August 09, 2019
It's time to grab 3-4 of the largest garlic bulbs out of the pantry basket. Planting will comence November 1st, and you don't want to be without cloves to plant. The biggest bulbs produce the largest crop, and if you don't get them now the cook will have gotten the largest ones. November planting is fun because there is so little else to be done in the garden. Hopefully you will be picking Brussels sprouts, chard, beets and carrots, and planting onion sets..
Kale will be overwintering because that's what it does best. Garden clean up will be less this year because we have learned to leave patches of wildlife friendly native species, and areas of debris as habitat for our little garden gifts. Gather those leaves people..
August 10, 2019
Turning our gardens into more of a nature friendly environment is right in line with us old gardeners priorities. We don't want manicured, formal settings because they take too much time to maintain. Now we can just let areas go to weed and have the excuse of helping the environment. I used to be lazy, now I'm just old..
The diversity of the additional weeds is amazing, and their life cycle contributes to the enjoyment of discovery. I'm keeping the pathways hula hoed, so their brown contrast to the green shades of plants gives a feeling of walking through a parkland. I'm discovering I'd rather have a lush green jungle than lots of reflected light from the dirt..
August 11, 2019
I got my fall planting of broccoli and cauliflower direct seeded August 6th and they emerged August 9th. Their seed packets said 8-10 days germination time so don't always believe what you read. I would have missed their sprouting if I hadn't been flipping the boards off in the evening. Letting sow bugs and millipedes congregate under the boards is a sure way to get your seedlings eaten. Such rapid germination is what I've learned to expect from starting seeds on a seed starting mat. Now I know that the soil in August is the same temperature as heating mats indoors in January..
Bird netting is over them now because my jungle is attracting numerous species of feathered friends. The tiny yellow finches, that eat the chard, are now perched on the Brussels sprouts eating aphid and whiteflies. The sparrows are eating whatever they find under the straw. I don't know if it's weed seeds or insects but I hope they get a lot of sow bugs while they are at it..
