Funny how we develop routines without even realizing...

If you will look at this blog post from almost exactly 1 year ago, http://woodsidegardens.blogspot.com/2010/09/you-know-its-fall-when.html , you will find almost my exact dinner for tonight!  I just added some chicken to the pan this time!  Some things never change!

I made Crabbapple/Wild Blueberry Jam today, with apples from my sister's tree and berries my mom picked up north.  I also managed to make a batch of Mint Jelly, with the last of the mint from my herb garden.  We added some food coloring, at my son's request, and it is a very yummy emerald green!

The garden is officially put away for the year, as we have had a hard frost the last two nights in a row.  All the raised beds have compost and steer manure covering them, which will be turned into the soil in the spring.  The new compost pile has been started, and I covered the clematis, which isn't supposed to make it through the Alaskan winter, with old leaves from the edge of the yard.  I also put some of the leaves in a burlap rice bag and put that over the top of the whole thing.  I'm not holding my breath, but we will see if it works!

I didn't post any pictures of the garden this time, as I'm not sure you all want to see a bunch of bare raised beds full of compost and steer crap, but I'll take some if you want them!

Still thinking about next summer's gardens...

This morning, the compost pile is definitely on my mind. I am really looking forward to being able to turn this lovely stuff into my garden, and to get some healthy, organic vegetables out of it. Depending on the state of the oldest compost pile next spring, I may end up using it a year early. I have discussed my 3 year compost plan before, but I think I may not have to wait that long. Even if there is still a little bit of identifiable material left, it will still help out my soil immensely.

I have come to the conclusion that the nutrient-poor soil in the garden beds is probably the main reason I had such an unsuccessful garden this year. Next year I will scale back the sheer number of different plants I will be growing, and try to concentrate on 6 or 7 items that are the most important to me, and with a little luck, and a little compost and cow poop, maybe I will actually have something to can at the end of the season!

No one ever claimed that organic was easier, but in the long run, its soooo worth it!

On another track... I can't believe that the farmer's markets are already starting to wrap up for the season. I was a little disappointed by the selection in the farmer's markets I visited this year. I expected to be able to find more than zucchini, but that was really the only prevalent vegetable. Everything else was very hit-or-miss. Don't get me wrong... I love zucchini, but Alaska has so much more vegetable potential! One of the markets I attended had over 100 vendors, and only 2 of them even had vegetables. The rest was all just deep fried foods and tourist items. I guess when things go more mainstream, sometimes people miss the point. Hopefully this will change in the future, as more and more people find the benefits of eating locally grown foods.

Fall is quickly upon us, and today is the first day of school! Time seems to go by a little faster every year. Stephen is starting kindergarten, and he is excited for the transition! Hopefully his good attitude about school will continue. I always loved school, and I'm sure he will too.

Ewwww... cattle poop!

I'm going to be adding aged steer manure to my raised garden beds and to my compost pile today. My husband thinks I'm nuts... he's such a city boy! LOL I just amazes me the differences between him and myself, him growing up in big city California and me growing up on a little farm in Alaska. When Rob's parents were here last week I served scrambled eggs with fresh eggs, and they (my husband included) actually complained that the eggs were too yellow! Can you believe that?! They are so used to old store bought eggs that they thought the yellow color meant that there was something wrong!

I'll be getting 3 chickens very soon. I don't have a chicken coop yet, so they will be living at my mother's house with her 3 new hens, while I work on my husband a while longer. He thinks that chickens will be a big pain in the ass. We are also going to be raising a turkey next spring for thanksgiving dinner. I'm really excited!

Sooner or later Rob will let me do this here, but for now, at least mom is only 6 miles away!

Today's Garden Happenings

My one Lily is happily blooming away, while the rest sit and think about it.





Spinach and Kale are officially in the raised beds now, and they seem quite happy with their new living arrangements.

This years compost pile.

Last years compost pile.

The main event in the garden today is the compost. I finally got around to turning and watering last years compost pile, and I was pleasantly surprised! There is still a lot of dried garden waste (mostly last years tomato plants), but there was lots of earthy smelling dirt as well! This is the first time I have turned this pile, so I expected to find a lot of organic matter that hadn't really started decomposing yet. This is my first attempt at composting, and I have a 3 year plan in mind.

Year 1) Start a fresh pile each year, in the fence to keep the critters away, no turning, just piling.
Year 2) Turn and water (occasionally)
Year 3) Turn and water (occasionally) and turn into the raised beds in the fall

I figure this plan will give me compost with a minimal amount of work or attention, and give the organic matter time to fully decompose even though it freezes every winter. This means that starting next fall, I will begin to incorporate my compost into my garden. I want to garden exclusively organically, and I figure this is the best way to go about it. I am contemplating adding aged steer manure in year two, but I haven't decided on that yet. Eventually I will also be getting my chickens going, and I will add their manure in year one or two as well. Give me a few years, and my garden should show a marked improvement... I have nothing but time!