Fall Lunch and Fall Garden

  It is definitely Fall, even though daytime highs are in the 80s and lows 50s and 60s. I love this time of year. Nearly pumpkin pie time! Three days ago Rita whipped up this fine lunch....a big pot of vegetable soup, using many homegrown veggies, and a pan of yummy muffins!

  We should get tomatoes all the way up to first frost, which may be 2-4 weeks away. Also have a few sweet peppers coming on as well as okra, but the cucumbers are all done. 

  I have lost at least a couple of weeks of outdoor project time recently. I was "down in the back" for about 10 days and then last Tuesday I had minor outpatient surgery which claimed a couple of days. So it was fun today to get outside and get a few things done. I finally seeded 3 beds to crimson clover as a winter cover crop. I fully intended to get the seeding done this year by early September, but.....

  These 3 beds will be in onions and sweet corn next year. I also mulched the strawberries. This is bark mulch I get free for the hauling from the county. They tub grind all the tree trimmings from the city and county and Davey Tree and anyone else can drop off trimmings and even trees that have been taken down. Every March, the public can get the "good stuff" which has been ground twice and piled to heat over the winter. I hauled several loads last March to mulch the flower and shrub beds and hauled some to our kids as well. Next March I want to stockpile more of it to use as garden mulch. Here is what I dug into today to mulch the strawberries.

  Here are my new strawberry beds....Hugelberries. This is a special way of growing strawberries that I am trying. I can't give you all the details because it is from Herrick Kimball's book. Herrick was my introduction to agrarian blogging and I have the utmost respect for him. He is self employed now and I highly recommend his book. You can read about the strawberry method as well as find out about his book here:  strawberries-of-largest-finest-quality

  I have 6 tire beds in now, 2 Chandler, 2 Sweet Charlie and 2 Quinault. They look really good so far. If they are as successful as I expect, I will take all the others out and finish this row with more tires.
  Many more projects to complete this Fall. With October just around the corner, I'd better get busy!