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The slideshow shows a few snapshots of the emerging fall garden (and a gratuitous picture of a Seminole squash bloom — one plant has put on about 200 ft of vine and is still producing). It is very good to see lettuce again after a too-hot summer. I feel healthier just seeing the gentle green of lettuce. Eating is almost an afterthought.

The benign and drawn out autumn weather here make fall gardening quite easy. The weeds grow just a little slower than in the summer and the cooler temperatures are kinder on the soil. Lettuce, Asian greens, and carrots all thrive. And, with a little protection, fall-grown veggies will be good to eat all the way until February.

Unfortunately, a lot of local stores pull their seed racks or offer only turnip greens. If you want to put in a fall garden and need seeds in a hurry, Johnny’s is a good place to start, as is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. For readers in colder climes, check out Eliot Coleman’s books on winter gardening — the man eats home-grown lettuce in mid-winter in Maine. I can only imagine how good that must look and taste.