Category: In the garden

Winterizing

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Yesterday, I dug up the two dahlias. I had planted four originally, but two of them never grew despite the tubers have nice eyes. We had one hard frost a couple of days ago, so I hope they will be alright. I will store them in semi-moist peat moss in the basement.

The plot is ready for winter. Only the Swiss chard is still growing (much of it surprisingly undamaged by the frost), as are leeks, onions and winter greens. I will overwinter the onions and some of the leeks. The garlic is covered with a nice big layer of field hay and should be good until spring.

End of the Season

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Today’s harvest minus one squash, which I gave away before I took the picture

I spent three hours in the community garden today harvesting the last five squash (a total of 12 lbs. 2 oz., bringing the squash total to 34 lbs. 1 oz.!!!), (green) tomatoes, peppers and cucumber (!), and weeding, pulling lemon balm and mint, and spreading hay. I also planted a few tulips and more garlic. I think this might be the earliest I have ever gotten my plot ready for winter. The only thing still growing is Swiss chard, leeks and onions (I will likely overwinter both of those), and some fall greens.

Swiss chard, leeks, onions and fall greens. Asparagus foliage in the background.

I also cleaned our back porch and harvested the last jalapenos.

Hay

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Plot on October 22

I went to Agricultural Hall yesterday afternoon and had a nice little chat with Bill about garlic, bees and apple cider. I got half a bale of field hay to spread on my garlic. It has been very rainy in the past few days and it is supposed to be a wet week. I hope the garlic I planted three days ago will be okay with all the water.

I still have quite a few things going on in my plot: squash, chard, leeks, onions, fall greens (mostly arugula and mustard greens), some last tomatoes, herbs and still some dahlias.

Planting Bulbs

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Tulip, grape hyacinth and Anemone blanda bulbs

Today I planted my garlic (2 rows hardneck – saved from my harvest in July – and 3 rows softneck – Inchelium Red from Johnny’s) in the community garden and flower bulbs in our front yard. I bought the bulbs a few weeks ago from K. van Bourgondien: two types of tulips (Blushing Apeldoorn and Ronaldo), grape hyacinths and Anemone blanda. Can’t wait for them to bloom in spring!

Garden Work Day

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Fall bouquet – dahlia, Jerusalem artichokes, parsley flower, pokeweed

We had our fall work day in the community garden this past Saturday. We mostly weeded, cleaned and got the garden ready for winter. There was a big patch of Jerusalem artichokes in the flower bed we adopted and we needed to take them out. Some of them came home with me and made it into this small bouquet.

Parsley
These are the last green beans. (The bell peppers and the black hot peppers are from another gardener’s plot who recently moved away)

End of September

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I watered the garden this morning and harvested 2 pounds of green beans and a handful of tomatoes.

The plot is looking pretty good. The beans are still growing strong, I have twelve butternut squashes going, and a jungle of Swiss chard. Still some tomatoes. Sadly, only one dahlia came up, and the leeks are still small for the most part (too much shade from the chard). The fall greens are being eaten by flea beetles, they have tons of tiny holes in the leaves.

Vandalism

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Today’s harvest

Good news first: I harvested more green beans, which will be part of dinner tonight together with the ones I harvested a couple of days ago.

Bad news: our community garden was vandalized last night by a drunk/high person. I talked to neighbors from across the street who saw the man hurling the lids of our compost bins around, confronted him and called the police. The officers questioned him but let him go whereupon he continued to destroy our garden. Several plots were damaged, mostly by destroying trellises and tomato cages, tall plants were snapped, our (very heavy) table in the patio area was toppled as was the water barrel.

I filed a report with the police. They promised to send more patrols into the area over the next few days. I hope this was an isolated incident.

Destroyed tomato plants
More destruction
Destroyed tomato cage