Greetings, Independence Gardeners.

‘Tis transition time out there, at long last, and around here we are definitely living in an in-between place. We are moving, as well as winterizing gardens, prepping for the holidays, and enjoying the weather, as it has finally started to cool off and rain!

We thought that this would be a good time to step up to share some of our favorite fall gardening activities, and give some tips for making them happen. Here’s the shortlist:

• Collecting fallen leaves for year-round compost-making (bag or tarp ’em now, and you’ll have a steady, dry source of carbon “browns” through the wet season)
• Sheet mulching to create new garden areas and to protect existing plots for the winter (this technique, aka “lasagna gardening,” is a slow composting method that does its thing right there in the garden beds)
• Cover cropping, so that there’s no bare ground to get pounded by the rain and leach out valuable nutrients (enriches and preserves soil structure; if turned in in the spring, acts as “green manure”–a prime source of organic material)
• Installing cold frames to protect plants and extend the growing season, making winter harvests possible (we have a few mini-2’x2′ cold frame kits available at $50 each; we can also teach you how to build them yourselves!)
• Making sure garden animals have a safe, dry, and warm place to hunker down in the winter (you don’t want chickens to catch cold…but if they do, try feeding them garlic to make the sneezing go away)

If you’re not ready to do this-all yourself, as always, we’re here to help! Just get in touch.