Revisiting those October Garden Goals

A new month is sneaking up around the corner, so it's time to check on those October gardening goals.

• Clean-up garden:  I finally parted with the tomatoes, still have some paths to rid of weeds and grass.
• Harvest peanuts:  Peanuts are drying at the moment, one more week until roasting and eating!
• Dry herbs: Mint, basil, and oregano are currently drying in the potting shed.
• Plant garlic:  I didn't plan ahead with my garlic and did not order any, so I ended up going to the grocery store and buying a couple of organic garlic bulbs.  I've never grown garlic before and I'm hoping they will grow!
• Order bulbs: Sadly, bulbs did not fit into my budget this year.  I had some way too expensive car repairs (very angry at Toyota right now!!) and decided that flower bulbs were going to have to wait until next year :(
• Add compost: I got my alpaca manure and added it to the beds I cleared.  There will be more to do as the fall crops finish and I clear the eggplants and peppers. 
• Plant cover crops: I have three beds with cover crops growing.  Just planted the peanut beds with cover crops and hope they will germinate.  I had read about planting cover crops around fall crops.  I tried this with my brussel sprouts, but it seems the cover crops are taking over!  I do like the look of cover crops.  Nice to have something green instead of exposed dirt.

• Mulch:  The trees haven't dropped many of their leaves yet, so this is going to have to wait until next month.
• Make cold frame: I'm having two cold frames.  For one I am using the bottom of the trellis frame for the structure.  The other I assembled with plastic tubing and rebar.  I will be covering these with Agribon+ AG-19 row covers.  Hopefully this will work!

• Finish planting fall garden:  Fall garden planted!  I realized I've never grown turnips and even though they look smaller than I expected I'm afraid those lines might mean they are getting overripe.  Should I pull them??  

• Paint potting shed trim:  Definitely made progress, but not completely done.  One more side of trim to paint.

Not too shabby for October!  November should be a bit less busy, which is  good because I`m ready for a break!

Cover Crops and Weevils

I was reading this article about cover crops:  Cover Cropping Your Garden.  I have never attempted cover crops, but it seems like a great idea and an easy way to add nutrients to the soil.  I started a never ending search on what kind of cover crops to grow and got so confused that I went to my local farmer's exchange instead.

The farmer's exchange in my South Carolina town is always an interesting place.  I show up after work wearing a skirt and jacket while everyone else appears to actually be farmers.  Needless to say I stand out, so they are quick to come to help me.  A very nice old farmer thinks about my cover crop question.  He proceeds to give me a tour of the bags of seeds, mumbling about each one.  He decides that the best and most economical option is to get a mixture of winter peas, oats, and wheat (I think it is buckwheat).  He mixes all the seeds together- over a pound of seeds.  I go to pay and he says one dollar.  Did I mention he mumbled?  I was sure I heard him wrong.  Online I'd seen 1/4 lb mixes going for $5.  But no, it was really $1!  Lesson for the day- try seed shopping at your local farmer's exchange.

He also mumbled something about weevils.  I get home and put the paper back on the kitchen table and about half an hour later I notice all these little black things on the outside of the bag.  Lots and lots of weevils!!  Although for $1 I can handle some weevils and for some odd reason I think they are kind of cute.