from a local nursery and knew that I wouldn’t have the energy to keep things up and maintain the garden as I usually do. I was right. But by taking a step back, I realized the importance of keeping tabs on the weather forecast.

I’ve let Mother Nature do most of the work, and despite my very laissez-faire gardening attitude, my garden is still doing surprisingly well. Things are growing, flowers are blooming, and pests aren’t devouring my kale as I expected.

It’s been a sweltering hot summer, so I really thought plants would wilt and die due to the continuous heat waves. But they’ve managed to hold on and grow despite the intense heat. While my gardening activities have been mostly on pause for the season, I have been running outside quite a bit. That means I check the weather forecast just as much as I did before.

I’ve discovered that despite my lack of watering, the garden has done quite well. And the weather forecast has given me clues as to why. We’ve had a pretty rainy July, and even though there were definitely many days between downpours, the garden still held on.

What does that mean? It means that in the past, I’ve probably watered when I really didn’t need to.

Paying attention to the weather forecast is something I’ve always done. But this summer has shown me that maybe sometimes I’m quick to grab the hose. Granted, I’m also not growing too many thirsty plants. Plant choice matters a lot, too. Instead of struggling to keep plants like lettuce and Asian greens well-watered, I picked drought-tolerant ones. The mix of annual and perennial flowering plants has also greatly reduced pest activity. My kale, usually eaten up by cabbage worms by now, is thriving.

This little gardening break has taught me the importance of letting things go. Currently, Mother Nature is in pain. Our gardens are taking a pummelling because of climate change, but there are ways to work with the environment around us. Sure, I could have dropped some pesticides in my garden years ago to try and deal with the cabbage worms and squash bugs. But to see things right themselves naturally has been incredibly rewarding.

By planting a variety of native plants in addition to my favorite edibles, I’ve improved the tiny ecosystem that is my front yard garden. I encourage you to try it. Save some space for some native perennials. Plant more flowers among the leafy greens. If something isn’t working, don’t try to force it. Find an alternative.

Doing this with the garden is an approachable way to get more comfortable with letting nature its course. Eventually, I hope we all do the same with our useless lawns, too. Although I’m not in my garden as often, I’ve been lucky enough to spot many wild lawns on my runs this summer. Here’s hoping we get back to surrounding ourselves with nature instead of tearing it all down.

Gardening can get expensive if you let it. Personally, I’m not very big on DIY stuff for the garden. My chronic illness makes it difficult to spend too much time tinkering and toiling. Instead, I have to rely on cheap garden tools to make things work. It can take some time before you discover which tools are worth spending money on (even small amounts) and which are worthless. The right tools for the job depend a lot on the kind of gardener you are and what tasks you need help with. Here are some of my favorite cheap garden tools:

Cheap garden tools

These are some of the cheap garden tools I use to make my life easier as a frugal gardener.

• Garden gloves. A good pair of garden gloves is a must-have if you’re digging in the dirt. But the thing is that I almost always end up losing them by the end of the season. If you’re a chronic misplacer of things like me, don’t spend a ton of money on fancy gardening gloves. Gloves from the dollar store are typically sturdy enough to last a season. They also provide adequate protection from potential irritants. And, bonus: They’re usually super cute!

• Bamboo sticks. You can get these in bundles for a steal at most hardware stores, and they’re a staple in my garden. I use them solo to support peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants. Need support for cucumbers or pole beans? Tie em’ together, and voila! You’ve got an inexpensive support system that costs you a fraction of what you would have paid for a fancy trellis.

• A flexible hose. Water is a vital part of gardening. But until recently, I really hated doing it because I had to lug around an insanely heavy hose. Once I replaced my clunky hose with a flexible one, watering has become a much easier task. Just make sure to bring your hose in for the winter to ensure its longevity.

• Plastic plant markers. I know that plastic isn’t an ideal choice because it’s not environmentally friendly, but the fact is that I’m still using the same pack of 150 markers that I bought 3 years ago. I just cross out last year’s crop name or write it in a different color. You can also cover up old names with tape. They’re super durable and can be reused over and over again. And, knowing what I planted where is a huge key to my success as a gardener.

• Google sheets. Okay, this one is actually free! I used to use a notebook but found that digital recording was a lot faster. I use sheets to record notes about seedlings, plants, and anything other notable garden-related observations about each season. It allows me to look back on previous seasons and see what went right and wrong.

While these cheap garden tools are a staple in my gardening toolbox, your kit might look entirely different. And that’s okay! This is what works for me. Sure, sometimes I’ll splurge on something fancy, but these are the basics that get me through each season.

Spring has sprung! Kind of. Last week where I am in zone 5 Canada, we were hit with a surprise snowstorm. Many people expected a light dusting and for the snow to melt right away, but it stuck around for several days. I know at least one gardener who got a nasty surprise when the snow hit suddenly. They lost a lot of their newly planted seedlings to frost and had to start all over again. I know spring is an exciting time, but it’s important to be a patient gardener.

The Importance of Being a Patient Gardener

Being a patient gardener sounds boring, doesn’t it? I’m with you. I used to be all about taking big risks in the garden, planting my tomatoes early when there was still a chance of frost, and hoping that protection would keep them safe. I’ve had some successes using risky techniques, but I’ve also had lots of disappointments and failures.

Ultimately, those failures also mean losing money. It takes so much time and effort to grow seedlings indoors. Without a dedicated space to do so, I have to turn my basement into a grow-op. This requires sacrificing space and adjusting my routines. It also means investing time—and we all know that time is money—into checking on and taking care of seedlings. It took me a while to equate the effort I put into growing seedlings with money, but now I’m well aware of the connection. I am a lot more careful about transplanting. I harden off seedlings carefully, and I check the weather obsessively before putting any frost-sensitive plants out.

Waiting doesn’t mean I miss out on the gardening season. It means that I’m not worried every second that surprise snow or frost will kill my precious seedlings.

How To Be a Patient Gardener

I didn’t become a patient gardener overnight. It takes some work! It also requires making mistakes. By losing plants to bad weather early on in the season, I was able to see how much easier waiting would make my life.

Now, I am much more conservative in my planting schedules. I use planting charts for my zone found online, and if they say to plant out stuff a week after the first frost, I wait a little longer—just in case.

Scaling back my garden has also helped to make me a lot less impatient. When you’re scrambling to get everything into the ground, it’s easy to get caught up and plant things out too early. A few years ago, I had so many tomato plants that were outgrowing their shelving space, and I had a variety of lettuce and squash that would quickly need to take their place under the lights. I panicked and put the tomatoes out early. They survived, but I remember the yield being bad that year.

But how many tomatoes I netted wasn’t really the problem. I hated being stressed and worried at the start of the gardening season. Spring is supposed to be a time of excitement and wonder about the season ahead.

This year, try slowing down. A little patience goes a long way.

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Spring is here! I remember at this time last year, we were at the start of this pandemic and I was so excited to start the gardening season. It was too cold to start planting, but I had a ton of stuff started in my basement, and I was slowly starting to harden things off. This year, it’s unusually warm, and I haven’t started a single thing. It’s my first year doing this type of go-with-the-flow gardening. I’m not sticking to strict schedules, and I don’t have any intention of starting seeds indoors. I don’t have the energy. I’m happy for everyone who is discovering gardening now, but I’m taking a little break. I’m not ignoring my garden completely, but I’ve decided to keep things a little bit more laissez-faire. This year, I’m growing a few edibles, but mostly I’ll be planting food for bees and pollinators.

I’m not giving up on gardening. I still do plenty of gardening indoors (my hydroponic garden has been supplying me with a lot of food through the winter), and I’m caring for lots of houseplants. Gardening has always given me a lot of joy. But I could tell that I was in no place to commit the time and effort to my usual intense efforts this year. I feared that forcing myself to do it would only make me unhappy and turn me against my favorite pastime. Instead of seeing this year as a failure, I’m looking forward to the experiment. I’m excited to grow different flowers and see how many pollinators I can entice into the garden. If I’m spending less time picking off cabbage loopers and other pesky pests, maybe I’ll have time for other projects like finally putting down a pathway between my garden beds.

How about you? Are you taking it easy this summer? Or are you diving right in? I’d love to hear about your gardening adventures. Let me know in the comments what you plan to grow this year!

Reducing waste

Of course, even though my garden activities will be more laid back this year, I still had the urge to order some seeds. I went with quick-growing, easy-to-care-for options. One of my other goals this year,  besides taking things easy, is to reduce food waste. Wasting food is basically throwing money in the trash, so I’m determined to limit waste in our household and garden. Even the most fastidious gardeners tend to waste food before it hits their fridge or plate. Before you throw yourself into the full swing of things, I implore you to plan out not just what you’re planting but how you plan to use it. Are you growing lots of kale and don’t really eat that much of it? Make sure you have a friend or neighbor you can gift it to. Accidentally planted too many tomatoes? Get ready for the harvest and find yourself a tomato sauce recipe for when all those fruits ripen.

And, if, like me, you’re doing a version of go with the flow gardening. Plant less than you usually do, and make sure you use up every bit of what you grow. If you’re planting tons of flowers, feel free to cut a few and put them on display in your home.

Are you a regular frugal gardener whose feeling out of sorts this year? Try some go-with-the-flow gardening. Keep it simple, and don’t be afraid to lessen the load.

Normally,  I don’t need to think of reasons to start a garden. I’m intrinsically motivated to start anew each spring.

In the dead of winter, I usually get incredibly excited about the prospect of gardening in March. As soon as the seed catalogs arrive, I start to plan. I dream about the new varieties I want to try as I flip through the glossy magazines and I draw up sketches of my garden beds to decide what I want to plant where. I don’t usually need a reason to get excited.

This year is a little different. With the pandemic raging on, lockdowns in effect, and stress levels getting higher every day, I feel disconnected from the things I enjoy—especially gardening. So, to boost my morale, I’ve been thinking much more intentionally about the reasons to start a garden. It’s led me to realize that the reasons don’t always have to be the same. They can change and evolve, and they don’t always have to fit a specific mold.

Why You Should Start a Garden This Spring

Thinking about starting a garden this year? There are plenty of good reasons to get growing. Here are a few that I’ve been thinking about:

Home-grown lettuce is way cheaper than the grocery store stuff. The fancy greens you buy at the grocery store? They’re incredibly easy to grow, and many varieties are cut-and-come-again. One tiny seed will net you multiple delicious salads!

You can share what you grow. Loneliness has been a recurring theme of this pandemic. You can’t visit loved ones. Gatherings are too dangerous, so people have been spending more and more time alone. Sharing what you grow can help you connect with people you otherwise can’t spend time with during this time. Sharing sustenance is a wonderful way to show you care.

It’s a great family activity. These days school closures and adjustments have caused families to spend way more time together. Parents fret about the effect not being in school has on kids, but I say take this time to get into a hobby together. School will be out this summer anyhow, so spend the time together cultivating a garden. Couples can also use gardening to bond and strengthen their relationship.

You can grow exotic ingredients. Going to the grocery store is no longer the safe haven it once was. You can’t just pop into different supermarkets to find that one weird ingredient for your favorite recipe. Grow it yourself instead! Love bok choy stir fry? Grow some in your garden.

To take your mind off of things. Gardening has a meditative quality. When I’m in the garden, I often forget about everything else. You can’t always turn your brain off. Tuning into the world is important. But to have space where you can decompress is incredibly valuable.

What are some of your unconventional reason for starting to garden this spring? What’s the one thing that’s calling you back? Is it food security? Is it stress relief? Let me know in the comments.

Oh, how time flies! It’s already 2021 and I can’t even remember what I did gardening-wise in 2020. It’s all a blur. So let’s talk gardening goals for this year. Do you have any gardening plans for this year? Any gardening goals you’d love to achieve?

Whether you’re thinking of starting a new garden or you’re contemplating expanding your growing-related horizons, it can be tough to narrow down goals. Goal setting works the same way for gardening as it does for anything else. So here are some tips to help you formulate your 2021 gardening goals.

How to Come Up With Gardening Goals

Goal setting? For gardening? Heck yes! Gardening is a hobby that requires a lot of planning, so it’s actually fairly easy to come up with gardening-related goals. As with any kind of goal setting, you want your goals to be:

• Achievable. Dreams are great, but goals need to be concrete. If they’re so wild that you’d need a miracle to achieve them, you’ll end the gardening season more frustrated than anything else. What are some examples of achievable gardening goals?
  • Grow a new tomato variety.
  • Build a new garden bed.
  • Clean the shed.
• Measurable. Measurable goals are easy to track. If your goals are too vague, you’ll struggle to decide whether you’ve actually met them or not. “I want to get better at growing carrots” sounds great but what does it actually mean? How will you be able to tell if you’ve gotten better? How can you turn that into a measurable goal? Instead, turn it into “I want to grow at least one edible carrot this year.” You can obviously make it, sixteen, twenty, whatever fits your skill level and abilities.
• A mixed bag. Include a variety of goals from easy ones to some that are more challenging. Growing a new plant variety is an easy one. You likely won’t face any roadblocks with that kind of goal. Including more ambitious gardening goals will keep you interested and engaged in the gardening process.

Why Have Goals?

Why bother with gardening goals at all? We’re still dealing with a pandemic, so don’t feel pressured to come up with a long list of tough goals to achieve. Not everyone thrives on goal setting. Some people prefer to go with the flow. Personally, I find goal setting is helpful when I’m feeling a lack of motivation. Listing your personal gardening goals can also help when you’re feeling overwhelmed. This year, I feel anxious about the gardening season. I feel so stressed in my regular life, that I’m nervous about whether I’ll succeed with gardening. Forming achievable goals helps me focus my attention and worry less about being perfect all around. If I can meet a few goals, I know I’ll feel content about my gardening season.

Goal Ideas

Choose goals that get you excited about the upcoming gardening season. Ready to jump in right now? Make yourself some houseplant-related goals. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Revive a dying houseplant.
• Grow a new type of vegetable.
• Spend zero dollars on gardening supplies.
• Save X amount of seeds.
• Harvest X lbs or grams of produce per week
• Keep a gardening journal and write in it weekly
• Support a local seed supplier
• Learn a new gardening technique
• Make a gardening friend
• Swap seeds with someone by mail

The possibilities are endless!

I’ve never had to deal with deer fussing about in my garden, but I have had plenty of squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, gophers, and cats use my raised beds as their very own buffet, walking path, and toilet. I’m speaking from my own limited experience here. But I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea of hunting garden pests.

I used to live in a busy suburban neighborhood where the squirrels reigned supreme. Now, I live in a small community that borders rural land. There are more trees here and plenty of wildlife. Every year, I have to grapple with pests (insects and mammals, alike) enjoying my fresh produce as their own. 

It’s infuriating. All that effort gone when a squirrel decides to take a small chomp out of every bean seedling. All that effort gone when birds get to seeds before they can even sprout. All that effort gone when a rabbit chows down on my lettuce that I’ve managed to protect from early bolting. All that effort when a cat decides my garden beds are its personal litter box. All that effort when something —  and I can’t be sure what — decides to uproot whatever it wants in the middle of the night seemingly just for fun. 

You’d think I’d be on board with hunting to get rid of garden pests, but I’m not. I recognize that hungry critters can really ruin the gardening season if they’re relentless enough, but I have the same attitude towards animal pests as I do insect critters and weeds.

Taking up space

We are in their space. Humans have taken up residence where once there was nothing but nature abound. It is not my right to delete these creatures to fit my idea of the perfect garden. Instead, I try my very best to work around the nuisance. 

I have a different approach to an indoor invasion, granted, but that’s mainly because indoor pests pose a more significant threat to household members’ health and safety.

Outside, I’m not the boss. I try to work with Mother Nature, not against her. For one, I don’t feel morally comfortable killing animals to make my life easier in the context of gardening. It’s my hobby. While I try to grow plenty of food to eat and save money, I won’t perish if a crop gets devoured by hungry creatures. I also think there are plenty of ways to co-exist peacefully with these so-called invaders. Hunting garden pests just isn’t in the cards for me.

Pest covers have really helped me stay sane this year by keeping squirrels, birds, and cabbage moths away from my delicate brassica seedlings. They’ve been working so well I’m considering adding them to two more beds. Barriers should be the first resort when dealing with nasty pests. I also grow extra lettuce to keep rabbits happy and out of my main beds. Most of my beds are high enough to keep small critters out, too. 

Cats seem to trot whoever they please no matter what I do, but the pest covers have done wonders to keep their paws out of my beds. I even still plant catnip to invite them to visit because I enjoy the company of sweet, docile neighborhood kitties. 

Breathe and reflect

I am an impatient gardener, and even I can find a moment to take a deep breath and ask myself if getting worked up is worth it. Would it be easy to murder all the squirrels running around my plots? Absolutely! It wouldn’t be psychologically simple, but it would really eliminate a big problem for me. Still, I don’t think it’s my right to say what belongs where. 

I decided to enter the world of gardening, and I made a deal with myself that I would work with the forces of nature and not against them. Who am I to know what the consequences of my actions might be? Haven’t we, as humans already made poor decisions in this regard? Pesticide use for pest control has decimated bee populations and is having important ramifications. 

Yes, it’s harder to take the long road. But a little effort is what it takes to grow a plant from seed in the first place. Surely, as gardeners, we have it in us to accept and handle a few extra roadblocks on our way to success. 

If this kind of gardening philosophy appeals to you, I highly recommend reading Michael Pollan’s book Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education. It’s a book that changed the way I think about how I view so-called garden invaders.

It’s the height of the harvest season! I’ve been picking ripe tomatoes and cutting fresh flowers to adorn my kitchen table almost every day. I have hot peppers coming out of my ears, and I’ve been blessed with a lush crop of kale.

Funny how this time of year is also when I start to lose that gardening spark. The weather is hotter than ever, so it’s unpleasant to stay outside for too long. But the worst thing about hot-as-heck August is that any failures are final. There’s little time to recoup losses, and it’s too late to plant much of anything substantial. It feels like the end, even though the finish line isn’t anywhere close.

I know I’m not the only one who experiences a mid-season slump. So I did some brainstorming and put together some ideas to help perk you back up. Here’s how to reignite your passion for gardening.

Reigniting the passion

Once you’ve lost the desire to garden, what are you supposed to do?

It happens. You can’t be on full-speed 365 days a year. Gardening is hard work—physically and mentally. Here are a few tips to keep your mojo alive and reignite your passion for gardening:

• Rely on Mother Nature. It’s been several months of daily watering, weeding, and pruning. Let Mother Nature take the reigns (just be sure to check the weather forecast to avoid leaving your garden during a week-long drought) and let your garden survive on rainwater for a week or so.
• Take longer breaks. Use this time to take longer breaks away from your garden. Spend less time examining and checking on things. Sounds odd considering I’m a huge proponent of daily garden walks, but now is the time when most of your plants are mature and capable of handling a little pest damage if left alone. They are stronger than ever before and with some time away you’ll come back with a renewed sense of wonder at what you find.
• Focus on the harvest. Pluck, pick and grab what you can and spend your gardening time preserving and using up what you harvest.
• Plan for next year. Your garden layout is fresh in your mind. You know exactly where everything is and what didn’t quite work, so use that know-how to plan for next year. Write down lessons you’ve learned and think about what needs to change (or stay the same) for next year. Is there something you didn’t plant that you should have? Did you start something too early? Too late? Which plants were infested with pests? Find ways to avoid that for next year and write it all down while it’s at the forefront of your brain.
• Do some seed trading. Take inventory of your seed stock. What do you need to top off for next year? Chat with your gardening friends and do some swapping by mail.

I get it. This time of year is tiresome. Seeds have sprouted and the magic has sort of lost its spark a bit. It’s ultra-hot and with a pandemic still going on, there’s anxiety and stress about what’s to come. September no longer seems like a fresh start ahead, which makes this gardening moment all the more anxiety-producing.

You’ve got this. Let the failures go. Embrace your accomplishments and look ahead to next year. Soon you’ll be cleaning it all up and closing up shop for the winter.