After a deliciously productive summer, we got busy throughout January and February at our town house, which sadly lead to a neglected garden, and no late summer plantings, which of course means no autumn harvests. We are really noticing the lack of farm fresh veg coming through the door, with only the last of the potatoes to lift at the minute.
It has, however, inspired our autumn planning, as we are keen to get stuck back into the garden and get it prepped for some winter crops and also put the unused portions into maintenance mode ready for a headstart going in to spring.
PREPARATION:
*We need to pull the last of the finished plants out of the main bed, and stack them on the newest compost heap we started over summer
*Bed two has a section that went unused and uncovered over summer, so we need to cover those weeds to kill them off, and then sew the balance of the bed with green manure
*Bed one needs the bean frames removed, and a bit of weeding.
SOWING & PLANTING:
*a small selection of peas to go in where the tomatoes were. We hope to start them inside and then plant out the seedlings
*plant some onions in the remaining half of the tomato area
*a handful of cabbage and radishes are planned for where the beans were.
*we plan to experiment with some indoor garden containers, to extend our growing season. We hoping especially to have some success with carrots and lettuce, and may even try some indoor tomatoes.
*if time allows, we will start some rhubarb seedlings indoors as well. Mr Barefoot is the only rhubarb eater so unfortunately for him, it gets bumped to the bottom of the list!!
OTHER GARDEN TASKS:
I want to use winter as a chance to sort out our composting, soil and mulch storage. At the minute it isn’t very presentable, and exists merely as heaped piles in our utility area. I’m planning to get some poles and use planks and chicken wire to organise it better. At this stage, I am thinking a + shaped set up, with two sides open, to allow us to turn the newer stuff over, and progressively work around the circle as each section breaks down and gets used. I do need to do some more research and planning to work out if there is a better way to do it. I was inspired by a set-up on pinterest with three sections in a line, with the two ends being actively composting, and then the finished product being transferred to the centre for use.
So that’s our autumn plans. Mainly pottering and tidying and prepping, with a small amount of planting. A big part of our autumn will also be tracking frost dates and locations so we can get a nice clear picture on exactly how our garden will be impacted and how we need to adjust our plans moving forward.