Makin' a Comeback

Since we moved a year ago and I had to start over my whole garden. It's been pretty painful having such a poor year after my most amazing year ever. I knew it would be bad and that I wouldn't get much from the garden (mostly because I'm too lazy to do all the supplemental fertilizing that the plants would need while the soil ecology is building up). But I planted a fall garden anyway and I got a couple good things out of it. it was pretty apparent that if the plant didn't root well it didn't survive or just stunted.

It can be difficult for young plants or seeds to grow up around such a thick layer of wood chips and wood chips that haven't fully aged at at that. The nitrogen fixing is true, but only for the very top layer, underneath the wood chip layer the compost is very nutrient rich. But as some of my plants overwintered this mild year some of them have suddenly renewed themselves. The peas have exploded in growth. Since I planted them in September they've been weak yellowy small plants barely hanging on. Now they are flowering every day and I'm starting to get the benefit of grazing on fresh sugar snap peas every couple days. It also gives me good hope that the soil ecology is doing very well and I should have a good crop from the plot I built last year.

I also grew several cabbages this year that are bigger than any cabbages I've ever grown. Even a crown of broccoli and cauliflower that were decent size. Two of my collard green plants have fared very well, enough to put up in the freezer. and we ate turnips and greens several times. I guess when I look back the fall garden didn't do so bad after all. I usually have great success with carrots and this year the seeds had too hard a time with the wood chips and they got smothered before they rooted well.

I love fall gardening because the plants really don't need much attention, but it's also the hardest to feed my family with because I'm the only one that likes to eat vegetables from the cruciferous family (minus broccoli).

I always leave some broccoli to flower because they're the bee's favorite. I killed my thyme last year (under watering in a pot --I'm a terrible pot gardener) so I don't have those to attract bees. They also love thyme flowers.