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As the nights have been getting colder, most of the plants in the garden have been succumbing to the frost. We've had a pretty good run for the season, so it was time to prepare the garden for wintering over!
Because the garlic was so successful last year, we decided to plant some more for this winter. Hopefully they'll grow as well as the last batch! We planted the cloves in the front bed, and simply pulled out or dug up the withered plants in the other beds. The chard was especially difficult to pull up. I had no idea they had such gigantic root systems. The first one I pulled out looked a bit like some sort of cephalopod with its long tentacles!
We left the peas still growing in the other front bed because they survive frost quite well and are still producing at this stage. It's actually gone back to being unseasonably warm, so I think those will keep growing for awhile yet. These late-season peas don't seem quite as sweet as the summer ones, but they're still delicious and crisp!
The last step was to just cover the empty beds with leaf mulch to try to keep the weeds from growing too quickly when spring comes around again. The raspberry patch in the back has gone a bit wild, so I think some pruning will be in order next year to keep everything in check. Weeding around spiky things is difficult...
Other garden plots around us have more cold-weather crops than we did, so there's still quite a lot of greenery growing in the general garden area. I'm always especially impressed by the bok choi plot that one of our neighbors has going on.
A lot of other gardens also have many autumn squash varieties ready for harvest. I love how cute the little decorative squashes look, although I wonder sometimes if they're any good for eating. Probably not, although these very round ones might have more edible parts than the spindly ones.
Even with the unusually warm weather, the leaves have been turning gradually. The colorful treescapes are among my favorite things about autumn, and it's so pretty living near wooded areas this time of year.
Because the garlic was so successful last year, we decided to plant some more for this winter. Hopefully they'll grow as well as the last batch! We planted the cloves in the front bed, and simply pulled out or dug up the withered plants in the other beds. The chard was especially difficult to pull up. I had no idea they had such gigantic root systems. The first one I pulled out looked a bit like some sort of cephalopod with its long tentacles!
We left the peas still growing in the other front bed because they survive frost quite well and are still producing at this stage. It's actually gone back to being unseasonably warm, so I think those will keep growing for awhile yet. These late-season peas don't seem quite as sweet as the summer ones, but they're still delicious and crisp!
The last step was to just cover the empty beds with leaf mulch to try to keep the weeds from growing too quickly when spring comes around again. The raspberry patch in the back has gone a bit wild, so I think some pruning will be in order next year to keep everything in check. Weeding around spiky things is difficult...
Other garden plots around us have more cold-weather crops than we did, so there's still quite a lot of greenery growing in the general garden area. I'm always especially impressed by the bok choi plot that one of our neighbors has going on.
A lot of other gardens also have many autumn squash varieties ready for harvest. I love how cute the little decorative squashes look, although I wonder sometimes if they're any good for eating. Probably not, although these very round ones might have more edible parts than the spindly ones.
Even with the unusually warm weather, the leaves have been turning gradually. The colorful treescapes are among my favorite things about autumn, and it's so pretty living near wooded areas this time of year.
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