A Late Bounty
As the last throws of summer now seem to be behind us, autumn is in full swing, and winter is just around the corner. The big harvests have been brought in and our focus begins to turn more inward naturally. For some of us, it may be all too easy to curl up under a blanket and watch a movie or read a good book. Don’t give in to winter just yet, autumn can be a bountiful and busy time as we prepare for the frigid cold that is on the way. Let’s chat a bit about fall planting, overwintering, and preparing- 3 big things that should be in our autumn plans.
Fall Planting
Most people think about spring as the time to plant, and for many things that’s true. We plant annuals in the spring and it’s also a perfectly good time to plant most perennials. Good doesn’t always means best though. For perennials, especially deciduous trees and shrubs, fall is the ideal planting time. For anything whose leaves fall off in the winter, they use this time to build their root structures underground. By planting in the fall, before the ground freezes, you’re
giving your plants a head start in the root building department. They will be able to pool all of their remaining energy into that root structure and when spring comes around, they’ll be off to the races.
It also isn’t too late to pull a few calories from your garden. In many places, especially zones 7and up, many greens can be produced late into the winter season. Winter kales and other hardy greens can still be planted, and with the help of a little plastic (other other heat keeping material) you’ll be surprised at how long into the winter you can be eating fresh greens.
Overwintering
A lot of us see winter rolling in and we put our tools away- the garden is done for the season. There’s still a lot that we can and need to do this year to make sure that next year and every year after your garden soil is vibrant and healthy. The big issue is that your soil needs to be protected from exposure and nutrients should be naturally returned. There are a couple of different methods of do this. You can mulch or you can plant a winter cover crop. Your choice for methods will usually depend on the size of what you’re working with. Planting a good winter cover crop protects from erosion as well as providing a great compost source for
returning nitrogen and other valuable nutrients to the soil. Some good options for cover crop choice are clover or winter rye.
Mulching is really good for returning carbon to the soil. Usually, we use a thick bed of some wood product or straw for this method. These are fibrous and break down putting carbon in the ground. Although we may not think that carbon is a good thing as we are generally thinking of
nitrogen, but it is carbon which supports mycelium growth which is essential for a healthy soil structure. To get the nitrogen in there you can layer in manure of compost and allow that to break down over winter, or you can wait until spring and add a prepared compost mixture.
Preparing
This is the season of preparation. Prepare for the winter and prepare for next year. Can whatever produce you still have lying around so you can enjoy them for the rest of the year and take a last look around you. What are 3 things that you can do over the winter that will make your life
easier and better next season? For us it’s building a chicken coup, building a deer proof vegetable garden area, and putting in a water feature. We would love to hear what you are going to create this winter!
Have a great autumn and enjoy the beauty around you!