Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fall time Garden Checklist


This may seem like a long post of pictures, but it's only because the list of things to do in the garden is quite long as well. This to do list is only for mid fall; so much more work to do! Why? Well, lets say that feeding yourself to try to minimize outsourcing is a lot of work. This year that was my goal. 

I did not forsee how little time I would have to dedicate to it at the end of pregnancy and while taking care of a new born. This post is similar to the one I write about being domestically challenged. What you are about to see is an overgrown garden, ready to decompose, and other garden messy scenes. the list begins. Enjoy!

1. Remove all the plats that are dying. Especially all the zucchinis and pumpkins have taken over this place. Au revoir!


2. Take the seeds from all the plants that are seeded: lettuce, kale, basil...


 3. Take all the yummies that are left over, and leave some that are still growing. We still have lots of kale, swiss chard and cabbage. Some will continue growing, some will get harvested this week. 



 4. Put away things around the garden, like water pots (we don't need them anymore), beer cans and cups. No we don't really party at the garden; we use beer as slug traps. I love slugs, they are really cute creatures, but they chomp all of our food, since the garden is right next to the swamp. Slugs love beer.


5. Plant cover crops (picture below). They are hardy plants that are planted in the fall to protect the soil over the winter. They prevent soil erosion and absorb soluble nutrients so they don't leach away with the rain in the winter. The roots make good munchies for the worms when we take the tops off. 


6. Plant some potatoes (picture above) and other plants that I grew from seed in the green house. 

I've never planted potatoes in the winter, but I'm going to give it a try and see what happens. We may be able to have them in the green house anyways.


7. Continue taking weeds out. We do this by hand. It's definitely a lot of work, but we don't use any chemicals in our garden. Organic gardening should be the standard for anyone anyways. Some will get composted, some will be used again in the soil for sheet mulching. 


8. The first picture above has the huckleberry bush in it and it's surrounded by mint. So... Harvest the mint that's left over. I'm glad there's still some I can harvest.

9. Use the biodynamic prep (the one in the box in the picture above) It reduces radioactivity by enhancing biodiversity in the soil. It also channels cosmic energy into the garden, yippee!

(If you are curious about biodynamic preparations, check out this site that tells us a bit about it.)


These are pictures of the lavender. I'm not doing anything about it just yet, except for weeding. I like the pictures so I thought I'd share :)



 10. Last but not least: enjoy the gardening process. Being outside when it's cold and wet may not sound very appealing for most people. But I've found out that when I do, I don't get the winter blues, I connect more with nature and I get stronger and healthier. What do you have in your garden checklist this season? Any recommendations? 

Happy gardening to you all, and happy Hollowing! 







5 comments:

  1. I totally loved this post, as well!!:.. That is awesome, this to do list!...
    I loved all about it!:.. I totally get what you say at the end about connecting with the Earth and not getting the winter blues... I find it to be true for me, too!:.. ^-^
    I would love to know more about several things you talk about in this post... Like it would be cool if you wrote a post on the biodynamic prep. for example... Or about how to collect the seeds from the different plants, for example, I have Basil in my garden, I know it has a little flowers that look similar to you picture, but I didnt know there were seeds to collect!!:.. Can you elaborate more on that, please?!...
    I love you, your family and all your posts!:.. I love reading you, it´s refreshing, and beautiful!:..
    Big Polar Bear HUG!
    <3

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    1. Thank you Sara! I'm inspired to do those posts for sure. Thanks for the ideas, I bet it would be useful to other people as well. Big polar bear to you. Loving your challenge on your blog <3

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  2. My green thumb is really more of a greyish brown so I probably wouldn't be much help on the gardening front. I'd probably be better at bounching Matia around while hanging out in the garden ;) I get what you are saying about being outside in the winter, I think it's very important to get fresh air and sunshine at least a little bit every day (even if the sunshine is filtered through the clouds) to stave off the winter blues. Too many people get stuck being inside all day, especially up here in the rainy pacific northwest, and its just no good.

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  3. You are more than welcome to come over and bounch Matia around, maybe that way I can get something done, and enjoy some company while I do it!

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