Henny Penny Farmette

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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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If you enjoy reading about farming, country living, keeping of bees and chickens, and gardening, check out my Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries. They’re chocked full of ideas, tips, and delicious recipes for country living.

 

Also, take a look at my numerous self-help and wellness books. All are available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Walmart.com, and other online and traditional bookstores everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: apricot, beets, broccoli, bulbs, cabbage, coreopsis, cosmos, daffodils, dahlias, garden, heirloom seeds, marigolds, olives, open-pollinated seeds, parsnips, peach, perennials, persimmon, pomegranate, self-seeding plants, tulips