What have you done today in the Garden?

Thank you and yes they will, got a lot of them.

 

It still hasn't frosted, so I was able to collect basil seed heads this morning, yay! As with other seeds, I'll let them dry out in brown paper sandwich bags, in the pantry, until crunchy. Then crush them and blow off the chaff outside.

There is still day ahead. No rain, might collect more leaves today.

 

It’s really frosty here . I’m 800 feet above sea level and we have a very short growing season. That however doesn’t slow the garden plants down a bit. Most rest thru the winter to come back in spring to grow like they are on steroids.
Always have a huge burn pile…maybe over time I have planted way over 200 trees, shrubs and perennials.
Just saying …now spending garden time editing all the trimmings from all the years of planting.

 

Catching up with the weeding in the back garden, there's a lot of Dock's and the roots go right down. Also some stinging nettles that's difficult to get rid of. Planted some wild foxgloves that germinated in the blueberry pots.
If the compost bins are full i put the weeds in old compost bags and put the bags by the compost bins, the last lot had rotted down so i put that on the garden. The robin was there waiting for some grubs.

 

Yesterday, before the storm hit, I was able to prep my garden beds and plant my garlic and shallots.




We got plenty of rain, but not much else. It was a warm, humid day today (72 degrees) but will cool down overnight and we are supposed to expect snow Tuesday night.



It's so much fun gardening in New England...

 

Gathered grape vines and other materials for a wreath.

 

Beeker, what variety of shallots do you grow? I've tried "Camelot" from seeds, also something from the grocery store that I planted, let go to seed, and planted those seeds. I haven't decided on a best variety yet.

Logan, have you ever cooked nettles? So people here do, but I have not tried them.

Today I raked another stranger's yard and got a truckload of maple and liquidamber leaves. There were almost enough to apply a thick layer of leaf mulch for a section of the forsythia / Itoh peony / lavender / perennial border. It's still pretty clean from the same treatment last year, and the soil is nice and easily worked but the old leaves are almost gone so this was needed.

I planted the package of tulips.

I cleaned up the final big raised bed, this year was tomatoes. Next year will be onions and shallots.

Now Im tired LOL.

 

Beeker—Those beds look really good. Good you got your stuff in.
You are having such warm temps.

 

No i haven't but can make nettle soup or make a sort of tea for a hair rinse.

Did some more weeding it's very nice at the moment with temp 16c

 

Collected another truckload of leaves. Spread 3/4 of them. I need to clean up the johnsongrass around a lilac and ginkgo, before spreading the rest there

 

Moved a loganberry plant to the back wall, it was from a runner so probably get another one in its place.

 

Ugh. Trimming back after the first freeze. Sadness. Like telling your friend they do not need that leg and you will compost it for them. I like the lower humidity but not my fave time of year.

 

We have a similar grass called couch grass
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...gwDZgQ5hMIBQ&usg=AOvVaw2hjMVLrxVHq5O1c-RuOoZ_

 

Today pulled all of the Johnsongrass out of a young lilac bush. it will have a better chance to grow. I started the same with a young ginkgo tree. That Johnsongrass really likes getting in against the trunk.

I started recovering bearded iris rhizomes from the big bed that was taken over by grasses and weeds. There aren't a lot left. Bearded irises are my favorite flower, but I have a hard time growing them here. They develop severe fungus disease in Spring and need constant weeding in Summer. This time, I'll try a mulch. Experts say don't mulch them but I've seen it done. I just want to recover a few and see how they do.

Hauled in firewood logs for the woodstove. And the dried chicken bones I was saving. These will be wood / bone ash for fertilizer.

 

Nothing today it's raining.