Prep for Winter

Mike, the girls and I spent some afternoon time in the yard today preparing for the upcoming winter. Last night was our second frost, and it was a light one nearly a month after the first one. 

I have already pulled out many of the annual plants and am enjoying the seasonal color of foliage as it is turning. I rake leaves from the grass onto the beds to protect them (especially important now that I have planted so many more bulbs).  This time of year there is so much plant waste just from pulling things up that Mike actually has two compost piles - the regular one and a temporary pile in the garden itself.

Today the girls and I focused on converting the greenhouse to protect fall crops. Anwyn and I  pulled the last of the tomatoes and basil in the greenhouse and Leo made our final batch of fresh bruschetta. Mike and Leo saved basil seeds and Anwyn dug some carrots. Then Mike transplanted some spinach and chard into the greenhouse. The stuff in the greenhouse will be edible until it is about -15 degrees C outside.

We are actually still eating quite a bit from the garden. Chard, potatoes, spinach, beets, strawberries (just a few) and carrots are the big items. We are also eating butternut and spaghetti squash from storage. Fresh herbs, especially chives and mint are still doing well also.  The garden has large bare patches, and we use these for dumping the dirt from various planter boxes, which we will mix back into the garden before planting.  Another patch of bare dirt serves to hold a pile of fresh compost for use in the spring when it thaws. 

I had a good gardening year this year, and have little to do now before the end. We'll need to dig the rest of the root veggies before the ground freezes, and put away the outdoor furniture (I have already drained the fountain). I also have to dig up my few remaining bulbs for fall flowers, like the gladiola along the garage. They are my last flowers and I am sad to see them go, so I am delaying as long as I can. I know when they go I'll have six months before my next bulbs bloom outside.