Fall

It has been a beautiful last two weeks. The temperatures have been in the mid-70s F, with the nights in the low 50s/upper 40s. The leaves are turning and the riding is wonderful. Fall is my favorite time of the year.

I've spent the time cleaning up the garden, adding to the compost pile, putting new compost on the beds, planting for the fall/winter. I added a threshold to the hoop house door this year. Last year, I couldn't open the door all the way because of frost heaves and snow buildup. That means I have to resize the door, too; I'm hoping to get that done early this week. I'm also putting new plastic on the hoop house this year. All my experimenting with different clips and using hog panels for trellis put too many holes in the old stuff.

My fall broccoli is looking good; the late beans are blooming, the peas are starting to bloom. The carrots are growing, the bunching (green) onions are a nice size. If I can get the top on the hoop house before it gets cold, they should all do well right into November and beyond for some.

I planted some more fall crops over the weekend. It is a bit late, but with the warm weather they might do ok. I planted kale and radishes in an exposed bed. I'm thinking I'll put row cover over them as it gets colder. I might even put a cold frame over them. I planted more bunching onions in the hoop house, as well as some radish.

I ordered some more Winter Density romaine, broccoli raab, and some sprouting broccoli yesterday. I'm planning on planting those in the hoop house, as well. We'll see how they do. The sprouting broccoli has a 90 day maturity, so it might not actually bear until next March, but the other two should do well.