In my June 23 post titled “Gardening Thursday - Fall and Winter Activities,” I covered preparing the soil, which step 4 of my 14 step program. It is pretty much the final gardening step of the year but a few things need to happen prior to it.
The first thing I do is remove any plant material that I don’t plan to till into the soil with the good stuff going into the compost pile and any bug infested or diseased material, such as blighted tomato plants, either destroyed, bagged for the dump or, in my case, taken deep into the woods and dumped.
The next thing is to take up and store the drip tape watering system and dismantle the various trellises and pull up the stakes – this is the hardest of my fall jobs, especially the 8’ steel fence posts.
Once the garden is cleared, I proceed with step 4 and when I’m done, it looks like this – except this shot was taken a few weeks later and some moss had grown.
The first thing I do is remove any plant material that I don’t plan to till into the soil with the good stuff going into the compost pile and any bug infested or diseased material, such as blighted tomato plants, either destroyed, bagged for the dump or, in my case, taken deep into the woods and dumped.
The next thing is to take up and store the drip tape watering system and dismantle the various trellises and pull up the stakes – this is the hardest of my fall jobs, especially the 8’ steel fence posts.
Once the garden is cleared, I proceed with step 4 and when I’m done, it looks like this – except this shot was taken a few weeks later and some moss had grown.
It's also a good idea to properly store your tools at this time by cleaning, sharpening (shovels, maddocks, etc), and oiling the metal parts and appying linseed oil to unfinished wooden handles.
I've run out of topics so this will be the last of my every Thursday garden post for this season, but I will keep doing them if I come up with a topic or in response to one that your request.
All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.
I've run out of topics so this will be the last of my every Thursday garden post for this season, but I will keep doing them if I come up with a topic or in response to one that your request.
All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
One year ago: The Bradford pear Saga All But Ends
Larry
I kind of wish I had a garden to put to bed. Great tips!
ReplyDelete"and any bug infested or diseased material, such as blighted tomato plants, either destroyed, bagged for the dump or, in my case, taken deep into the woods and dumped." ....I learned that lesson the hard way...and thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a dedicated gardener, more of a "Let's see what happens!" kind of gardener. I do have to admire your carefully planned and executed work!
ReplyDeletelookie at all those maters dear sir! OMG I am in tomato heaven!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to put my garden to bed yet and I wish I had such a big, lovely one as yours. I'm still waiting for tomatoes to ripen :)
ReplyDeleteOne would think that summer is almost over!!!! You certainly had alot of great veggies,etc. this summer in your garden...
ReplyDeleteBetsy
Look at that garden bed!!! Woo-hoo, that's pretty.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to your fall garden posts. As you know, I planted buckwheat as a small cover crop in hopes of providing a few nutrients to my nasty clay soil. My buckwheat has sprouted...I smiled to myself thinking I will probably be pulling buckwheat weeds out of my garden plot for years (laugh).
Velva
Is your garden really cleared already? We finally picked 10 pounds of tomatoes after they have been dribbling in over the past month.
ReplyDeleteLazy Housewife: just picked 3 pounds off one plant, blanched, sauteed in olive oil and garlic, and they are delicious! We didn't eat the whole thing. ;)
PS: I can't believe your header photo! not very nice to tease. :) Beautiful harvest, Larry
Having walked this soil while fully grown, it's hard to imagine it laid out flat like this.
ReplyDeleteIs it time to put our garden beds down already? We have been pulling what's left of our tomato plants. As one farmer's market guy said this weekend, when I asked him where he got his red tomatoes in SC, he said "Oh they've all gone to Jesus; these are from the mountains!"
ReplyDeleteOurs are with Jesus too, I guess. So sounds like we need to get busy getting some of our beds ready for winter.
It's lettuce season now too (for planting seeds) according to this month's issue of Southern Living.