Soil Prep

 

              The season of growing is done, harvest almost done, and soil preparation is upon us. Last week, I pulled the last of the tomato plants from the back garden and then the long climbing zucchini off of the greenhouse. There were a few small fruits on both, but, really, how many zucchini can one household eat? Mark has finished sifting compost for the season and has three large garbage bins full, including the repurposed wheeled recycling cart that I use to gather leaves off the street. It is time to begin the layering of organic matter.

                First, I will compost in place anything that is not disease carrying, like the goldenrod branches in the front garden. A rough chop and they are laid down where they grew, closing the nutrient loop. Then I haul the vegetable plants to the big compost hoops, tossing them in whole. They will break down this winter. The summer mulch stays in place, usually layer of straw that has already begun to break down. If the beds are not part of the chicken tractor rotation, I layer some compost in them; when we have a rabbit, they also receive rabbit droppings. I pull the weeds and volunteers that I have allowed to bloom for several months. The beds are ready. This is where we are now.

                Across the street, six full grown linden trees are dropping their golden leaves. Two doors down, a birch is shedding red leaves. The fig is about to drop some huge brown leaves and the oak is waiting until December. I am watching all of them closely… soon the landscapers will be around with rakes and leaf blowers, pushing the bounty into the street. When that happens, we pounce. First, lock the grey cat into the bedroom so that she is not rolling in the road. Then we find the leaf rakes—one in good shape, the other dying—and the rolling bin. Maybe we grab the big blue tarp as well. Working quickly, racing the dark, we fill the bin and dump it, over and over, one binful per garden bed. The street pile disappears. The garden piles grow. An hour later, all of the beds are covered in leaves. If there is time and leaves, we will set up a hoop in the driveway and fill that as well.

                All winter, the leaves mingle with the other organic matter, followed by the chicken tractor. For a month, the coop sits on each bed while the chickens rummage around, turning over slugs and eating weed seeds. When the coop comes off, I toss the leaves and straw and everything else over lightly, mixing it all with the soil. This allows it to all break down before I begin planting in March. Every year, the beds hold more moisture, have fewer pests, and grow strong vegetables.  And it all begins now.

Harvest Reckoning

The Harvest Season is about over. I pulled the tomato and squash vines from the back garden today, preparing for leaf fall, which began during the winds and rains of the weekend. It was, overall, a good year, although being gone for the month of July has impacted our fall garden crops.  We all decided it was time to “Eat Down” on the stock of jams, butters, and pickles already on the shelf.

This is what we have in storage for the winter (bold indicates from our yard):

Blueberries—

                Three quarts dried

                Two quarts frozen

Apples—

                12 half pints of apple butter

                4 quarts dried

                5 pints in sauce

Peaches—

                3 quarts dried

                10 pints canned

                12 half pints chutney

Figs—

                7 quarts dried

                4 half pints apple butter (more next year!)

Plums—

                3 quarts dried

Tomatoes—

                14 pints of sauce

                1.5 quarts dried

                30 half pints roasted

                14 pints of salsa

Cucumbers—

                4 pints of Bread and Butter

Green Beans—

                5 pints

Gooseberry jam—

3 half pints

Potatoes:

                6 pounds of All Blue

                31 pounds of Desiree

                30 pounds of Butte

                17 pounds of Yukon Gold

Dried Beans—

1 quart of Indian Woman

1 quart of Cranberry

1 pint of white

There’s also cabbages, beets, and parsnips in the garden and six small pumpkins and several squashes in the larder.  I’ve ordered 70 pounds of onions, more dried beans and winter squash, hard wheat berries and oatmeal (which came today!) and garlic. We are almost set for the winter.

October

After a long, cold, record-setting wet winter and an August full of the smoke from forest fires all over the West, these golden Autumn days have been a real gift.  The nights are cool, the days are warm, and the grass is green again after a few soft, all day rains. All of the fall flowers are blooming in my yard, deep purple round faced asters bounce against the long yellow bands of goldenrod. The bees hover above the round bed and feast on the fallen, cracked open, ripe figs before packing the last hive box full for the winter.  I am also moving food inside—potatoes, figs, tomatoes, and winter squash—and changing our diet to reflect the new season. In the afternoon, the cats and I bask in the sun, lower in the sky, but thicker, richer light because of it. The Harvest moon shines over us all at night, lighting my hands as I clean out the herb beds after dinner, not quite ready to move inside for the season.