Fall is the time to think about Spring

I will first apologize for not posting on my scheduled days. To be honest, I lost track of what day it was. We are running at full speed, or so it feels like, here on the homestead. Cold weather is sneaking up on us, and we never know how many days we have left before the cold kills the garden. Canning, drying and freezing has been our primary focus.

But once the garden is in, it will be time to think about next year’s. We need to till everything under, apply green manure, animals manure, hummus or even sand, depending what our soil needs are and where we plant the garden.

We aren’t prepared to keep pigs again. But they have a wonderful usefulness when it comes to the garden. Pen them in your exhausted garden, they will take care of the tilling and manuring for you. Do this in the fall and again in the spring.

Soil testing can be done with your local extension office. They are useful for so many different things. Once you know what is lacking you can work it into the soil before your ground freezes over. Sometimes it is best to work your soil several times before freezing. Some people swear by covering their garden area with large cardboard to help prevent weeds and grasses from growing. I find that this only delays those pesky weeds. It’s best to work and work and pull and yank. Try not to allow them to got to seed.

Autumn is also the best time to start planting those fruit trees. The cooler weather helps promote root growth rather than leaves and fruits.

Once the weather turns bitterly cold, you can sit down with all those wonderful seed catalogs and plot out your dream garden. Then plot out your realistic one. We all have to fantasize sometimes, it keeps us sane.

This has been Phelan, your Homesteading Neophyte and Kansas Prepper.