Sunday, September 25, 2011

Now and Later

The greens are planted in an area that gets less sun than they were planted in last year, so they are not quite as far along as I would hope, but the little plants are definitely recognizable.

This is one of the Capitan lettuce:



These are two of the bok choy:



And this is one of the Red Russian kale:



If the weather continues to be beautifully sunny with some interspersed days of good, soaking rains, the little plants will be nicely grown by the first frost.

I see that there are a few little weeds in the pictures, too, but I'll remove those in a couple of days, when I get another chance to work in the yard.

For the last several days, my yard work has focused on moving wood chips, left by a tree-removal company, from the middle of my front yard. The good news for me is that Joe takes care of most of the hardest work, but I still managed to make a whole bunch of my own muscles sore.

We had asked for one load of chips a couple of weeks ago, because they are great to use on the paths that run through the wooded back yard. When the tree-guys stopped by a week later with another load, asking whether we could use more mulch, I (crazily) said, "yes!"

The tree-guys were very happy that they weren't going to have to drive that truck-full of chips 40-or-so miles to where-ever they usually dump loads of chipped wood, so I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing until they actually dumped the chips. The pile was twice as big as the first pile, and it took some serious work to get it all moved.

Some of those chips are spread as mulch in places where the first load had to be laid a little thin, but a lot of it is now in three big piles that are not in the middle of the yard.

By the time next spring's garden is far enough along to need some mulch, those chips should have aged enough to be just about right for the purpose. If I am very lucky, some might be decomposed enough to dig in as soil amendment.

4 comments:

  1. I used your recipe for the green tomato relish this past weekend. Good flavor! I processed in water bath for 10 minutes rather than five but not in the pressure canner. I wanted to use all the green tomatoes I pulled when digging out the old mostly-dead plants. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  2. The old guys who are the source of the green tomato relish recipe will be happy to know that the recipe is getting a workout. Thanks for letting me know so I can pass your experience along!

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  3. Hello, my name is Cari and I moved to georgia about 4 months ago and am starting some gardening boxes in a very small yard. i am a novice and completely lost as to what i can plant and when. I LOVE your blog spot and i think i just found my mentor. Can you give me any advice or charts as to when and what to plant in georgia. For example, its October, what can i plant now to have a crop at the end or during winter? Please help :) c.mrfiresafety@yahoo.com

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  4. Hi Cari! I hope some of what's in the blog is helpful. For planting now, it's a little complicated. You've missed the best times for starting most fall greens by a few weeks. If you can rig a clear cover over one of your boxes to help keep it warm, though, you might be able to have some good-sized greens by early December. It is getting cool enough that most plants are going to grow too slowly to give you much food without that extra help.

    It isn't too late for a quick crop of radishes, though, and it is almost time to plant garlic, shallots, and multiplier onions (to harvest in June). Those should go in the ground in late October. I'll hunt up some information that might be helpful to send you via email. I have a fall planting chart (made myself) that I hand out at late-summer gardening talks, and the Extension service has one for spring planting that can help you plan your 2012 garden.

    It may be a day or two before I can pull that together, but it will get there! -Amy

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