Fall Tasks

Tips from the Yard: Discussing Fall Tasks, Part 2

The seasons are changing; the summer vegetable garden has come to an end.  This Tip from the Yard will cover the items needed to successfully put the veggie garden to bed.  Side note, it’s fine to leave the late season/winter low hoops and cold frames just where they are.  Enjoy those veggies as long as possible.

1st item: record thoughts and evaluation of the garden.  Include a rough drawing of where different plants were planted to ensuring crop rotation is followed with next year’s garden.

2nd item:  If not done each time plants have completed the producing process remove all vegetation from the garden.  Yes, veggie debris should be removed.  Pathogens can easily over winter and affect next year’s crops.

Any diseased vegetation should never be composted.  Any weeds gone to seed should never be composted. Continue reading Tips from the Yard: Discussing Fall Tasks, Part 2 →

Tips From the Yard: Discussing Fall Tasks, Part 1

In the next two Tips from the Yard let’s cover all the late fall tasks involved in putting the yard to bed.  Let’s look at the pollinators we want to protect first.

Many gardeners love to see pollinators in the yards during the summer, the butterflies, the specialty bees, and even the hummingbirds fluttering about.  We make our yards attractive to the living.  But in the fall, we have thought it important to clearcut all the plants to the ground in flower beds.  Remove every single fallen leaf and dried stem, making the garden beds resemble a tundra.  We even thought to spread a 3” coating of mulch all over the planting area.  All in preparation for the spring and getting a good jump on all the work related to garden prep.  Applause and a hearty slap on the back; good job, or is it?  After a couple of years of this practice, where are all the butterflies and specialty bees?  Remember, hummingbirds migrate south.  They don’t need our yards in the winter. Continue reading Tips From the Yard: Discussing Fall Tasks, Part 1 →