Spring is when you build. Fall is when you preserve. Winter is when you plan. Summer is for tending — the work the soil and the chickens and the kids are already doing without you. Stay out of the way.
The garden does the work
By July, the beds are running themselves. Water early. Mulch heavy. Pick what is ripe. Resist the urge to plant anything new just because you have a spare hour.
We do the quiet
Read on the porch. Walk the fence line. Watch the chickens hunt grasshoppers. The work in deep summer is mostly noticing.
One thing we always do anyway
We start the fall seed list. Carrots, kale, more lettuce. Direct sow first week of August. Past us in summer is always thanking past us a little bit more.
The garden taught us this rhythm. Now we trust it.