Week of October 7
From this point on we have to assume that a frost is possible, though the last several years have seen the first hard frost at the very end of the month. Whenever we see predicted lows under 40 I get nervous and start bringing in my potted plants. It is weather that makes me think about garlic planting but I am trying to wait a little longer than my traditional mid-October timing. Carolina Wrens are gathering in large groups on our lawn, busy with some kind of foraging. An area that was mowed in mid-summer is now brilliant with goldenrod and is full of bees.
One good reason to wait until late October to plant your garlic is that we want it to put all of its energy into root production in the fall and save any top growth for spring. If we get unseasonably warm weather in the late fall the clove of garlic may go ahead and waste energy putting up a sprout. A nice thick layer of mulch will help prevent this, but it is even better to just wait a bit.
Another good reason to wait to plant garlic is that Edwin Schiele of Long Days Farm will be teaching a workshop sponsored by the Cambridge Food Coop on planting garlic. It will be held in the Cambridge Community Garden on Sunday, October 20th at 1:30. He will cover soil prep, spacing, discussion of varieties, mulching and will have seed garlic available for purchase. Long Days seed garlic is also available on Sundays at the Farmers Market and every day at the Cambridge Food Coop. I intend to pick his brain about harvesting, curing and storing garlic, too. We will plant a bed of garlic to be harvested next July to donate to the Loaves and Fishes food pantry.
Sarah Harrington, director of the food pantry, let me know that they have a donation bin in front of their building at 59 S. Park St. that is checked often. Produce needs to be in good shape and ready for display. They have guidelines on their website: https://cambridgefoodpantry.com/guidelines. Planting a “row for the hungry” needs to be carefully planned and be in harmony with the time you have to actually take care of extra garden space. It is best to grow things that keep well, like potatoes, onion-family crops, squash and carrots, though other things like tree fruits may be welcome also. Food has to be clean and free of any pesticides. If we all get into the habit of growing (and harvesting) a little extra food it could make a big difference.
I have quite a few potted plants that need to be brought inside, including some pots full of many big amaryllis. I’m going to try taking the amaryllis bulbs out of the soil and letting them air dry to go completely dormant before repotting them. They are in need of new soil anyway. They come out with a tangle of roots but I think those will dry up. We’ll see! The pots of agapanthus need to be brought in but given no water for a few months. It is always tricky to time the beginning of watering so that they will bloom when they will be appreciated in their summer spot around a patio in June or July. The big pots of citrus need a good spraying of neem oil to try to control our ever-present scale insects. It needs to be done in the shade, and maybe even twice. I’ll be glad when everything is safe inside again. Potted plants seem to multiply while they are outside while their inside space shrinks. I’m not sure if they will all fit again. Perhaps I’ll have to be realistic and get rid of a few, like the huge and dangerously pointy agave. I love it but maybe just saving a baby will be enough. I dug a ditch in my vegetable garden for my potted grafted apple and pear trees. I want them outside but protected from the deer and deep cold over the winter so they’ll be ready to plant out in the spring.
We did an early summer mowing around our solar panels and the result is lovely late goldenrod. They appear to be two different species, both with parallel veins but one with a smooth stem and one faintly fuzzy. I suppose it could have been an extreme version of the “Chelsea chop” that people do to make plants shorter and bushier with a later bloom. Sometimes deer provide the same function. These grow from single stems so perhaps they aren’t a result of the mowing but they are blooming a full month later than the main crop of golden rod. I’ve tried to identify them and find they could be late goldenrod (Solidago gigantia) or Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis). I”m not convinced but in any case they are absolutely teeming with honey bees who are grateful for a late taste of one of their favorite foods.
Our lawn is busy with Carolina wrens. I didn’t know this little bird until the past couple of years. Often I hear a call or song that I don’t recognize. I check it on the “Merlin” app on my phone (available for free from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) only to discover that it is yet another song in the Carolina wren’s broad repertoire. They are perky little brown birds with a buff colored tummy, distinct white eyebrow, curved beak, upturned tail and a lighter patch on their chin. They are finding lots of insects and seeds in our rough lawn. I am delighted to have them there but worry about our young cat hunting them. I am grateful to our cat for her rodent control but wish she’d leave the birds alone. I intend to spend some time with a water gun trying to train her out of the habit.
The quince trees in our daughter’s orchard are loaded with golden fruit but they aren’t very aromatic yet and are hard as rocks. They probably will need every day we can squeeze out of this growing season to ripen. Jam from them is a lot of work but worth it for a few jars. They are the last of the tree fruits in our growing year. My Siberian asters are finally making a show of tall lavender flowers and one of my mums is just opening. It gives me a boost to see the plants that occupy this sliver of the season with the hopefulness of new flowers.