Putting the Garden to Bed
Some more ideas of what to do to this fall with your gardens.
It's a bittersweet moment in our gardens. Fall is in full force, and plants are dying back, flowers are waning, and many things may have already succumbed to frost. It's tempting to just retreat indoors now with some hot cocoa and the remote ~ we all love our gardens, but winter's rest is never so welcomed than when we've toiled outdoors all season long.
Hang in there just a bit longer. There are so many chores you can do now, in fall, that will make your garden easier to manage, healthier, more beautiful, and more fun to tend next spring. So put down your mug, wrap a scarf around your neck, and get back out there! The fact is that the more work you do now, the less work you'll have to do in spring, when you'd rather do the fun stuff, like plant shopping! You'll be so glad you took the time to wrap up your garden this fall.
In the Veggie Garden
-Make a Map: Make notes of the location of each of your crops this year to aid in crop rotation in spring.
-Enjoy your Green Tomatoes: If frost hasn't gotten them yet, pick those green tomatoes and enjoy them fried, pickled, and baked!
-Cure Pumpkins and Winter Squash: And then store these treasures in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated spot at 55° to 60°F and 50% humidity.
-Clean Up All Foliage: Many garden pests and diseases overwinter in dead foliage-don't let them! Compost all leftover veggie foliage.
-Apply Compost to Vegetable Beds: By spring your soil will be happy, healthy and ready to go!
-Insulate Root Crops: Pile straw atop Turnips, Radishes, Carrots, Rutabagas, Parsnips, Beets,etc. to keep them cozy for winter harvests
-Set Up the Cold Frame: Sow Lettuces, Salad Greens, Asian Greens and Spinach that you'll enjoy for most of the winter.
-Plant Garlic and Shallots: It's not too late! Plant them now for mid-summer harvest.
In the Flower Garden and Beyond
-Harvest Decorative Seed Heads: Create beautiful bouquets to last you til spring, but leave some standing to feed the birds.
-Cut Back Perennial Foliage: Tidy up to prevent pests and diseases from overwintering and to make way for fresh foliage in spring.
-Rake Up All Leaves: Get them out of all those nooks and crannies lest they settle in with a tenacious grip.
-Plant Flower Bulbs: Imagine colorful Narcissi, Tulips and Crocus greeting you in spring!
-Water Trees and Shrubs Deeply: A well-hydrated woody plant has a better chance of making it through a tough winter
-Winterize Hoses and Spigots: One hard frost can ruin your favorite watering wand. Drain all hoses and store them away.
-Clean Bird Feeders: It's time to start filling them up for winter snacking.
-Pot Up Amaryllis and Paperwhites: They make wonderful mid-winter pick-me-ups and dazzling holiday gifts.
Start Planning for Next Season
Now is the time, when your garden is fresh in your mind, to plan for an even better gardening season next year. Take a good look around the garden and think about what worked in 2017 and what missed the mark. Think about what you'd like to grow again, what needs to be moved, what you'd like to eliminate, and what you're itching to try for the first time. Update any garden maps you may have created in the past, with notes on where things are and how they did this season. Start planning your seed order early, making special note of any floral, seasonal and spacial gaps that need to be filled and vegetables you'd like to try.
Let the Nesting Begin!
taken from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa
Some more ideas of what to do to this fall with your gardens.
It's a bittersweet moment in our gardens. Fall is in full force, and plants are dying back, flowers are waning, and many things may have already succumbed to frost. It's tempting to just retreat indoors now with some hot cocoa and the remote ~ we all love our gardens, but winter's rest is never so welcomed than when we've toiled outdoors all season long.
Hang in there just a bit longer. There are so many chores you can do now, in fall, that will make your garden easier to manage, healthier, more beautiful, and more fun to tend next spring. So put down your mug, wrap a scarf around your neck, and get back out there! The fact is that the more work you do now, the less work you'll have to do in spring, when you'd rather do the fun stuff, like plant shopping! You'll be so glad you took the time to wrap up your garden this fall.
In the Veggie Garden
-Make a Map: Make notes of the location of each of your crops this year to aid in crop rotation in spring.
-Enjoy your Green Tomatoes: If frost hasn't gotten them yet, pick those green tomatoes and enjoy them fried, pickled, and baked!
-Cure Pumpkins and Winter Squash: And then store these treasures in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated spot at 55° to 60°F and 50% humidity.
-Clean Up All Foliage: Many garden pests and diseases overwinter in dead foliage-don't let them! Compost all leftover veggie foliage.
-Apply Compost to Vegetable Beds: By spring your soil will be happy, healthy and ready to go!
-Insulate Root Crops: Pile straw atop Turnips, Radishes, Carrots, Rutabagas, Parsnips, Beets,etc. to keep them cozy for winter harvests
-Set Up the Cold Frame: Sow Lettuces, Salad Greens, Asian Greens and Spinach that you'll enjoy for most of the winter.
-Plant Garlic and Shallots: It's not too late! Plant them now for mid-summer harvest.
In the Flower Garden and Beyond
-Harvest Decorative Seed Heads: Create beautiful bouquets to last you til spring, but leave some standing to feed the birds.
-Cut Back Perennial Foliage: Tidy up to prevent pests and diseases from overwintering and to make way for fresh foliage in spring.
-Rake Up All Leaves: Get them out of all those nooks and crannies lest they settle in with a tenacious grip.
-Plant Flower Bulbs: Imagine colorful Narcissi, Tulips and Crocus greeting you in spring!
-Water Trees and Shrubs Deeply: A well-hydrated woody plant has a better chance of making it through a tough winter
-Winterize Hoses and Spigots: One hard frost can ruin your favorite watering wand. Drain all hoses and store them away.
-Clean Bird Feeders: It's time to start filling them up for winter snacking.
-Pot Up Amaryllis and Paperwhites: They make wonderful mid-winter pick-me-ups and dazzling holiday gifts.
Start Planning for Next Season
Now is the time, when your garden is fresh in your mind, to plan for an even better gardening season next year. Take a good look around the garden and think about what worked in 2017 and what missed the mark. Think about what you'd like to grow again, what needs to be moved, what you'd like to eliminate, and what you're itching to try for the first time. Update any garden maps you may have created in the past, with notes on where things are and how they did this season. Start planning your seed order early, making special note of any floral, seasonal and spacial gaps that need to be filled and vegetables you'd like to try.
Let the Nesting Begin!
taken from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa
