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by Avis Licht
Bring in the harvest from summer to make room for winter crops
The changing seasons in the garden can leave us with mixed feelings . The end of the summer season means that we need to clear the beds for the winter garden while it’s still warm enough to plant. The regret is that we have to take out plants that are still producing.
I still have tomatoes, but they are ripening verrrry slowly due to the cold evenings and shorter days. Sadly, I’ll be pulling them out. You can bring in the green tomatoes and they will ripen, though not as perfectly as they did on the vine in the middle of summer.
Even cherry tomatoes are slow to ripen in the Fall.
Happily, this will make room for my winter crops, like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce. I’ll be writing about what to grow for winter and how to do it. Be sure to subscribe to my blog so that you can get updates every time I write.
At the Indian Valley College Farm and Garden, the students were busy pulling out the summer crops like cucumbers, beans and squash to make room for the cool weather crops. They were making wonderful piles of compost. Layering greens, dry material, manure and water. Nothing goes to waste in the garden. We may loose a few cucumbers, but gain a lot of compost.
Starting the compost pile.
Take the plants that are done producing and start your compost!
In areas that you won’t be putting in food crops, be sure to cover the ground with cover crops to enhance fertility and protect the soil. Use fava beans, bell beans, vetch, clover and buckwheat.
Large seeded plants like beans and peas can go directly into the soil.
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