Winter Comfort

Standing at my back door with a cup of coffee was just a little different this morning.  The robins singing and eating worms were replaced with snow flurries!  Hoping my little feathered friends are on the fly to warmer weather.  I have to say that I will be waiting eagerly for them to return.

My large bed had thankfully been "tucked in" for the winter.  The final vines pulled and left to provide the framework for new life this spring.  This year I spent quite some time turning the soil deeply folding in the rotting fruit, vegetable matter and decomposing vines.  In addition, I soaked it well.  My hope is that the water will be stored within the composting material.  The final layer of horse manure and leaves will be going on tomorrow as I ran out of time!

The bareness of the yard is giving birth to new dreams, designs and ideas.  Instead of digging around in the dirt, I am drawing out dreams in my journal.

How do I incorporate more permaculture?

Is it possible to build the beds with just horse manure through the winter?

Where can I scavenge up some old gutters and hoses for water saving measures?

How can I plant more climbing peas, beans and vegetables within the flower beds?

This led to an initial dream list of vegetable seeds saved on my computer.

Carrots galore jumped on the list.  I will be making seed tape this winter during quiet evenings to keep my hands busy.

The tomatoes will be moved to the small bed.  Peppers will go to the tomato bed.  Hmmm....I smell spring!

Walking to the door tonight gives me a chill and a comfort.  It is a homey feeling to know that beneath the layer of soil and composting material the microbes and worms are busy and the roots are resting.  All taking a well deserved winter rest.

The Little Things Matter

It is the little things that count.  Today is my day at home and I have been busy!  

Pulled some great carrots from the garden.  Am drying some and made broth with the rest to freeze.  Brought in a few more tomatoes to dry.

Turned over half the large bed.  

Beginning a new berm.

Emptied the final flower pots and laid them to wash them.  A great time of year to assess the plantings and what went well and what didn't.  I used this time to poke out some more drainage holes in the ones that didn't quite drain right.

I cleaned all of my planting pots and utensils and stored in a trash bag in my cupboard.

What are you doing right now that will give us a headstart next spring?

What supplies/containers for next year's garden can we check clearance aisles for at our local stores?

What clutter in the garden shed needs junked? 

Can things be washed, dried and stored now for easy access this spring?

Random: Big Blue Stem, Old Cars and Compost

Big Blue Stem Experiment...Seeding out.  It seems like years ago that I began some organic Big Blue Stem seeds in an attempt to reintroduce it in a small meadow area and in my yard.  What once filled the plains of the Midwest has become an ornamental grass.  I have learned that it takes a LONG time to get these grasses established.  I've used different spots, soils and containers with my container grass doing the best.  Now I need to decide how, when and if to transplant this grass.  How do I use it as nursery grasses to help new seeds grow.  When do I harvest the seeds and how do I store them?  Lots to think about.

The Sweet Potato vine has captured the old toy car that I claimed as my inheritance from my Mom.  I remember how proud as a little girl I was dragging it home with my Dad.  It was a great toy for girls for years and years.

Trimming and piling pumpkin and squash vines, annual plants and other organic matter to amend my large bed.  Egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, junk mail and coffee grounds are hidden in here somewhere.

Roadside trees.  Picture of endurance in a land of extremes.

Wrapping it Up~ Getting it Ready

The last few tomatoes are finishing ripening as the nights are getting down below 40-50.  My perennial grasses have pushed up their seeds and the flowers are ready for break.  Now is the time for fall irrigating and preparing.  My pumpkin vines have taken over several beds (without much to show for it) and my tree is dropping leaves.

So now is the time to wrap it up and get it ready.  My beds and gardens that is.  Need to do:

1.  Prune my perennial flowers.
2.  Pull annuals and add to compost and beds.
3.  Pull tomatoes and zucchini and leave on beds.
4.  Harvest final carrots and potatoes.
5.  Leave butterfly bushes and Russian sage and perennial     grasses to overwinter. 
6.  Get mulch and straw bought and ready to add to flower beds and under trees and shrubs.
 
7.  Still watering trees and shrubs and lightly watering hostas as they go dormant.
8.  Dump my compost bin onto the beds.
9.  Add horse manure to raised beds and deeply water them in.
10.  Add lots of leaf litter for the birds at the back of my yard.

11.  Clean out garden shed for spring.

11.  Clean out all bird baths and feeders with a bleach mixture.


 

Survive and/or Reproduce

Nebraska's drought has been sudden and extreme.  Thankfully, I great beds that helped our water use.

However, I have been out pruning out the plants not producing such as the zucchini and squash plants that only carried flowers.  My last pruning of my tomato plants seemed harsh as I cut off the top new growth and new blooms so that my plants could focus on finishing the fruit that is already on. 

Shrubs and trees are receiving the water so that they will weather the winter.  My last tree standing is going to have to be cut down.  Decisions on planting new shade trees are difficult as I consider our water as well as the forecast for the winter and next summer.

All of this to say that this summer has been a reminder that there are times that plants and animals have to focus on survival and stop or slow down reproduction.  

New growth is slowed as resources are very carefully guarded and preserved.  Going dormant early is one strategy.  

Maybe that is what is sometimes needed in our lives.

 

Dry Spell

To say that we are going through a dry patch is a giant understatement.  In a land where we are used to extremes of heat and cold, water and drought, feast or famine; this drought feels different.  According to our weather experts, it is.  This drought has become the worst in 50 years and on its way to being similar to the dust bowl days of the 30's. 

Worry lines are deepening on the faces of our ranchers and farmers as they know heart wrenching decisions await them.  As they sit on the top of a hill during the night watching for lightening that might spark another wild fire.  Or they carefully ration feed and water and manage pasture.

Thousands of acres of land is burning in our midwest states.  

And yet...

Their faces are like flint set against all odds.  They will band together, dig in their heals and fight forward.  They will adapt and overcome.  They will learn and adopt new practices to protect their land, livestock and livlihood.

Gardens are carefully guarded and protected with the produce carefully put away for the year.

My garden has tomatoes turning red and zucchini and squash and beans coming on.  

So we will continue and overcome and learn and grow.  Sustainable practices will be adopted.  Traditions will continue.

And I....will continue to follow in my Grandparents and parents footsteps.

According to my new book, "Permaculture" by Sepp Helzer, "permaculture is designed so that all of the plants and animals living there will work in harmony with each other."  He continues that one has to "make proper use of the available natural resources we have to work with nature and not against it.  Using what we have.  

One cornerstone of permaculture is the use of terraces in the landscape to prevent erosion and provide structure and support for growth.

In my little yard, I use these concepts heavily.  It allows me to use every spot as efficiently as possible.  Provides support for those new plants and allows me to rotate throughout the growing season.  I can't wait to add more!

In so many ways nature teaches us about the order and way that God set things in motion.  For example, plants do better with a partner and in a family.

The older plants provide protection until the young ones are strong.  Soon those young ones are providing a place for my older ones to lean up on for strength.

What if we adopted this practice of mentoring, coaching and interdependency through our lives?