What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

I did get a realy nice red cabbge from the garden
so coleslaw with dinner

 

[WIchickMama]

Planted garlic. Can I cover with cardboard and uncover in the spring? Zone 4a here. Never planted before but got some nice buns from a local farmer.

I cover my strawberries and cut them back.

 

[Acre4Me]

Strawberry bed: What do I do? It's a raised bed full of 1st year strawberry plants and some runners. I was planning to just add some unsifted compost as mulch and it should act as fertilizer for the Spring. Should I pile straw over that? Do I trim the plants back? Do the leaves need to be covered to protect against frost?

We cover with straw. Last fall was end of year 1 with those strawberries, and they are in a raised bed. This year, they are overrun with runners…gotta take care of that soon. Once bed is managed I’ll cover with straw. I uncover the bed fairly early spring when it’s been sunny and we are well past the deep freezes of Jan/Feb.

was actually happy so I gave them some fertilizer. Not one stinking strawberry and they wanted to die then. I

Lol. I killed several strawberry plants last year with fertilizer. When they were growing early spring, they were turning yellow, so I applied some fertilizer. They looked great, grew well, no problem. So, I thought another light application of fertilizer would be ok mid summer. I guess I gave them too much and watched them literally turn black… I do t think I used any fertilizer at all this year on the strawberries.

 

[Sueby]

That sounds like a good plan.

Whatever you do, WRITE it down. "Oh, I'll remember what I did with ____." Next year: "Did I mulch, cover, use straw, leaves... I don't remember! But it worked really well/didn't work at all!"

I know that, have known that for years. Yet I still think I'll remember & don't write anything down.

 

[Sueby]

Planted garlic. Can I cover with cardboard and uncover in the spring? Zone 4a here. Never planted before but got some nice buns from a local farmer.

I cover my strawberries and cut them back.

I cover mine with straw. They usually start to grow a little (like 2 or 3 inches) in the fall, that's how they get established to grow next season, I think if you covered it you might hamper that process. But I also don't know your zone & if garlic grows the same there as it does here...

 

[vall]

Yesterday I got the first gopher of fall, big one. Today I found a pineapple guava that fell off. Looked hard (these are about as hard to see as tomato hornworms) and found one more still hanging, that makes only 4 from this plant but they are huge, the size of a small lemon so all 4 probably weigh a pound. Not bad.

 

[Elyrian1]

Yesterday I got the first gopher of fall, big one. Today I found a pineapple guava that fell off. Looked hard (these are about as hard to see as tomato hornworms) and found one more still hanging, that makes only 4 from this plant but they are huge, the size of a small lemon so all 4 probably weigh a pound. Not bad.

My uncle swore that rotten guavas are something a cat will try to bury. Didn't believe him until I saw it happen...

Mulch or straw on the garlic, but I wouldn't do cardboard. In zone 6 those two or three inches of growth stayed green all winter even in the snow. If they die back, don't panic.

 

[Sally PB]

Planted garlic. Can I cover with cardboard and uncover in the spring? Zone 4a here. Never planted before but got some nice buns from a local farmer.

I would cover with mulch. I use raked up leaves. I have seen a few garlic sprouts poking up long before I'd expect to. They can come up through the leaves, no problem, and I can pile some more leaves on top if it's really early. (Like March! What're you little guys thinking? GO back to sleep for another month!) And the leaves are easy enough to pull -- gently -- away when it really is spring.

I'm in Zone 5, and put about 6" of leaves over the bed in the fall. It'll pack down, but it's still a couple of inches thick when I pull it off.

 

[chickengr]

more rain/storms expected next week. ducklings and escape chickens are taking care of garden. still didn't build coops. old(er) female hands don't work fast. but I do enjoy it.

 

[BReeder!]

The Old Farmer’s Almanac website is my go to for gardening guidance @BReeder! Great information and even how to videos. All free.

Now why would I go there when there's all you great folks here to make conversation with?