Welcome back to Good Gardening! In our Week 9 discussion, we wanted to know how many of our Good Gardeners had a big fall harvest coming up. As always we took the conversation to social media to see what the response was like…
This week’s discussion represented my own autumn experience: barren. Evidently the droughts spoiled many opportunities for a rich harvest time, though not all of them.
Joanie Elbourn has frost-tolerant greens to look forward to like kale, chard, and collards. She will also continue to enjoy a wide variety of herbs, and some carrots and pole beans. Thomas signed off on our Facebook discussion with a single green tomato. Maybe next year Tom!
Professional permaculturalist Monica Richards wrote into the email address to tell us that her garden is just now coming to life after a weather phenomenon called a “heat dome.”
Many of our plants literally hung in there through August, and I’m now seeing new tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers begin to come in since the cooler weather started. So on many plants, not much happened since June, but now we can begin a whole new harvest! Attached are photos of new tomatoes that started last week, and our tortoise, Gil, with a golden cucumber.
For Fall, my plan has been “It’s cooler now, let’s get a bunch more baby trees and shrubs into the ground before Winter!” Fall has become my perennial planting time, as I find many of them do well to establish roots before frost and begin their true growth starting the following year!
Monica writes in every week from California, so her advice should be considered per zone.
“Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable…the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the street by a gusty wind, and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese,” — Hal Borland
Topic Week 10: Fall To-Do List
Question 1: What’s on your garden to-do list every fall
Question 2: Do you tend to clear your garden of annuals at the end of the year?
Question 3: What kind of preparations do you make for next year starting in fall?
Tell Us Here in The Comments… or, send your questions, tips, and photos to [email protected]. Join our Facebook Good Gardens thread every Friday on the GNN Facebook Page…
Good gardening rules
- Green thumbs can help novice greenhorns.
- Share your gardening photos and resources.
- Garden jargon encouraged!
INVITE Friends to our Gardening Discussion on Social Media–And Share Your Photos and Tips!
I’m responding to fall yard clean up of annuals. Living in an area with many types of flower lovers/eaters – elk, dear, rabbits – we install 4 motion activated water deterrents in the spring which work beautifully and allow us to have lovely flowers throughout the growing season. When fall comes, we remove the water deterrents. Within a day or so, the critters “know” and they come calling. They are rewarded for their patience and they clean up the “the last roses of summer”, so to speak. It is beautiful to watch. Once they have completed their mission in a day, they do not return to the yard. Symbiosis at its best.
Thanks for sharing, Raven!