I’m not one to rake up every leaf in my yard. I leave things pretty much where they are so that over the winter, little critters will have a place to get through it. I also enjoy seeing birds feed on the seed pods from plants I don’t pull. I don’t pick up my walnuts either, because the squirrels can’t act like geeks off the street. They gotta be handy with the nut knocking, if you know what I mean. Earn their keep.
I did put the raised beds up for the season this last week. I chopped things off at the ground level so the roots can decompose over the winter. I learnd the benefits of chop and drop from permaculture icon Mike Hoag, and it’s served me well. As you may rememeber, I did most things in pots this year. I laid down more cardboard (thanks, Amazon!) and emptied the pots onto that, and smoothed it out with a rake. That will all break down over the winter and feed worms and other little organisms. I may do containers again next year in the fenced raised beds area and give the soil more time to rebuild.
I mulched the asparagus and strawberry bed with a decomposing bale of straw I didn’t grow anything in this year. I also mulched it with the remains of the Dana Nessel Tomato Jungle, which I also pulled up this last week. The winter hoops from my raised beds fit well over the bed by the back door and will support row cover and plastic as winter progresses.
Today I planted Nero di Toscana kale in the Killer Kooler (the sharp part that injured me so grievously this spring has been turned to the back), and once that sprouts I’ll be netting that from the obnoxious deer. In the bed by the back door recently vacated by the Dana Nessel Tomato Jungle, I planted (from right to left) heirloom Oxheart carrots, Royal Purple radishes, heirloom Waltham 29 broccoli, and two rows of Dazzling Blue kale.
In the lettuce planter I’ve still got some Midnight Snack cherry tomatoes hanging on. The deer are helping me keep them pruned, and the minute the current batch on the plant ripens it’s coming out. I’ll replace that with three rows of heirloom Bloomsdale Long Standing spinach. I like heirloom varieties, because even though they’re a pain in the rump sometimes, they taste absolutely delicious.
I’ve emptied the herbs in porch pots, for the most part. I’m going to try to keep the basil, mint, parsley, and oregano going inside this winter. My transplanted oregano did not transplant well, plus I learned that both cats like eating oregano. In the herb beds out in the yarden, I planted 72 cloves of German Extra Hardy stiffneck garlic. I have garlic all over the yard but it’s been years since my original planting so I’m not even sure what I have out there, what with crossbreeding, squirrels moving stuff all over the place. I’ll probably dig some in the spring and see what’s what. The garlic I planted today will be ready for me to dig and cure next fall, and I’m pretty excited about that.
I’ll leave you with a slightly edited quote from the great Rogers Hornsby. “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball (or garden). I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” He’s not wrong.
