Henny Penny Farmette

Seeds planted in soil trigger feelings in gardeners akin to giving birth. It’s all about birthing life in the garden. Reading about seeds is almost as good. Many of us consult seed catalogues throughout the winter in anticipation of spring planting. Often, we will stick to plants that have performed well for us.

Heirloom seeds go far beyond the heirloom tomato and other vegetables offered at local DIY outlets and garden centers. And Baker Creek isn’t the only seed company with a catalog and shops that sell heirlooms. But they’ve worked very hard at making the Baker Creek name synonymous with the grow-your-own-food revolution that focuses on seed not altered by scientists. In other words, the seed has not been genetically modified (GMO).

Thousands of types of heirloom vegetable seeds are available when you know where to look for them. Search for catalogues online. Among others, check out: https://www.seedsavers.org/catalog, https://www.rareseeds.com, and https://www.edenbrothers.com/store/heirloom_seeds.html

Each year on the first day of autumn here on the Henny Penny Farmette, I take stock of my fruit trees and vegetable and flower gardens.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac points to mid-October 2019 for early rain in Northern California, so there’s much for me to do over the next two or three weeks.

Nothing says “autumn” like ripe pomegranates

My chores list includes the following items. They’re roughly the same from year to year.

1. Gather seeds from self-seeding or heirloom, open-pollinated plants (flowers and vegetables) for next year’s garden. Dry seeds and store them for planting next spring.

Gather seeds from plants such as coreopsis, cosmos, and marigolds for drying for next year’s garden

2. Sow spring-blooming bulbs (such as daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, ranunculus, crocus, and buttercups available in garden centers now).

Siberian scilla adds a lot of color for a small grouping of bulbs

3. Turn soil and prepare beds for the cool-season vegetable garden (broccoli, cabbage, beets, and parsnips).

4. Inspect and divide perennials.

5. Harvest olives and preserve them.

Bartlett late summer pears

6. Pick late summer pears and ripe pomegranates. The leathery covering of pomegranates already may be splitting open and showing ruby red seeds. The juice of the seeds makes a wonderful jelly.

7. Check persimmons for ripeness. Pick if they’re ready. They might need another month.

Hachiya persimmons are delicious when they ripen to softness

8. Harvest and store pumpkins and butternut squash. Peel, remove seeds, and cut the flesh into squares for freezing.

9. Compost old garden vines and vegetable plants that are done bearing for the season. Check tomato plants infected with bacterial or fungal diseases and do NOT add any of these to the compost pile.

10. Begin the process of cleaning and storing gardening items not required over the winter.

11. Sow spring-blooming wildflowers in prepared beds.

12. Schedule time to prune back crop-bearing fruit trees (like apricot, peach, and plum).

I actually look forward to those chores. They’re part of the natural rhythm of farmette life. With a list and plan to get everything done, I won’t be caught by surprise when the weather turns cold, dark, and rainy.

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Rain . . . unrelenting rain makes working outside near impossible. Since rain is in the forecast for the rest of this week, I’m doing indoor projects here on the Henny Penny Farmette. Why? Because let’s face it: try driving screws into wet fence boards or digging when the earth is like a giant mud ball, or pruning trees when looking upward against a downpour is rather ridiculous. Here are some things to do inside until the weather clears up.

1. Clean the clutter from the kitchen and test some new recipes

2. Read seed catalogs

3. Order beekeeping supplies (to be ready when the weather turns warm and the bees get active)

Blood oranges keep that lovely red color when made into marmalade

4. Make a batch of blood orange marmalade (since blood oranges are ripe now)

5. Feed bees, birds, and other wildlife

Our resident black phoebe eats a lot of insects but other birds are attracted to our feeders

6. Work on indoor renovation such as finish the installation of base boards and crown moldings

7. Sew curtains; make a quilt, or start an embroidery or knitting project

8. Start the spring cleaning in one or more indoor rooms

9. Plan the spring vegetable garden on paper with a drawing

Rhubarb takes about three growing cycles to produce enough stalks for harvest

10. Clean out closets and recycle unused items from cupboards and drawers

11.Make herbal teas  (for example: dried leaves of herbs such as mint, dried lemon or orange peel, spices, rose hips, and dried berries)

12. Catch up on your reading for pleasure or books and periodicals about farm and homesteading topics

13. Bring your beekeeping or gardening journal up to date

This Bantam rooster likes to strut his stuff

14. Order supplies–antibiotics for the chickens or medicines for your bees and other domestic stock

15. Bottle honey from the bucket and affix labels

Filling jars of honey from the honey bucket in the kitchen

16. Make a dazzling dessert

The  sunflower cake comes out near perfect when baked in a bundt pan

17. Mend clothing

18. Start working on the taxes for the upcoming season

19. Play your fiddle, piano, horn, or drum

New seedlings moved to an outdoor raised bed

20. Start heirloom seed in flats or get some sprouts growing in a jar

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Giant sunflowers add dramatic size and color against stone walls, garden sheds, and wooden fences

Today, I harvested the largest sunflower in my garden. The 119-inch stem (almost 10 feet) had bent over from the weight of the 15-inch seed head.

The seeds of this annual were already drying and starting to drop from the head. Since I want to harvest and store them, I don’t want to risk new plants emerging from where the seeds have drop onto soil. And I don’t want the squirrels to get the seeds before I’ve saved some.

Giant sunflower head, newly harvested, covered with florets that will dry and fall off or can be brushed off to expose seeds

The sunflower I grew emerged from a single stalk that bore only one head with sunny yellow-petaled face. I planted it from seed I saved last year from the parent. If you want a row of giant plants, you’ll need to space them about 20 inches apart.

Kids love these giants when they are trained to grow in fairy rings, fortlike squares, or as tee-pees. The plants are much appreciated by the honeybees, squirrels, and songbirds. Best of all, the stalks can go into the compost pile when the growing season is over.

Our farmette soil is clay. In the area where I planted these sunflowers,  I amended the soil with chicken manure and peat. The seedd went in about 1 inch deep and five to six inches apart. Last year, we grew the sunflowers in a circle, but this year we have a row at the back of the property in front of a fence.

Once the seeds are planted, a thorough watering will help them germinate within about a week.  Keep them moist until they germinate, then water on a regular basis. I feed them once during the growing cycle with a cup of fish emulsion diluted in a five-gallon bucket of water. Otherwise they aren’t too fussy about soil and can even withstand some drought conditions.

Find heirloom organic seed that is non-GMO at any of the following seed companies:

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds at http://www.rareseeds.com/mammoth-grey-sunflower/

Victory Seeds at http://www.victoryseeds.com/helianthus_annuus_giant.html

High Mowing Organic Seed at http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-mammoth-sunflower.html

Bountiful Gardens at http://www.bountifulgardens.org/products.asp?dept=70

All Good Things Organic or AGTO Seeds at http://www.agtoseeds.com/products/organic-russian-mammoth-sunflower-seed