Now’s the time
Uncle Wahoo said, “When it’s time to make a choice, you need to do something, because if you don’t, then that’s what you did.” That time has come for gardeners. Autumn beckons, and whether it’s a flock of five-gallon pots on the patio or raised beds in the backyard, it is almost time either to put the garden to bed until spring or get winter vegetables in the ground.
You might choose to let the garden lie fallow during the winter. A noble choice. This does not mean you never go there till the Ides of March. Letting the garden rest does not necessarily mean the gardener also rests.
Fallowing, a time-honored strategy from way back, is letting the fields, garden beds or planter pots simply sit there unplanted and untilled for the winter to let natural processes take over. Nutrients deep in the soil have a chance to creep toward the surface for next year’s crops.
However, another natural process is for weed seeds to sprout, so remove weeds before they bear seeds. Besides removing weeds, apply layers of mulch to the bed to prevent weed seeds from sprouting plus increase organic content of the soil.
The soil is the thing. Take care of the soil, and the soil takes care of the plants. “For a gardener who hopes to have plenty to eat in the world of tomorrow, he’d better make plans to raise it himself, building humus in his garden soil from the decay of organic matter,” Gene Logdsen commented in The Beginner’s Guide to Better Soil.”
I have sources for both horse and chicken, etc. I live in the woods, so I have leaves. As part of my effort to save the world, I plan to pile all of it on the garden beds with assorted organic matter… spread it far, spread it like I mean it… respect what it means for the future of the planet.
“Thanks, but what took you so long?” sings a chorus of garden beds.
Fallowing can include planting green manure crops such as vetch, fava beans and clover which add nutrients and organic material when mixed into the soil in the spring. Once planted, cover crops take care of themselves.
More than once, I’ve threatened to let my garden completely rest all winter, but I’ve never followed through. Right after a September rain, volunteers sprout all around the garden, and suddenly I find myself inspired to thumb through seed packets and soon enough I have seedlings.
So, if you want to plant a few winter crops, you should already have started already, but proceed with enthusiasm, nevertheless. I started a few brassicas in a large pot on my deck. Soon the greenhouse temperature will be tolerable, and I can nurture the seedlings in there while the piles of organic matter are accumulating on the garden beds. Who knows what mischief I will create when the greenhouse is tolerable again?
As autumn sets in, the asparagus ferns will dry up and be ready for cleanup. An asparagus patch is an especially good place for layers of happy leaves and etc. because it is a difficult patch to weed. Also, the bed seems to take a deep breath once the dried ferns are gone.
At some point, blackberry and raspberry canes can be pruned. Oregano will need trimming back out of the pathway again. Dry the branches in the greenhouse for the apothecary ambience and use the dried leaves as mulch.
Even with some beds active for the winter, the garden will look relieved and quieter with the tall, faded things gone, weeds removed, and beds tastefully layered over with enough organic material to produce rich dark humus by Ides of March Eve. Uncle Wahoo will nod, shrug, and remark, “So, good choice. Now the world’s all better.”