Lighting a Fire
There’s nothing that will light a fire under a gardener like seeing SNOW in the 10 day forecast. That will turn the slow rhythm of fall cleanup into a frenzy of work, at least it does around here, perhaps I’m the only one.
Yesterday was spent madly mowing and mulching leaves, planting a few remaining perennials and emptying all the pots of summer annuals. The soil from these containers don’t get composted yet, I’ll put it into a few long planted boxes, add a sprinkling of kelp and mineral mix, then seed cilantro, lettuce a few other herbs for winter harvests.
It’s looking rather bare outside now, no pots over flowering with blooms. Sometimes in the winter I take the pots and fill them with pine greenery and grapevine stars, I probably won’t get around to doing that this year. There is definitely something therapeutic about cleaning out the containers and all the remains of summer from the garden. It’s a bit like cleaning out the closet, you feel lighter when you’re finished. Now I can spend my winter dreaming about the creative things I can do with containers next year!
Any snow in your forecast yet?
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Still Harvesting
One night ear lier this week they were calling for it to get down into the 20’s overnight. I knew my falls peas wouldn’t do very well with temps that low, so I decided to harvest as many as I could. When I got up the next morning it was in the mid forties, no cold snap as expected.
The warm flush of weather from last week aided in the plumping of the tiny peas in their pods. I had a much better harvest than anticipated, which I was quite happy about. If the weather continues to stay as mild as it has been, I should get at least another harvest and maybe two. Three cheers for fall crops!
What’s in your harvest basket?
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Hacking Away
Yesterday I had some serious sinus issues going on from chopping leaves, mold will do that to you sometimes. I suppose I should really wear a mask, but then I probably wouldn’t do it, so… Anyways, since my throat was burning I didn’t want to add insult to injury and make leaf mulch again, so I tackled another much needed garden chore – hacking away the GINORMOUS burning bush that covers up the window in the kitchen.
This shrub is a menace – literally. Burning bushes are invasive and should be removed. If you think it isn’t a problem because you don’t see any seedling in your yard don’t be fooled, birds carry the berries far and wide. Here’s a great article about the invasiveness of this thug. This beast by the house grew like crazy because the chickens love to hang out under it, thus giving it huge doses of nitrogen. It grew about four feet this summer – craziness.
I spent about fifteen minutes hacking it and hauling off the branches. We’ll get out the tractor and pull the stump. Now there’s a ton of sunlight streaming in my window in the kitchen, so much better than an invasive bush. Sure, burning bushes are pretty in the fall, but not pretty enough. A blueberry bush can be just as pretty if pruned properly and you can provide berries for yourself and the birds.
Back in Ohio we dealt with a lot of invasive plants on our property, we worked on getting rid of one plant the entire 10 years we lived there. Here in Maine we’re lucky that this shrub is the only one. It’s always nice to get rid of invasive plants, there’s no point in risking reducing natural habitat for beauty, especially when you can find better options.
Do you have any invasives growing on your property?
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Calming Chores
‘Tis the season for mulch making once again. When the beautiful fall leaves flutter down from their places up high I get out my trusty push mower and start making mulch. It’s a calming chore, something that goes on and one but the mindless of it allows me the time to think. I mow and empty, mow and empty, mow and empty, then I push my wheelbarrow to the place in the garden I’m covering with mulch.
It’s a chore I absolutely love this time of year, it’s time consuming, but it’s rewarding. Not only do you get to see the results of your efforts this fall with beautifully mulched garden areas, but come spring there will be virtually no weeds anywhere. That allows me to spend my spring starting seeds and planting seedlings. It’s also nice to spend as many days in the garden as possible before the snow flies. I also use chopped leaves in my various coops, the chickens/ducks LOVE them and it saves me purchasing litter at the feed store.
Do you use fall leaves as mulch in the garden?
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Bringing in the Sheaves (or braids)
Yesterday I started bringing in the onion crop. They have been drying in the top of the garage for a month or so. This year they were harvested a bit later than last, they didn’t get blown over like they did last year. The results were much larger onions, which I’m pretty happy about.
I only braid the smaller onions, the big ones are put into wooden boxes in a single layer and stowed away in the basement where it’s nice and cool. Usually they last through early June of the following year, just in time for spring onions and small fresh onions. This is my best onion harvest so far, I’m guessing I harvested around a hundred and fifty pounds of onions.
Onions are one of my favorite crops to grow, I love nurturing them from tiny seeds. Perhaps I love growing them so much because I really love eating them. Pretty much every meal around here begins with the chopping of an onion!
What’s your favorite crop to grow?
