Gardens: Preparing for Fall

I’ve always known I would be lost without my mom, now I know my blog would be as well…  More questions from the matriarch:

Thank you for the tips on what to do with annuals/vegetables when winter comes, but how should I deal with perennial flowers?

When foliage and flowers start to blacken and die cut them back to a few inches above the soil.  This process will make spring cleanup much easier and keep plants healthier.  There are many flowers that produce beautiful fall foliage and I for one like to keep color in the garden as long as possible.  Do not cut bulbs back until they are ready.  The leaves of bulbs may look dead but they continue to put energy into their roots long after.  You will know when it is time when  the leaves pulls easy from the roots.

Is it important that one removes everything from the vegetable garden once the plants are done for? Can I just turn the dead plants into the soil? Isn’t that similar to composting?

It is important to pull everything from the garden and put it in the compost pile.  Plants do not degrade in one winter.  Therefore if you left them they would compete with the root growth and water needs of the following summers plants.  You also wouldn’t be capitalizing on the goodness that broken down compost can bring to a bed.  Mixing old plants in with your compost pile gives them a few years to break down and become soil.  We have 3 compost piles and the one we are “feeding” currently won’t be ready for use for another 2-3 years.

Isn’t it possible to give the left-overs from the farm to a local food shelf or create a way for the unsold produce to be given or sold at a lower price to low-income people? I do find it unsettling that people have no choice but to buy junk food simply because it is the cheapest way to feed a family.

Mom, you weren’t paying attention!  We are having our first day of gleaning where we do take the leftovers to the local food cupboard.  But this is just one time for the whole growing season.  There are many places across the nation that glean gardens once a week to restock food cupboards.  We may be behind the trend but the important thing is that we are moving in the right direction.  It is a shame that local, organic and good food is more expensive than coke, chips and white bread but that’s the world we live in.  Until State and Federal mandates and subsides support the small farmer and not massive, monoculture type growing it is something we will continue to battle with.  Gardening is not easy or cheap at a small-scale and cannot compete with large agribusinesses.

The leaves are starting to turn here in Vermont, and it’s beginning to feel a bit wintry all of a sudden. Hope all is well in WY.

The Maples here are red with change and even though fall in Wyoming is beautiful, I will always miss Vermont this time of year.  Enjoy the changes.