Hey again,

For those of you who are out in the rain, I congratulate you.  For those of you inside staying warm, get outside!

Many first time gardeners and sometimes seasoned gardeners think that this time of year is a period of rest and relaxation for your gardens.  It is, but only if you don’t want to have a super crop next year.  Right now, through the end of October you have plenty of things you can do.

To start with, now is the time to plant cover crops.  These are plants that amend the soil with missing nutrients.  Try by planting species from the Legume family (Peas, vetch, beans, clover) to help affix nitrogen.  A key element in plants health and well being.  Some other items to sow along with these are Winter Wheat, Spelt, Barley, and Cereal Rye.  These grains help support the Legume family and also help affix nitrogen.

You like salad?  You couldn’t ask for a better weather.  Planting Arugula, Corn Salad, Mizuna, and other heirloom lettuce varieties now would be an excellent idea for a mid-winter snack in the future.  Make sure to keep them covered though, they don’t do so well with frost and freezing temperatures

When starting on your plot, make sure to weed out any invasives such as morning glory, English ivy or scotch broom.  Any others that are unwanted may be removed to, but turning them over with the soil will just help build up organic matter in the plot.  A good thing.

Other items you can all start planting are members of the Alliaceae family. These include many varieties of Garlic, shallots and onions.  Plant now, so that you will have a good start for next year.

If you like Fava beans, now is your time.  If you plant them now, you will be able to have them for dinner around Easter.  Fava’s also do well here because of their ability to germinate in colder soils.  Watch out for birds, they just wait for you to turn your back.

Another and final thing.  Many of you have been told about all the Brassicas that are evil and taking over the garden.  True, they have taken over, but evil they are not.  If any of you want to build up the organic matter in your plot or amend the soil, these are great fixers for Calcium.  Take any of the plants that have grown wild, (remove that damn seed head) and till it in with your soil.

Enjoy.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.