What have you done today in the Garden?

This is an exciting thought Daniel. I took out my little packet of purchased seeds, and the home harvested ones are much plumper and larger. That would be great!

 

Today added 4 buckets of good garden soil to the raised bed I'm working on. Maybe two more to go.

Picked more Jonagold apples. I think there is a pie filling, or two, on tomorrow's schedule.

 

Didn't do much as it was raining most of the day. But I did one job, when it stopped for a bit.
I noticed when I was putting a bag of rubbish out last night that one of the security lights on the front of the house wasn't working. I checked it by switching it off from its socket in the small bedroom. It didn't come on as it should, so it was likely to be the bulb.
It would have to be the top one which is level with the bottom of the small window.





"Now I'm not supposed to use ladders as I'm 83."
But fortunately, I was able to sneak my big set of ladders out of the garage and round to the front of the house without my wife noticing. These are really versatile ladders as there's hinges in three places,
You can use them as a platform, there's these panels you can stand on.






I use them mostly as a step ladder like this. I'll be using them when I prune this big acer when all the leaves are down.




They also unfold to make a tall ladder which is very sturdy, so I had no problems changing the bulb and getting the ladders back in the garage without my wife knowing, as I hadn't mentioned the faulty lamp last night.

 

My leaves haven't fallen....but the snow has.

 

That was sneaky @Doghouse Riley! If you had been caught, you might be in the doghouse! Let alone, if you slipped and fell!

@Willowisp0801 that's a beautiful, quiet looking scene.

I was going to collect leaves today, but did not. I harvested a couple dozen apples, good enough for pie. And promptly made a pie filling and froze it, and made a pie too. I usually mix vanilla extract into the sugar, but ran out. So I used a little rum extract and added a pinch of nutmeg to the cinnamon. We'll see how it tastes.

I hauled one more 5-gallon bucket of soil for that raised bed, for a grand total of 9 so far. I think one more will do it.

I tried something different. I'm vegetarian, but I make dog food with chicken thighs as the meat component. Each week, I wind up with a small pile of slow cooked thigh bones (femurs). I used to add them to the woodstove, for mineral ash for the garden. With no woodstove now, what do I do?

So, I dried them by putting them into the oven after baking something. Today I smashed and ground a small pile of dried chicken femurs. That made a coarse, brown meal. Bonemeal contains good amounts of calcium, phosphorus, and some nitrogen and iron. NPK 3:15:0

https://www.thespruce.com/bone-meal-fertilizer-pros-and-cons-5093936

I also crushed a batch of egg shells for more calcium and some nitrogen. Then I spread both, about 1/2 cup of each, over the 25 square foot extra garlic bed that I planted recently. The garlic cloves are about four inches deep, so I cultivated the additives in about an inch deep. Now it's ready for a blanket of leaves for winter.

Bonemeal is slow release, giving up its minerals over about four months.

 

Should have been a golf day but the course was closed as it's far too wet.
Went into the garden just to take these photos. Our acer palmatums start to go a "firey red" before they shed their leaves. We've rarely seen this in decades, as usually the frost gets to them before this happens. But as it's been so mild they are just starting to turn.









The wisteria leaves are starting to yellow, I'll give it a week or too and then I'll strip therm and remove any new growth that's bolted. Otherwise I'll be having to be forever removing fallen leaves between now and the end of the year.
I do this every year and do the main pruning between Christmas and New Year.

 

Riley, mate…you like to live dangerously. Climbing ladders is dangerous as well.
Ach— there are compensations. Just look at those Acers! Cor!

Willow, look at yer snow!! I’m not readyyyyyyuyu…..

Daniel— you just keep on working, don’t you. Well done.

I removed almost the last of the Clematis vines from the arches. Gosh, it all suddenly looks so bare. All that pulling and clipping has me sore today.

 

Nothing today it's raining.

 

Before trimming across 3 garage doors and roof and after trim.I got tired of the car wash and ducking to get in and out of the garage, it’s a nice change.

 

@Doghouse Riley that acer is looking brilliant!

@Sjoerd I do tend to get obsessed over things. Also I was raised that work was my purpose in life. True or not, it stuck.

@Pacnorwest that's impressive! Is that the trunk, to the left?

Today I completed the plastic liner in the rebuilt raised bed. I hauled one final 5-gallon bucket of garden soil, for a total of ten for this bed. Smoothed the soil. Next, clean up second half of the next bed, add soil. It will end, eventually.

I raked some leaves. They are now mulch on garlic and some containers.

Took a nap.

 

Daniel— chuckle. There are worse(r) things.
I admire your worth ethic.

Pac—But what is that plant? I do not recall ever seeing growing it over here.
Mate, you have removed an enormous amount. Chapeau.

 

Nothing today it's raining.

 

It's dry, but I'm not going to do anything except feed the birds/squirrel/hedgehog.

 

The only work that will be done today will be by Mother Nature. There is a serious windstorm going on here at the moment.

 

Stay safe Sjoerd!