Autumn in the garden-The Good, The Bad and the Damn Ugly.

When the Garden Gets Away from You 

For me at this time of year is all about clearing out the beds and storing up the useable green waste.

With the weather still holding I’m making the most of the calm and settled days. It’s been big days spend tidy up each different area of our space. It’s a pretty big job at the moment because I haven’t spent anytime out here in a very long time. I still have tomato plants in the garden, the glasshouse is a total state and the weeds are out of control.

This blog post this time is a warts and all story of how my garden is faring at the moment.

I have said time and again how the garden is my happy space but at times it can bring me such guilt too. But I just have to keep in mind that winter is a time to take my time, to work my way thru the “to do” list that if it doesn’t get done that is fine too.

For me at the moment I just have to get 3 things done

• Clear out the beds

• Top up with extra soil

• Save as much fallen leaf matter as possible

As long as I get these done the rest can just wait. There is nothing in the garden that can’t wait for us.

The asparagus bed has reach that stage in its cycle where I’ll be pruning it back and topping up with extra soil. The nasturtium that was growing as a green mulch underneath will need to be cleared out but I don’t have to worry about replanting more as it’s such a great self seeder.

When you have gardens as big as we do the one thing that you can always guarantee is the green waste you manage to produce.

We have a a three bin compost set up but even then this time of year really pushes that system and the down fall to that is we don’t have a way of processing the thicker more heartier plant matter. We would love to have a mulcher and it is on the list of future purchases but till then we do have to take trailer loads to the recycle centre.

At time your garden can feel overwhelming but just remember why you have it. It should be a place of calm, a space where you can just be in without expectations.

And just remember-little and often is not just for succession planting.