Strawberries

Today I transplanted my baby strawberry plants.  We have four days of cool, rainy weather in the forecast.  It has been two weeks since we've had any rain.  They were rooting in very well and ready to move.

I used earth staples to pin the runner babies to a good spot.  They should be able to find the soil with their roots just fine.

When I took a break, I went to the firepit and swept one of the chairs clear of dry leaves and found this little tree frog.  I don't very often encounter spring peepers even though I know they must be out there somewhere..

 

The Beginning of Fall Chores

 Perhaps the final step in the tree clearing up front that we started back in 2021.  When you start cutting trees out of a woodlot it can be difficult to stop because you disturb the growing environment of the remaining trees.  There is sun shock and damage from falling trees.  Newly exposed trees have more wind directed at them which can cause stress. The soil around their roots becomes compacted and the water flow patterns changes.  This can be a lot for a mature tree to deal with all at once.  You end up losing more trees along the edges over the next few years.  Studies have shown that it may take as long as twenty years for a wood line to stabilize.

Red Oak Tree

I was disappointed to lose the Hickory tree as it had been nicely shaped to begin with.  It was close to a large Oak tree that we ended up taking out in our second round of cutting.  We had wanted to leave the Oak but it was a little too top heavy.  When it came down, the top was intertwined with the Hickory and the Hickory whipped down to almost a 45 degree angle.  Hickory is amazingly flexible wood and instead of snapping at the trunk as many trees would have, it just popped right back up.  Over the past three years it has declined instead of recovering.

Hickory Tree

It didn't take long to get the two trees on the ground, sectioned out and hauled back to the burn pile area for processing.  

The stumps were far enough away from remaining trees to be dug instead of being cut to ground level.

The Oak did not have much of a base, but this Hickory had a deep root ball and some amazingly strong side roots.  I've never seen side roots pull out quite like this.  Usually they break

We have been building a burn pile throughout the summer as we limb up lawn trees and cut the occasional Ash sapling.  We will wait for a rainy stretch before we burn it.

And we have some campfire wood for next year.  We will get this split and stacked later.

Below is a view of the natural area down our west property line where we removed trees this spring.  It always looks quite pretty this time of year with the fall color.

A view down the center with the "wild flowers"

My favorite ornamental grass "Fox Trot"

The remaining Seychelles pole bean vines are putting out a late growth.  I have plenty in the freezer so these will be turned into dilly beans.

Planning for Next Year

 Throughout the year I make mental notes of what needs to be divided, relocated or replaced.  Late summer is when I start to divide and relocate.  If something needs to be replaced, I have to make plans for adding something next year.  Sometimes, the garden bed will look so different in the spring that it is difficult to picture what you knew needed to be done when you could see the garden bed in its summer state.  That is where photos come in handy.  This is the area around the Gala Apple Tree that I planted in the spot vacated by the old Lilac bush.  I have put a few things here - divisions of Primrose, a relocated Peony, a newly purchased Amsonia.  I still have two spaces that need a summer perennial.

 

I took the photo to remind me, and I placed a blue arrow where I want to put something mid-sized and blue,I think Caryopteris.  Secondly, something very deer proof, due to its vulnerable location, and reddish, I think Burgundy Bunny Fountain Grass.   I will put these plants on my Wishlist and wait to see if they go on sale sometime before spring.

I went through this same process last year, making the plan for the east end of the Riverbed, and carrying out the plan this summer when we planted four perennials.  It has taken nearly a year for the plan to come to fruition.

The end result of adding "red" and "yellow".  Next year it should be more dramatic.  Then I can judge if I need just a little something more like Black Eyed Susan.

It will be at least a year before my plan to fill in behind the apple tree can be appreciated, but it is always nice to have a little space to fill in the garden.

Lemon Squeeze Fountain Grass the "yellow" element recently planted

Belstar Broccoli

I tried a new Broccoli variety this year. Belstar is known for putting out many smaller side shoots for multiple harvests.   This season in Western NY the weather became hot and dry very early. The central broccoli heads were on the small side but the plants still looked healthy. I hoped to keep the plants going throughout July and August and wait for cooler weather to encourage new growth.

A full sized floret on a secondary stalk with fresh leaves

 For many weeks the plants did nothing. Then they started putting out not "side shoots" but whole "side PLANTS" from low on the main stem. 

Multiple shoots per plant

I am harvesting much nicer broccoli now than the original main heads. Four out of the six plants are putting out large side branches, two or more per plant.  

Multiple small florets from the main stem without surrounding leaves.
New leaves are all above the side shoots.

One of the other plants is growing tall from the center and putting out what I would consider to be more normal, small side shoots.  The sixth plant has put out no new growth so far.

The Dud was the first to produce and may be the last to rally.

We're getting some nice bell peppers now too.

This is all going in the freezer for winter veggie stir fry.

Too Many Cherry Tomatoes

 Well..... I guess I can freeze them and use them to sweeten tomato sauce this winter.  

That there is seven pounds of Sunsugar tomatoes

It is going to rain this evening and tomorrow.

They were so ready to split that they would all have been ruined.

Strawberries

 I have already been looking ahead to next year.  My Honeoye strawberry plants completed their third season and some of them are pretty well played out.  They have not produced any runners this year and the soil in the strawberry bed really needs some compost. I have fertilized these plants several times this year but the soil just isn't holding moisture anymore. I have been indecisive whether to replace them next year or try to get another year of production out of them.  I would really like to try the variety Seascape.  A couple weeks ago I noticed that the next door neighbor's first year Honeoye plants were producing runners like crazy so I asked her if I could get some started.  I prepared ten pots of potting mix and set them in her bed, 

I chose some really nice new plants and pinned them to the pots so that their little rootlets could find the soil.  After eight or nine days they were rooted in and ready to cut loose.  

When I trimmed them I also took some of the new plants further along the runner so when I transplant them I will probably get more than ten plants.  I have this tray in the vegetable garden now where I can water it and monitor it.  I am going to pull out the worst half of the strawberry bed and since I am out of compost, will be using potting mix as I dump containers.  That should add a decent amount of organic material to the soil.  I can decide what to do about the other half of the bed in the spring.

I have also been bundling up and storing away my plant supports as I free them up.

It has been cool enough some days to want a campfire.  Labor Day Monday we had a nice one with our beautifully seasoned Ash from one of the trees that gave us some trouble this spring. 

Here are some of my garden buddies this autumn

Praying Mantis

Golden Orb Spinner

Sept 1st ~ The Beginning of the End

 Today I topped off the remaining tomato plants.  They were getting quite overgrown and setting fruit that won't have time to ripen.  I just used pruners and cut off anything unruly.

I also pulled the zucchini plants because they were starting to show irregular pollination.

I cut the Dill, deadheaded the Herb bed and I am down to one vine of Cantaloupes.

The other day I pulled a few more of the dwarf tomato plants and the pole beans are beginning to look tired out. 

As each bed clears out I am prepping it for next year.

But there is still a lot in there.  Besides the Carrots and Sweet Potatoes there are large side heads forming on the Belstar Broccoli.  I have four growing on three plants.

The Bell Peppers are ready.

These are Majestic Red

The Dahlia bed is no where near slowing down.

The shade containers are gorgeous

The Fire Pit Celosia and new grasses are thriving.

This is the time of year when I just pull out or cut down anything tired and ugly.  Soon we will begin the task of clearing out the perennial beds but by the time I get to each one, a lot of the plants will already have been trimmed back.  Daylilies go first, and then the Hosta.  The grasses will be the last to go.  Autumn is coming.