What Did You Do In The Garden?

[ducks4you]

Yesterday I mowed the funny strip that Looks like it belongs to my neighbor to the south, but is Mine. I mowed it 3 inches high, done for the season. It looks Very nice.
I added to the south part of my big garden, dumping from my mare's stall---she is the only one who now goes inside at night, exCEPT tonight, which will be unusually warm and it's dry. As soon as the plot where 2022 sweet potatoes are going is full, I intend to till it for next year. Included was about 40 pounds of sweet feed which had molded. It shouldn't harm anything.

 

[Marie2020]

My dog and I went to see a couple of horses and I gathered some leaves for my compost bin.
I'm surprised too see that my bin is not as full as it was but it's looking like really good soil in there now.

 

[Marie2020]

That was my plan too. Usually there would be a warm-up after the first freeze (which is usually the first week of October) and I could gather leaves then. But because we have yet to see a hard freeze, leaf-fall is weeks late. Pretty crazy, since the trees should be bare by Halloween, and some have not even turned color yet. The forecast is for it to be dry all week, so I may yet be able to turn under some leaves, charcoal, and ashes before the ground becomes unworkable.

A lot of plants that should have died off are still thriving here, even sunflowers

 

[Marie2020]

think of the worms turning all those into plant food for you and you won't feel so bad.



if i get a chance in the middle of winter to get out and weed i love to bring in those fresh greens for the worms to chomp on.

In the wormer? . That's a splendid idea
What about the compost bin

 

[flowerbug]

In the wormer? . That's a splendid idea
What about the compost bin

i don't have one. we compost all our vegetable scraps and other organic stuff in the worm buckets. outside i bury things and the worms figure out what to do with it all. only really seedy stuff ends up on the weed pile and that is usually not much at all. i leave that on top and often i see the cardinals and other seed loving birdies picking through that pile.

 

[Zeedman]

The farmers all around just turn their debris under every year; weather permitting, I do roughly the same thing in the Fall. The weather has been cooperating with a long dry spell, so I have a chance to put the garden to bed properly this year.

All hulls & kitchen scraps from the gardens are returned to the source garden throughout the year. Anything diseased, or weeds with seeds, gets removed... everything else gets mowed & turned under at year's end. At home, I also try to add shredded leaves and some wood ashes from the burn pit (which is where 'weeds with seeds' get recycled). Because I collect leaves with a mower & leaf vacuum, I mow at the same time to add some green to the mix. The leaves fell really late this year (some trees have yet to drop) but I gathered all the leaves I could from our yard, DD's, and two neighbors; all have been chopped, spread on the home gardens, and turned under. Still dry tomorrow (rain expected tomorrow night), I hope to find time to sift & spread some ashes.

I've been gradually working my way down through DD's huge dirt pile, to raise up a 15' extension of the main home garden (to make it 100'). The end which can be extended is poorly drained, so I need to add enough soil for it to be usable. The trailer can safely haul about 1000 pounds, and so far I've made 5 trips. And because there is no lane of access to that part of the lot, the soil must be transferred to a utility trailer pulled by the mower - so all the soil gets shoveled twice. My heavy exercise for this month is covered.

 

[digitS']

Good Grief.

I can imagine, @Zeedman !

Take care of that back.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

The farmers all around just turn their debris under every year; weather permitting, I do roughly the same thing in the Fall. The weather has been cooperating with a long dry spell, so I have a chance to put the garden to bed properly this year.

i didn't think i was going to get much done this late in the week with all the chances of rain forecast but none of those materialized so today i'll be out this afternoon and should be able to get another garden put up for the winter. the tomato patch this year is the first one to do since it looks the worst and is ready to go under. if tomorrow pans out i can get on with a bean patch that also needs some leveling, but it's a lot easier to dig there as it is mostly sandy topsoil and mixed with a little clay. any leveling i can do in there will help make it nicer for growing next season but also i have some wood ashes to go in there too.

All hulls & kitchen scraps from the gardens are returned to the source garden throughout the year. Anything diseased, or weeds with seeds, gets removed... everything else gets mowed & turned under at year's end. At home, I also try to add shredded leaves and some wood ashes from the burn pit (which is where 'weeds with seeds' get recycled). Because I collect leaves with a mower & leaf vacuum, I mow at the same time to add some green to the mix. The leaves fell really late this year (some trees have yet to drop) but I gathered all the leaves I could from our yard, DD's, and two neighbors; all have been chopped, spread on the home gardens, and turned under. Still dry tomorrow (rain expected tomorrow night), I hope to find time to sift & spread some ashes.

must be some nice garden soil by now. why are you sifting the ashes? i just use them in the gardens with the clumps of charcoal and all, eventually me walking on them or the shoveling will mix them in. every once in a great while i'll grind a few of the larger clumps up between two bricks. that's good enough for those...

I've been gradually working my way down through DD's huge dirt pile, to raise up a 15' extension of the main home garden (to make it 100'). The end which can be extended is poorly drained, so I need to add enough soil for it to be usable. The trailer can safely haul about 1000 pounds, and so far I've made 5 trips. And because there is no lane of access to that part of the lot, the soil must be transferred to a utility trailer pulled by the mower - so all the soil gets shoveled twice. My heavy exercise for this month is covered.

just be glad you're not hauling it by wheelbarrow and buckets. i did that for about 30 yards of topsoil, sand, compost and pea gravel. it was a lot of work but now at least it doesn't flash flood in that part of the fenced gardens.

 

[ducks4you]

My dog and I went to see a couple of horses and I gathered some leaves for my compost bin.
I'm surprised too see that my bin is not as full as it was but it's looking like really good soil in there now.

See if the horse owner will let you get some manure/used bedding.
ALL sweet feed/supplements come in plastic bags, mostly 50 pounds, and FEW people recycle them. If you fill it up with a shovel about 2/3 full, then roll down the top and duct tape, it will transport and not spill in your car.
You can dump it in/close to your garden and let it cook all winter.
It takes 4 months for horse manure to break down and be safe for all plants.

 

[ducks4you]

I got all my bricks down in front of my garden shed. I had had grass grow in front of it, and it cracked the lh door, which I repaired. I dug in front of it, laid down a garbage bag and put the bricks on top.
NOW, both doors open with 1-2 inches clearance. pictures later...