I spent my post-liturgy Sunday moving dirt. Julie ordered last week four cubic yards of organic soil to be delivered to the house. The truck couldn't get into the backyard, so it dumped the pile right onto the front lawn. This soil is rich and manurey; we had a swarm of some sort of fly hovering over it. I had to transport as much of it as I could into the back yard, one wheelbarrowfull at a time. Worked all afternoon till my back just about gave out, and still didn't finish. This soil is so composty-rich, though, that a wave of heat would radiate out from it when I'd tuck my shovel into the center.
We're going to make raised beds for our fall and winter garden. The backyard soil here in Dallas is pretty awful, hence the having some good stuff brought in. We hope to plant turnip greens, salad greens, fava beans, onions and cilantro. I'm going to push for mustard greens too. It typically doesn't freeze in Dallas until late November, and our winters are fairly mild. So we'll see how it goes.
Are you putting in a fall garden? If so, what are you planting?
The stretch from October until the New Year is my favorite season of all. I wish it were more autumnal here in Dallas. I'm ready for hearth fires, Scotch, dark beer, roasts, beets and greens, cello music and corduroys. As ever, when we finally reach the No Turning Back point -- meaning that there's no chance of summer heat returning -- I'll have the ritual playing of Van Morrison and the Chieftains' "Irish Heartbeat," and we can all finally relax, having survived another Texas summer.
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All of that sounds nice, except for the beets. Dude, beets taste like dirt.
We had three giant trees removed from our yard this summer (two fell, one was removed before it could fall), and we now have a sunny backyard. My neighbor and I are going to build a raised bed this fall.
what in the world is organic soil and how is it different from non-organic soil?!
I can't find any fall crop plants at local nurseries here in New England; next year I shall plan better and start some fall crops from seed.
We shall have frost soon, but my tomatoes are still bravely trying to ripen the last few on the vines. The peppers, cucumbers and pumpkins are still hanging on but they will all be done soon. The nights are dipping into the 40's now.
I love fall, despite it being a precursor to the long, cold, gray winter. The leaves are turning yellow and red; the acorns are dropping from the oaks and my poor dog is going insane watching all the squirrels leaping through the trees right now. I put out some mums yesterday to brighten the front yard as the summer flowers are gone, but the wild asters are blooming in the woods.
We went apple-picking this weekend and I never saw so many apples on the trees! Last year at this time they were all gone, except for a few stunted fruits. We filled our bags with Mcintoshes, Galas, Empires and Jonagolds, and we came home and made pies. Mmmmm, fattening...
When I lived in the South, it was fall that made me most homesick for New England. I wanted stone walls, windy days, colorful foliage and to see my breath on the air in the mornings.
Summer and fall in New England more than make up for the long, cold, grim, dank winter and the chilly, rainy, muddy spring.
We plant our peas in the fall here. They get big enough to make it through the winter, and then produce early in the spring. They never make it into the house because the kids eat them straight out of the pod right there in the garden. We have to plant a heck of alot of peas around here:)
I also have shallots, garlic, and potatoes ready to go. I can't seem to grow a decent onion, but shallots do very well for some reason.
I'm going to see if my summer swiss chard will keep on growing through the cold season, along with some lettuce.
To new summer crops we grew this year are sweet potatoes and winter squash. I used to think those were winter vegetables! I've harvested our winter squash, and the kabocha did the best by far. I haven't harvested the sweet potatoes yet, it's a first for us, and I'm not sure if they're ready.
Aretemom
Ooh! Aretemon! Sweet potatoes can be damaged by cold. Don't let them go bad on you.
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