The Modern Victory Garden

Fall has definitely arrived this past week.   The days are overcast and damp; the sun sits much lower on the horizon now; and the temperatures have returned to a much cooler range.   As a result, the garden is looking a bit shaggy and ready for some fall attention.                      

I was home on Monday and made use of the time to get caught up on things after being away the entire prior week.   Some of the things I attended to were in the garden.   There is quite a bit of work to be done in the garden this time of year to get the beds cleaned up and prepped for winter.   I intend to spread the fall garden work out over the next several weeks, but I got a good start on it on Monday.   One of the chores is to get crops that are spent removed and the beds not holding winter crops amended.   I have several items that need to be cleared out but the most immediate need was the bush bean patch (Royal Burgundy) which has virtually quit producing.   In addition, in an adjacent bed I have the sugar snap peas (Cascadia) growing on a slanted trellis that have been allowed to die back and mature the pea pods for the purposes of producing seed stock for the 2012 growing season.   The return of the fall rains required that I get the peas removed and inside to dry down or risk having them mildew and rot on the vine.            

I pulled the bush beans out and composted them and also pulled and composted the sugar snap pea vines after first removing the best of the matured pods.   Here’s that same area of the garden as in the prior picture but with the beans and the peas now removed.                        

The peas were hulled and the largest and best were kept to be dried down and used for next year's seed stock.   The smaller ones were given to the hens as a treat.   The seed peas were then placed on a large plate with several layers of absorbent paper towel under them and set in a warm and dry room in the house to begin drying down.   They will be "swished" around occasionally to ensure they properly dry for storage.                   

In addition to pulling the bush beans and pea vines, I also pulled three of the zucchini plants that were badly infected with powdery mildew.   You can see the powdery mildew on this large zucchini plant.                 

The cucumbers next to it also have powdery mildew but not nearly as badly and are still producing some cucumbers (at least for the moment).   Here’s that same bed after I removed that particular plant.              

I left one of the healthier zucchini plants in another garden bed and will keep harvesting from it until it either quits producing or gives in to powdery mildew too.   I also pulled up the pepper plants growing in large containers in the greenhouse.   There was only a few remaining peppers and I wanted to make room for some direct seeded greenhouse crops.   After I pulled the pepper plants, I loosened up and amended the soil in the containers and then planted them - three containers with carrots (2 containers of Mokum and 1 container of Bolero); one container with napa cabbages (Tenderheart); and one container with lettuce (Bon Vivant). The carrots will not have sufficient time to get much growth on before winter hits, but they should get a good start before going dormant and should launch quickly back into growth mode in early spring - providing fresh fare during the lean season of March/April.      

Since the fall rains have arrived and appear to have settled in for the duration, I went ahead and harvested the larger of the tomatoes off of the plants and brought them indoors to begin slowly ripening off the vine.            

I will not include these in the harvest totals until after they have ripened.   There are still more fruits on the vine and lots of cherry tomatoes but the odds are high that the plants will soon start moldering and dieing from the effects of the cooler temps and heavy rains.                     

There are still lots more tasks to be done:

• There are more crops to be removed as they wrap up their production.
• The emptied beds need to be spread with compost.
• Soaker hoses and other garden equipment needs to be properly stored for the winter.
• The overwintered crops need to have their protective covers put in place to keep the hens out of them after I open the garden up to them for winter foraging.
• In just a few weeks it will be time to plant the garlic.
• The greenhouse panes need to be cleaned to ensure as much light availability as is possible during the dark days of winter.

While there is much yet to be taken care of, I got a good start on it Monday and if I pace myself over the coming month it will all get done before the weather potentially turns more severe.   What fall preparations are you working on?                    

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener