The season is coming to an end...

I find it hard to believe but the 2009 garden season is almost done.  The last two days have been in the mid 60's with a nice shot of sunshine to make the days even better.  Just the fact that it is already 1/3 of the way into November and we are still able to have this kind of weather makes me smile.

The garden is slowly finishing up.  We harvested lettuce today and will most likely be able to continue to cut fresh lettuce until the next frost.  Seems we don't have a next frost scheduled for at least another 10 days.  We also took the advantage to digging the last of the beet greens.  I will wash them well and then saute them with a little garlic and oil on Tuesday night.

Have all the beds tilled (hand spaded) except for the brussel sprout (#7) and lettuce (#8) beds.  These will go sometime in the next couple of weeks.  Dug #9, #10, and #11 on Saturday and spread green sand and rock phosphate on Sunday. 

I also broke sod on #13, #14, and #15 which will be 30"x 16' beds in the Elliot Coleman style (30" bed with a 12" path.).  These will be pepper, brussel sprout, and onion beds for next year.  I'll take a hard look at adding two additional beds for 2011 depending on the success that 2010 brings.  The sod was pretty stout, but the tree roots were even more interesting.  I will definitely be challenged with tillage in the spring.  We won't rush, but we will do it right.

The weather was so good this weekend, I also got a chance to grind leaves that my neighbor Mike brought.  They were exactly the right moisture, dry, but not tinder try.  I ground 13 full bags of leaves.  For perspective, a full bag will cover a 32 sqft bed about 6 inches deep in ground leaves.  By covering the asparagus beds, it builds soil and keeps the weeds down.  Putting leaf mulch on the tilled bids creates an environment that the worms really like and adds substantially to the tilth of the soil.  I'll keep adding on an annual basis until somebody a lot smarter than me comes along and says stop.

The #1 leaf bin is full (~80 cuft) of leaf mulch/grass clippings (compost).  #2 leaf bin is about 2/3 full (~70cuft) of rougher leaves and other garden waste.  I also have one of the black compost bins filled with leaf mulch.

Also got a chance to put up the protective wire cages around the blackberries.  Last year I was too late and we suffered with substantial damage from the rabbits.  Not this year.

Over the next two weekends, I will get the rest of the leaves cleaned up from the yard, mow at least once more, and put my final winterizer fertilizer down.  Then we will be ready for Thanksgiving and putting the garden to bed for the year.

Be good, be safe and be organic.