Turning
Fall 2017
Pumpkin and Native American corn harvest from the gardens on September 13
Autumn is a bookend season. At
one end we have the last vestiges of summer, and at the other, the frosty beginnings of winter. This year, conditions were still
hot and dry during early autumn.
Harvest was going full-force,
from the last of summer “tropical” crops to the beginning of fall fruits. Some
fall crops got a head start in the warm weather.
September 13: a harvest of winter squash, and ...
... turnip plants just sprouting.
Through the bay window on September 19, I watched the corn harvest
The landscape was still green,
overall, though leaves looked tired from the wear and tear of summer, done with
the vigorous activity of photosynthesizing, waiting for rest.
October 13 along the woods' edge (reddish and brown leaves are from broken branches)
On September 4, Margined Blister Beetles were chewing up my Rainbow Swiss Chard, but I knew the plants would recover in time for autumn.
Yet, there still were plants
in full, vibrant bloom, and insects frantically gathering nectar and mating, as
the days became gradually shorter, signalling that time was nigh.
September 4: wasps, Soldier beetles and bees on the Stiff Goldenrod in the garden
September 4: Pearl Crescent butterfly visiting the Marigolds
The shortening days and lengthening
nights met up evenly on the Autumnal Equinox. The tipping point had arrived.
Tiny grasshoppers still about in the garden on September 22
The Volunteer Peach Tree in the Herb Garden Transformation Project (HGTP) had been feeding insect life through the summer
One of our neighbors' honeybees on the wild Canadian Goldenrod near the gardens
Marigolds having a hayday on the Autumnal Equinox
Nasturtiums still in full bloom ...
... and probably the last Foxglove blossoms of the year
Radiant blossoms of the Jerusalem Artichokes (not artichokes, but a native Sunflower)
An Autumnal Equinox harvest of cherry tomatoes ...
... paste tomatoes and assorted peppers
Fresh Goji berries ...
... and dried Goji berries, for the winter
Autumnal Equinox sunset through the bay window
Fall crops started to come in
more readily. I found, almost suddenly, that many garden plants had gone to
seed. Some of the seed was for harvest – to eat or save, or both.
By September 22, the Stiff Goldenrod flowers had faded and seeds were forming
Birds have been working over the heads of sunflower seeds, including this Mammoth variety
Wild Senna seed pods in the HGTP
Blazing Star with wands of seed clusters, in the HGTP
Seed capsules of a native Beardtongue, HGTP
in one of the mini-beds next to the shed: Good Mother Stallard pole beans and Red Orach
Richard and I both planted cowpeas as a summer cover crop - three varieties between us. As a legume, they add nitrogen to the soil. Both the leaves and fresh beans are edible, as well as the dry beans in these pods, but we'll save some of the dry beans as seed for next year's cover crop.
As the weather finally cooled,
those plants which prefer the cold (remaining almost dormant throughout the
summer, and often bug-chewed) were re-awakened, springing back to life,
becoming verdant, colorful and crisp.
My favorite: Rainbow Swiss Chard
Perpetual Spinach (really a type of Chard)
Those turnip seedlings were getting a little bigger and denser
It was time to plant garlic
and shallots, too.
Richard had readied a strip of ground for my garlic and shallot plantings
As time moved on and
temperatures decreased further, crispness began to enter the air and the slant
of sunlight became lower, reaching under the canopy to light up tree trunks,
and under plants to back-light their leaves.
This set me into my own
frantic pace for cleaning out the old and preparing for the new. Autumn has its
own sense of renewal.
September 27, and the cherry tomatoes were still going strong
Canadian Goldenrod still vibrantly blooming over the Rainbow Swiss Chard
Yup, the Nasturtiums were still blooming on September 27 - they would valiantly bloom up until frost
Transforming the Herb Garden Transformation Project: one of the first things I did was greatly decrease the Garlic Chive patch, which had spread out of control (there it is in the center, after the decrease.) I had clipped the tops as soon as the flowers faded, before the seed would be ripe. Digging out a lot of the Garlic Chives (throughout the HGTP) also left spaces for new plantings.
We were experiencing an extended dry period, so I set out small containers of water here and there, presumably for birds, bees and toads. However, I think the cats got the water, mostly.
HGTP Transformation on October 1: the Egyptian Walking Onion spot has been tamed - they had been growing all around the outside of this semi-circle
In the center of this cleared area I planted a native American Plum
More native plants went in (seeds collected and plants grown here in Knox County): two Hoary Vervain plants (near bricks) and a Lyre-Leaved Sage (near the blue flag)
I put in a Cardinal Flower plant near the English Thyme
A False Sunflower (red flag, near the Great Burdock) and a Swamp Milkweed (barely visible by the frog decoration)
Another view of the transformed area ...
... and another view.
Another section of the HGTP, yet to be transformed. Throughout the fall I would be gradually digging out excess and unwanted plants to create new spaces, and putting in new plants and fall seeds.
A welcome guest on October 1: an Argioppe (Garden Spider) in her web among cherry tomato plants
October 7 - harvested corn field
Finally, after a long,
bone-dry period autumn rains refreshed the landscape, coming full force. Nights
became consistently cold, and cool days happened more often.
The landscape looked sparser,
crisper. I felt inspired to get ready for Halloween.
Bay window below - nice fall scene
Bay window above
Roasted, seasoned pumpkin seeds
"Ghoulash" with garden greens
Watching scary movies
My favorite
The air felt different, and the
slant of light was even more distinctly changed. The setting sun caught me by
surprise – it seemed there should have been more time to work outdoors.
October 10 - heavy, constant downpour!
Things happened quickly then,
as we barreled toward the end of October.
Rains had brought forth mushrooms in the HGTP
The Tulip Poplar tree near the HGTP had been losing leaves to the wind and rain
After Richard dug sweet potatoes, he left them in the field to cure in the sun as long as he could. As welcome as the rain was overall, it meant he had to bring all the sweets into the porch.
The marigold plant grew profusely and spread out widely, but the peppers underneath them persevered
I planted a short row of mixed Zinnia seeds in the HGTP, which did nothing all summer. Then, at the end of October ... voila!
This Rosemary plant will need to be brought indoors before frost
The Common Garden Sage did very well this year in the HGTP!
By late October, the Stiff Goldenrod was completely in seed - those bright gold flowers busy with insects were then just a memory
Meanwhile, Canadian Goldenrod was fading and starting in to seed
Bright gold blossoms of the Jerusalem Artichoke (native sunflower) were also gone. Underground, these plants would be forming the edible tubers that I would dig up later.
The cold of late October was reawakening the greens, including Dandelions ...
... and these Hilton Chinese Cabbages I had planted and harvested last spring ...
... and these Collard greens that Richard had planted.
The Horseradish plants were reinvigorated, too, growing new leaves ...
... and the flat-leaved Italian Parsley became bright and shiny, full of nutrition.
The baby Perennial Leeks I had transplanted to this little bed during February had stayed small and thin all summer - I could barely tell it from the grasses that came up, and was afraid I would pull out the wrong plants. But, in late October they finally started growing and really showing up.
Though we still had a few decent tomatoes, mostly they looked like these - hanging bags of melted tomato-plasm.
Finally, I found the time (and conditions) to plant several varieties of Garlic, one variety of Shallots, and two varieties of winter Lettuces.
A little harvest on October 22 was a mixture of the last of summer and the first of autumn
October 29: sunflower heads waiting to be harvested for bird feeders (if any seed is left) ...
... and the Winter Squash harvest makes it into the wheelbarrow.
At last, we reached the end of
October. Leaves were turning color more readily – golds, amber, russet,
crimson, cinnamon, copper.
October 29
Light frost appeared on the
last morning of the month.
Halloween had arrived! It was cold,
wet, and dim – easy for imagining witches dashing across the moon or spirits
floating vaguely in the distance.
The Volunteer Peach Tree, bedecked with eyeball lights of ever-changing colors
The year had turned. My work
outside was almost complete.
Now, I begin to turn inward,
to set up the bird feeders outside and pull my rocking chair up to the bay
window. It is time to begin to burrow myself into winter projects and studies,
in preparation for the next spring - cleaning and testing seeds, studying woodland mushroom production, studying home fruit production, putting together an herbal medicine binder, and catching up on studies from nature observations from throughout 2017.
November 1
November 4: heavy rain and fall color
Through the bay window - a good, heavy rain
The Volunteer Peach Tree in the HGTP on November 6
Inside the Home Woods on November 6
November 6, 2017
