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