To begin again.

To begin again is part and parcel of the life of a gardener or farmer.  Many people think that the cycle of gardening starts in the Spring when all is fresh and the world is becoming new again.  I believed that for a long time too.  But as you become more experienced, you begin to realize that it may actually be in the fall that the garden begins again.
For me, fall is the time when you take inventory of what worked in your garden and more importantly what didn't.  You need to assess all aspects of the pervious season to see where your crops failed and why.  Why is a very hard question for any gardener to ask.  It goes to the very core of what went awry. 
For the last week or so, I have begun to clear out my various plants very deliberately.  There was one huge failure in the garden this year and that was cucumbers.  Usually a very easy plant to grow, I had 8 plants from which I picked zero cucumbers.  Talk about frustrated.  I logged about 6 cucumbers that the pesky squirrels in my neighborhood stole.  I know this because I found them strewn about mine and my neighbors yard.  But still, in a routine year, I should have had far more than just 6 cukes.  So, there is something else that occurred.
I do believe that I may have had them too close to several other plants which may have resulted in lower production.  Too much intensive planting may have wiped out the nutrients and water to a point the cukes just didn't get enough of either.  I will have to research this a little more in relation to the beans and lettuce I planted near them.  I may have been a little over ambitious. 
One issue I was keenly aware of this year is the lack of bees in the garden area.  There just didn't seem to be much activity.  I am going to take a couple of steps to try to fix the problem.  First, I am going to fit in an area of pollinator plants that will draw and support bee populations.  Hopefully that will at least get them to visit my yard.  Secondly, I am going to investigate starting a Mason bee colony around my garden.  I tried that a couple of years ago with no success but this time, I am going to double the effort.  Mason bees are very docile and rarely sting people.  They are usually just interested in pollinating. 
There was another issue that I alluded to earlier.  I was doing the intensive plantings because I was overly ambitious with the numbers of tomatoes and peppers I grew.  That, along with adding sauce tomatoes to the mix, made for tight quarters in the garden.  Plants generally do not like to be compacted.  The soil can be depleted to a point that the plants deplete the nutrients they need and there is less air circulation.  All of which contribute to poor plant quality.  So, next year, the number of peppers and tomatoes will be reduced measurably in order to give myself room to space things out appropriately.  I should see better quality and quantities in all respects.
So, if you're not already working your garden this fall, you still have plenty of time.  I am currently adding heaps of Leafgro brand soil conditioner.  It's a US Compost council organic certified blend of leaves and other ingredients.  I am giving all my beds about an inch for the winter and then I add winter rye for a green cover crop.  The rye traps nutrients into their roots and holds it there until the spring. 
Well, that's about all I have at this time.  Hopefully you found a few nuggets to help you in your endeavors in the garden.  Until next time, Happy Productive Gardening everyone!
   

What a wonderful life!

This weekend was crazy busy to say the least.  Two days is hardly enough time to get all the work in. During periods like this, I often wonder if I am trying to do too much.  There is that little voice inside my head that doubts the sanity of doing so much to get the garden I really want.  If you are like me, you too will have those moments.  And, just like me, you will come realize in the long run, that it is indeed worth the effort.
We had two beautiful days that were absolutely ideal for gardening.  Both days highs reached near or 80 degrees.  I also had to fit in a family function on Saturday.  So, that compressed my gardening activities even further.  Both days I was up by 6 and in the garden.  Saturday, I put a fence around both beds in order to dissuade my gardening buddy (my puppy Barkley) from digging in my beds or worse.  I also worked on other home items so, for the most part, the fence was major item completed.
Sunday however, was a different story.  I was up by 6 (habit) and out in the garden.  I planted 3 cabbage and 3 cauliflower plants under my shade structure.  I also checked my hydroponic system for the progress of my various lettuce plants

As seen in the picture, there are many pots with plants in them.  The big ones in  bowl 11 are spinach.  It will take another couple of weeks before these are ready to eat.

I also put up a mason bee hive in hopes of getting these voracious workers to settle in my backyard.

They're supposed to be wonderful pollinators and aren't the least bit hostile.  Time will tell on whether this experiment works or not.
Additionally, I erected my mini greenhouse in order to harden my plants for transplanting in the next week or so.  As seen by the pictures, it is quite roomy and it ages well as this one is 6 years old.

Here is another view of it with my plants in them.

So, there is a little snippet of what I did on Sunday.  There is much more to do as the time to plant the warm weather crops is upon us in the Mid-Atlantic.  I can't wait to get digging into the dirt.  Till then, keep on gardening!