Autumn garden to-do list - Sunday update

Today was a very productive day with us all out in the garden!

~ Weed a couple of garden beds (ones which will be slighted shaded over the depths of winter), lightly turning the top layer of soil (don't want to do too much so I don't damage the structure of the soil at this time of year) and sprinkle on handfuls of Blue Lupin seeds so I can grow a winter cover crop, and then rake the soil over. This will be the first year I have done this, but have been meaning to since I learned about them when I did my Organic Hort Course 3-4yrs ago. - check. We ended up with 3 beds of blue lupin, and the remaining 3 are relegated for winter plantings.
~ Add compost to the beds. - check (we got a trailer-load and liberally dumped it on and turned it in. We haven't bought a trailer load for the lower gardens before, so they were due for a big boost. Usually I just add it from a bag or from our compost bins).
~ Put up some seed trays (or buy the seedlings): lettuce, spring onions, peas, carrots, spinach, silverbeet. Onion seedlings are already in. - tomorrow's job
~ Bulbs and sweet pea seeds need to go in. - check
~ Clean out the chicken coop and sprinkle all the poo on the garden bed I've set aside for my garlic - check
(these beds will also get a good dose of fish meal, woodfire ash and compost). check
~ Replant calendula and borage seedlings that self-sowed (and put extras on freecycle for others to come and take away). - check
~ Add carbon back to the soil - dig in carbon by-products such as corn stalks, brocollis, peas and beans. Also mulch with straw (great if it comes out of the chicken coop with food scraps and chicken poo mixed in) and dry material from around our property. - check.
~ Replant the strawberries and any new runners into well composted beds. - check

The upper kitchen/herb garden still has an abundance of silverbeet growing for our use (I notice that the chickens are self-feeding off the plants down here). The tomato plants and courgettes were finally pulled out. And the last of the beans were harvested before being pulled up.


Before (with 2 cleared beds from during the week)

 



A fresh start.

We harvested some pears, apples and rhubarb to make a yummy fruit crumble for dessert!