Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Cleaning Up

I know over the last two months I've been not blogging except to keep Harvest Monday going. All my extra energy has been spent trying to keep the garden up. But I've been feeling much better over the last week and figured I ought to get back into the swing of things. Or maybe I want to start again because my townhouse mates took down all the solanum crops for me. Seeing them every time I went out into the garden was pretty depressing. They offered to take them down as soon as I got sick from them, but I figured they ought to be enjoyed even if I couldn't. Now that they are gone, I'm much happier.

I've been working over the last couple of weeks to take all my trellises down and get all the beans into the compost. Yesterday the last of them came down. The overhead view shows that there isn't much left in the garden anymore. I'll show you all that is still producing in another post, but for now it about taking them down.

My compost is over flowing. I had to get the finished compost taken out of that almost empty bin. I've spread it over parts of the garden that have been cleaned up. Now I finally have room to turn it. I'll probably get to it during the next non rainy day. But today is raining and tomorrow it might even snow. Wow. Snow. We have had such a warm fall it is hard to imagine weather that cold. But Thursday night we might get our first frost and snow. Maybe.

It is pretty empty. I put the tomato trellises on the surface of the cleaned beds because otherwise the cats leave me unwanted gifts. We have about 5-7 cats that regularly visit the yard. So any empty soil is always kept covered. But I do provide for the cats. I have a spot that they can use when they want. I clean it every month. It is under the chimney to my gas fireplace so it is even a dry spot for them. I'm hoping with all the cats I won't get too many mice and voles.

12 comments:

  1. I haven't been around much, so I'll have to go back and read about the solanums. So sorry to hear that you got sick. I hope you're feeling better soon.

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  2. So glad to see this update because it means that you must be feeling better. It must be nice to be able to work in the garden again. Everything look so neat and clean.

    Lucky you to have some cats in your garden. We have a few neighborhood cats that keep the moles under control in my garden too. I have to keep the SFG beds covered or they think they are a giant litter box too. I learned that this year when I tried to grow fall carrots.

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  3. what a lovely garden you have, so neat and tidy looking! Loved looking through your posts and your harvests. I'm just beginning to get some baby lettuces, looking forward to more.

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  4. Wow Daphne you have a beautiful garden, I've only been reading your blog for a few months so this is the first I've really seen it and it's great! That brick path is fantastic.

    What do you use for soil in your raised beds? I'm always curious, I've only been using raised beds for a couple of years now so I like to know what others are doing.

    I'm really glad to hear your feeling better.

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  5. Stoney, Go back through the blog and read about the garden construction, well worth it.

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  6. Hi Daphne..great looking plots for gardening u have there...*envious mode* :P i hope u're getting better a.s.a.p...all the best to u for the next season of gardening..take care! :)

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  7. Have you developed an allergy to tomatoes, eggplants or peppers? So sorry that you've been sick. I really appreciated seeing the overview of your garden. Incredibly neat and organized.

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  8. I looked back in your blog posts and found the answer in your sept 17 post. Solanum poisoning from touching tomato plants. I know not to eat green potato skin, but didn't know you could absorb the chemical thru your skin from tomato plants. Sorry that happened to you.

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  9. You have a wonderfully ordered garden. I like how the trellis is sitting on top of what looks to me like a blank canvass underneath. I also really like that paving!

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  10. Stoney Acres, It is a 50/50 mix of screened dirt and leaf compost. I had 5 cubic yards of it delivered to my house, which was enough to mostly fill the beds up. I topped them up with a couple of inches of pure compost in the spring.

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  11. Glad you are back up and about in the garden. The fall tidy up looks great. Always sad to see the beds go empty because Iknow it is going to be months before things get really shaking again. I need to consolidate two of my compost bins as or construct a fourth one as I am completely out of room in my compost piles and the fall leaves are yet to be dealt with.

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  12. Daphne, Glad to hear that you're feeling better. You were missed. :)
    I planted my garlic today. Don't you just love an overflowing compost bin?!

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