Dateline: 21 November 2016
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We have had some gloriously pleasant November weather here in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. Two days ago I was up on my roof and snapped the above picture of my garden.
I was putting shredded leaves on some of the beds, thus the tarp with leaves in the foreground. Several of the raised beds on the right side of the garden are green with cover crops of oats and mustard. There are two beds of carrots (which I have since harvested).
On the left side of the garden you can see the layout of 30" x 30" garden beds in black plastic. That's my latest gardening idea, and you'll probably see more pictures of those beds here next year. I wish I had time to get cover crops planted in those experimental beds, but it was all I could do to just get them in place, all ready for planting next spring. Here's a ground view of the square-framed beds...
Those beds have all had shredded leaves hoed into the top couple of inches of soil, and were then topped off with at least a couple inches of shredded leaves. I'll be interested to see if there is much decomposition of the leaves by spring. With a good layer of snow over the garden, I understand that earthworms and other soil biology remain active through the winter months.
And speaking of winter, I snapped this picture of my garden (not from the roof) earlier today...
Winter has finally come to Upland.
Looks great Herrick. Thanks for the picture from the roof - really lays out everything nicely.
ReplyDeleteThe snow, less looking great. I am cold just from looking at it.
Thanks. The snow is a bummer, but to get this far into November with such nice weather was so nice. Now I will spend the winter months dreaming and planning what to do in next year's garden. My wife told me that she thought this year's garden was the best I have ever had. That made me feel good. I grow the food and she's the one who harvests daily (in season) and feeds me. :-)
DeleteWell as usual, you have me green with envy! One of my gardens is covered in turkey poo and I don't want to get near it for a month or two. I am going to use your 2 x 4 squares next spring but never even thought of getting them all out there this fall. Are these the ones with the pipe holder clamps on the inside? And one other thing I've been meaning to ask,what mil thickness plastic do you use between the rows? Everything I get is all done after one summer in the sun. Garden looks absolutely great, even with the white stuff on it! Happy turkey day.
ReplyDeleteHi Everett—
DeleteThe square beds are positioned on top of a large sheet of 6mil bunker cover plastic. I had a large sheet of the Dewitt woven fabric material there for a few years and decided to remove it. The fabric works fine for a cover over my raised beds (to keep weeds down between plantings) and as a mulch between the bed rows, but It was so hard to cut openings in for these 30" square beds that I decided to go with the large sheet of thick plastic. This is all experimental, of course. My objective being to eliminate the weeds in all but the carefully tended small beds. I believe I can get a lot of productivity out of each bed, with minimal effort. And, yes, the frames offer a place to anchor hoops to support insect cover, plastic or whatever protective cover is needed. I'll be interested in seeing how long the plain 2x4 lumber holds up to the elements. Based on past experience with untreated 2x4 in the garden, I think I'll be able to get at least 5 years of use out of them. And it would be nice if I got the same out of the plastic.
HA! I sent all that snow to you from Minnesota. Looks like you got off a little easier. We had at least 10" of wet heavy global warming to shovel. The snow blower was barely up to the task. We had a gorgeous November too. I had a few days of vacation to burn up by November 11th so I finished roofing a 16x20 barn. I did half earlier this summer and figured the other half could wait till next Spring. Well, I was cleaning out the loft of the barn and saw a leak on the half I was going to leave till Spring. 2 days of vacation plus a weekend plus BEAUTIFUL Weather...Go for it!!! Now my 8 laying hens will at least stay dry this Winter. Another gardening season is in the books. Now I shift to Indoor projects.
ReplyDeleteRonC
Hi Ron,
DeleteGlad you got the roof all done. I know how good that feels. Yesterday's snow In the picture) was just the opening act. We got some significant accumulation last night. Schools are closed this morning. I'll be firing up my snowblower shortly.
Elizabeth L. Johnson said,
ReplyDeleteRonC--"10 in. of global warming", that was funny!! Herrick, it is always so neat to hear everybody's experimenting on your blog. We're going north to Bend (5 hrs) for Thanksgiving with our children, and looks like we'll hit snow!! Our mountains all around are snow-capped! God Bless your family.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteOhmygoodness! One of my (many) weaknesses is a tidy, well organized garden. I'm absolutely drooling over your garden pics. Every year I strive for a picture worthy (in my eyes) garden. Almost every year I'm blessed with an abundance of food but from a garden that's hardly picture worthy. Oh well. The quality of the food is more important than the looks of the dirt, right?
ReplyDeleteMany prayers for a blessed and happy Thanksgiving to you and your wonderful family, Herrick....
sincerely~ The "other" Elizabeth