So whatcha doin' these days, in the garden?

[patandchickens]

Just curious, because the list has been quiet lately and because this is the time of year when there's SUCH a difference between different zones.

Me, I've finished digging over some more lawn to expand my veg garden to 16 x 16 for next year (almost double this year's area); I've wheelbarrowed a bunch of chicken compost onto it; and I've been on a Weeding Mission to get the grass and chickweed and stuff outta my perennial beds now that the real plants have died back and I can SEE the invaders. I cut back the front flowerbed somewhat, just enough to remove the worst uglies and to let me see all the nice purty fall crocus.

The fall crocus (white and purple) are going strong, and I still have some violas and johnny jumpups and assorted reblooming things going in a minor way. Leaves are off ALL the trees, but some shrubs still have nice bright red leaves on them (Aronia, Euonymus, that sort of thing). DH did the official Last Mowing of the Year today on the front lawn. Coldframe lettuce still not big enough to pick, grrr, I really need to procrastinate less next year.

So what's up where you are?

Pat

 

[sunnychooks]

I'm looking at dirt. I've pulled everything except some late pea plants that still have flowers on them and carrots that I'm not sure when to harvest. :/
I've started my second compost pile. The first one will be used in the spring and the second will be for the following year.
And I'm planning on expanding my garden. I guess I can say my garden will be growing!

 

[punkin]

All I have now is some broccoli and cauliflower plants. Most of the flowers are gone since we had a pretty hard freeze a couple of weeks ago.

 

[aee96]

Well I have a new set of tomato plants that are doing well - I have lots of little tomatoes and blooms (these are my fall tomatoes - we are lucky in this part of the country and can grow spring and fall). I also have some lettuce that is doing great. I transplanted my strawberry plants to a new bed and they are stressing a bit but I hope they pull thru - I would love to have a bumper crop of strawberries.

I actually am having issues with my peach trees blooming and my freesias coming up because of the weather I guess. But my flower beds are looking fabulous with everything in bloom still. The yard has slowed growing so that saves me having to mow every week.

I'm working on several new beds - 1 for bulbs, 1 for herbs, 1 for a butterfly/hummingbird flowers, another 2 for roses and probably another 3 for garden. I have clay soil and a very flat yard so I pretty much have to build up beds to grow anything and keep it from drowning.

Our weather this weekend will be lows in the upper 40s and highs in the upper 70s. Perfect outdoor weather!

aee96

 

[mirime]

Mulching mulching mulching.
Gotta to the Last Mow soon, before the snow flies!
The trees dropped their leaves in what seemed like one day!
The oak leaf hydrangeas are beautifully red-purple, and the colors of some other bushes are spectacular too.

 

[krcote]

Hey Pat! Found this sister site from BYC! Any who, doing some research on garlic and found you here!
This past weekend I had a guy come till a 25x30 spot at our house. We've been here since Jan, but only had the time to do containers this past season. So this year I'm starting early! This weekend I'm puting in garlic. Anything else I can do to prep before winter comes?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Well, I'm feeling nearly as frustrated as I was this summer . . .

I've been focused on cleaning out our greenhouse. Cleaning up the plants, burying the potted ones that might need a little more protection from the cold, etc. What I really need to do is get beds dug in there for next spring.

I'm hoping to get out and move my compost piles around. I have one that has been finished for some time and is starting to dry out (it is covered with a tarp). That needs to be used and the "hot" (or not) pile needs to be moved where that is. Oh, but first I need to actually clean the area up, since the original (now finished) pile just got dumped there when we moved, unceremoniously on top of the blackberry brambles -- we brought that pile from our old house. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hahahahaha aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!! Then I can start my new pile, the material for which has been building up to critical mass.

My husband was a dear and broke up the sod (more like grass/weed mix) on what I hope to be a large herb and flower bed. If I get some dry weather, I can get in there and clean it up and filter all the rocks out of it. Are you getting tired just reading this yet????????

Then maybe I can focus a little on weeding my vegetable garden. I think it was last weeded in June. :| The paths need to be weeded and new pathway material set down.

But, darn it, I need to take advantage of the fact that it is still technically fall and get some more of my tree/shrub/native plants put in the ground. :|

Anyone wanna come over and play?

 

[rebbetzin]

Now that it is finally cooling off, it was still in the high 80's and low 90's last week!!

A couple of weeks ago I planted lettuce, peas, spinach, beets, carrots, radishes, and some other cool weather things. They are all coming up nicely.

I spend my days checking to make sure the baby seedlings are staying moist.

I bought two 6 paks of Johnny Jump-Ups, and only have three plants left out of the 12!! Something ate them, and it is not a bug. I surrounded each plant with foil when one was "cut down" thinking it was a cut worm, but then, the rest were just cut off at the soil line and no plant parts in sight!! A mystery to be sure!! I have never had anything attack my precious Johnny Jump-Ups before!!

I am going to buy some more, but I will plant them with the ones that were not eaten.

I am spening more time now cleaning out the chicken coop and thinking as the chicks get bigger I will have lots of "poop" for the compost pile!!

Now I just pray we stay nice and warm at night until the baby plants get going good.

 

[FarmerDenise]

We are very busy.
We are cleaning up spent sunflower stalks, piling them up for shredding another time, bundled up the cornstalks to be used for feed by the neighbor's goats. Harvested the broomcorn and flax this week. Our tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and basil is still going strong. I'll be drying more tomatoes later today. We have planted cauliflower, broccoli, fava beans, onion sets and peas this week. There is still lots of cleaning up to do, which we are always working on.

 

[Rosalind]

Raking leaves onto the garden for mulch. And raking some more. Cleaning out gutters and putting that stuff on the compost. Throwing all the spent veggie plants on the compost heap. Picking the last of the dry soup beans to dry indoors. Starting some new lettuces and cabbages in a cold frame to overwinter. Got a bed of onions that I'm going to attempt to overwinter, too. Trimmed the dead foliage out of the front yard perennials. Dumping chicken litter on the weeded and cleaned-out beds. Making overly ambitious sketches and lists for next year...