Yesterday I went outside to tell the HH it was time for lunch and found him offloading his second wheelbarrow of pine needles and grass clippings onto my lasagna garden.
Never in a million years would I have added pine needles to a lasagna garden, but oh well. I’m sure it will all work out. I mean after all I’ve got cardboard, shredded paper, leaves, grass, seaweed, mulch, vegetable compost and lobster shells in there. I’m pretty sure at this point a few pine needles aren’t going to hurt anything.
And anyways… is there really just one way to garden? Sometimes I think the best gardens, are the ones you don’t really obsess about too much. Yes, it’s a little unsightly now, but I bet by next summer the layers will have broken down and I’ll have some seriously spectacular soil.
At least that’s the plan.
In other gardening news, I had 2 delicata squash growing in my lasagna garden, and then one day last week they went missing.
The HH found one of the squash yesterday down by the waterfront. Can you believe that? I’m pretty sure a squirrel could not have carried it that far… so who could have stolen my squash? A rabbit? A fox? A deer?
Note to self: look into electric fencing this winter {for the lasagna garden}.
Now all that’s left to harvest is the oregano, chives and cilantro. I’ve already dried a bunch of herbs so I think I’ll just trim the oregano and chives back and continue to harvest the cilantro and until the first frost.
I also started a few seed trays indoors. 2 lettuce, 1 basil and 1 cilantro. I don’t think I’ve ever tried to grow cilantro indoors during the winter before, so that should be interesting.
Speaking of seeds, have you ordered you seeds for next summers garden yet? I think I have everything except Thai pepper seeds {I can’t find them anywhere online!}.
With grocery prices on the rise, I wouldn’t be surprised if seeds for next summer’s gardening season sell out quicker than usual this winter.
I don’t have a solid plan for next year’s garden yet, but I do know I want to concentrate on growing a boatload of tomatoes {for canning} and lot’s of winter squash.
I think it was Mel who recommended the black cherry tomatoes, so I’ll grow those for snacking and salads, but all the other tomatoes I plan to grow will be strictly for putting up diced tomatoes, tomato sauces, salsas and a few other tomato based recipes I have in mind.
Now that we’re finally settled, and we’ve been through the summer gardening season here in zone 6a, I’m ready to go all in next year.
I love driving through town and seeing all the beautiful vegetable gardens in people’s yards and I want to make sure we are doing our part to add to the scenery.
Gardening in pretty rad. And it’s almost over for the year. Outside gardening anyway. 🙂
How about YOU? Have you packed up your gardening tools for the season yet, or are you still harvesting vegetables? Curious minds want to know.
~Mavis
Mel says
I don’t think I’ve ever grown Black Cherry, but it’s totally possible I got the name wrong when recommending it!
We usually grow chocolate pear:
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/purple/chocolate-pear-tomato
We’ve also liked Rosella, but it seemed a bit more delicate on the vine:
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/purple/rosella-tomato
Our Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes are still producing! White Currant also produces hundreds (thousands?) from a single plant, but it got overrun by Matt’s Wild Cherry this year.
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/white/white-currant-tomato
My husband also really liked Green Doctors cherry tomatoes this year:
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/cherry/green-doctors-tomato
I can’t think about gardening yet, but I have a good supply of seeds, so I might take my chances. I think the only thing I need to buy is basil seed since we grow tons of that for bees and chives since army worms ate mine (*shakes fist*).
Jamie says
I did pine needles one year and I thought they took the longest to break down….. Good luck!
Anne in VA says
A friend of mine puts a strand of electric fence about 3 inches off the ground to prevent small animals from stealing and damaging her garden goodies. It keeps raccoons out of the corn and squirrels out of the strawberries.
Elle says
My worry about the pine needles is the acidity they will add and what you will plant in that bed.
I haven’t bought seeds for next year. I have some unopened from this year I just didn’t get to (knee replacement care took up much of my summer).
Happy wintering 🙂
Cindi says
We’re done here in zone 5a — we’ve already had one snow and several hard freezes. Today we’re taking the shade cloth off of the greenhouse (I still have lettuce, chard, peas, and cabbage growing in there — I don’t know if the cabbage will have enough time to make before it starts staying below freezing, but it’s worth a try.) We bought a load of dirt (compost mix) and will be topping off the raised beds today. Black Krim are my favorite tomatoes!
Mavis Butterfield says
Black krim is my favorite too! 🙂
Erin says
The biggest culprit for stealing garden items is my dog. He loves the tomatoes and I often find him munching on them. I grow enough to share with him!
Ashley Bananas says
My cats steal vegetables off the kitchen counter. They are fans of both tomatoes and green beans lol
Rebecca in MD says
I grew black cherry tomatoes this year and really enjoyed them. They are larger than Sungold, and the flavor is fantastic.
You can get some Thai pepper seeds from Eden Brothers https://www.edenbrothers.com/store/pepper-seeds-thai-super-chili.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwn8SLBhAyEiwAHNTJbUmFiADedAWCe9aUBnJXu8Gi7w0IJqu5Z3CJXFh0qiUkyfBPeWmtlRoCS5cQAvD_BwE
I just had my raised vegetable garden beds topped off yesterday with a screened soil and compost mix. My husband covered the beds with cardboard today, which we leave in place until spring when it is recycled within the pathways between the beds. I still need to plant my garlic and am waiting for 2 Itoh Peony roots I ordered to arrive. It is so nice to have my vegetable beds ready to go in the spring.
I have lots of seeds (leftover and unopened) for next year’s garden so I am in good shape. I am going to try fall sowing some flowers for next year – – – Forget-me-not “Victoria Blue” and Golden Ragwort which is native here in Maryland.
Jenny says
Rebecca, I’m curious why you cover raised beds with cardboard for the winter.
And Mavis, do you test your soil or have it tested by your county to see if it’s too acid or alkaline, so you can know if you need to amend it? I see the little kits in seed catalogues but haven’t done it.
Rebecca in MD says
Hi Jenny,
Covering my raised vegetable beds with cardboard during the winter keeps debris out of the beds (we are surrounded by woods) and also gives me a weed free canvas for spring planting. The cardboard blocks out light so any weed seeds cannot germinate.
Gail says
I’m curious also about covering raised beds over winter. Definitely it would keep the weeds down and probably would help the beds warm up for spring. Are there other reasons?
Rebecca in MD says
Hi Gail,
The main reason is to keep weeds from germinating and to keep debris out of the garden. Our winters here in Maryland are mostly mild, and without covering the beds I would end up with lots of weeds by the spring.
Mavis Butterfield says
Maybe it was you Rebecca, who recommend the black cherry tomatoes. I’m looking forward to giving them a try. 🙂
Diana says
Pine needles are wonderful for gardens that are alkaline. Over time, they add acidity to the soil and help balance the pH.
I harvested my sweet potatoes last week. 6-3 gallon nursery pots later and I have 19 lbs of potatoes! I think that was pretty awesome since I won’t normally eat that many in a year. Guess I’ll add it to my diet a little more this year.
Pulled the last of my tomatoes (cherry) last week as well. I got very little harvest from all of my tomatoes this year. All I can figure is it was the variety, since I’ve had good harvests in previous years. I grew JetStar this year and was NOT happy with them.
I’ve already ordered my new cherry trees for this year and they’ll be ready for pickup in Jan. or so (I live in GA). They keep dying on me, so this time I’m gonna plant them in giant pots. Something in my soil is causing issues with all of my ‘pit’ fruits. Disease, fruit drop, bugs, you name it – my fruit trees keep dying if I put them in the ground. Fruit bushes I have no problem with. Confounding…
I finished buying all of my seeds for next year a couple of months ago.
I also bought a freeze dryer that will be delivered in a couple of weeks (I hope!) and am looking forward to preserving my food that way. I’ve got lots of experiments ready to try, lol!
Tracey says
My garden was made a feast of by a pair of groundhogs this summer. They ate everything but the tomatoes. While we are pounding re-bar around the perimeter of the shed where they dig under I read this ! Electric fence! Why didn’t we think of this to start???! Please let the investigating begin – and keep us all in the loop. I can’t wait to sit down and google it myself!
HollyG says
Le Jardin du Gourmet seems to still have peppers – 9 varieties of hot peppers and 4 of sweet peppers. I’ve ordered their little $0.40 cent sampler packs with a few (any where from 4 – 25 depending on variety). Their nice for me – I like to try a couple of lots of different varieties.
Cindy says
Pine needles are actually good for the garden. Coffee grounds too.
Linda T says
raccoons could and would lug delicata and more around
Pam says
I’m going to guess either a raccoon or a woodchuck ran off with your squash.
Melissa says
Mortgage Lifter, Black Krim and Purple Cherokee are my faves. We garden year round in SoCal but my really hot weather veggies like okra just didn’t do well this year. We have broccoli and cabbage going. Our desert tortoise I’d in his tunnel brumating now so the winter garden is safe.
Jules says
Mavis, you always give me’light bulb’ moments. Growing cilantro indoors was the big idea for me today. What a great idea! that I wish I had thought of before. I love that stuff! Now to figure out a spot in my house to do this
ML says
Can you dry the seeds in a fresh thai chili pepper. Lots in my freezer. I am still harvesting red thais from my bushes. Too many to count. Live in Southcentral PA.