Staving off the inevitable

As I watered my fourth planting of fall spinach, I realized why I keep planting despite the calendar.  I will probably plant at least two or three more beds of spinach before retiring the planter for the season.  Chances are the final planting will not be harvested this year and maybe not even next spring.  But those little green sprouts at summer's end keep me focused on the garden.  There is plenty of life out there, but the temptation is to slack off when planting stops.  Weeds, disease and insects are ready to step in and devastate the fall crops.  By planting late, I'm keeping interested in what is going on out there.  When it is too late to get spinach to germinate, the only weeds still coming up are chickweed and the dread galinsoga.  At that point, the garden is on autopilot with only a little fertilization  and cabbage worm control necessary.  Then it is on to garlic planting and cleanup.   All possible thanks to the humble spinach plant.