Autumn Equinox - The Perfect In-Between

Twice a year the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west.

On this day, light and dark are equal. The autumn equinox marks a moment of balance before the tilt towards longer nights and cooler days.

The equinox is a seasonal milestone - a time to harvest, move towards the earth, honor the cycle of entropy, and encourage rest and regeneration.

This season, greens thrive in the crisp air, and pollinators seek nectar in goldenrod and asters. The equinox is a threshold, not quite summer and not yet winter, that invites us to pause, observe, and prepare.

The Equinox as a Gardening Guidepost

Now is the time to -

• Plant garlic for next summer’s harvest

• Sow cover crops to protect and enrich soil

• Mulch perennials, clean up fallen fruit to reduce pest pressure, chop and drop your healthy spent crops, if you don’t mind some volunteers next year.

Gratitude and Curiosity

Balance is not static.

Balance is ever-shifting - season to season.

The equinox reminds us that true balance is found in the moments of transition. Beautiful sunny days, cool crisp nights. This time of year is perfect and temporary. The perfect moments offer time to prepare for the next phase of rest and regeneration.

In preparation for rest, for the moments of bare ground and nourishment from last season’s harvest, there is much to do.

Apples weigh down tree limbs, garlic should be tucked into rich compost, and seeds are ready to be gathered and stored for spring.

The equinox calls us to gratitude. Gratitude for the harvest in hand and for the unseen systems that make it possible: soil alive with organisms, pollinators in motion, roots anchoring and expanding a rich below-ground biome.

Take it in…

It’s an unbeatable time of year. The equinox is a tipping point - colorful leaves inspire art alongside a mosquito free lake; a warm fire crackles and apple cider, a warm flannel and bats in your periphery are the perfect companions.

Balance is fleeting, it is extreme, and the seasons on either end are EXACT opposites. Revel in the in between and turn your focus from the hot sun to the cooling soil, as the landscape around you does the same.