First Garlic Planting. 17 Oct 24.

 I finished planting the first raised bed of garlic.  This year, I'm solely planting the Music variety, bulbs that I set aside to keep from the July harvest.  These are reliably the best harvest for me, most flavorful cloves, the biggest, and are easy to peal.

Same as previous years.  This bed contained the fresh-eating tomato crop this year.  I had already cleaned it up and mixed in crushed eggshells.

I made trenches about 4 or 5 inches deep, added organic fertilizer to the bottoms of the holes, cultivated that in, and placed the cloves in the trenches.

Then I filled in with the soil, and smoothed with garden rake.  I mark each row with a bamboo rod.

Then I raked red maple leaves and mulched the raised bed.  This is how I do it each year, and I always get a good crop.

The drip irrigation lines will need re-installing.   Not urgent.  The urgent jobs will be to harvest the remaining green beans, and to clear the second raised bed to plant more garlic.

Preparing Bed For Garlic Crop. 18 Oct 24.

 I removed the tomato plants, wire cages, and cardboard mulch to prepare this raised bed for planting garlic. 

Then I spread crushed eggshells.  I didn't try to crush them finely.  They will gradually disintegrate in the soil, slowly releasing calcium.

Then I turned the soil over and mixed in the eggshells.  

Tomorrow, weather permitting and if my body permits, I'll plant the garlic and start the same for raised bed #2.

Propagating / Salvaging Some Shrubby Herbs. 16 Oct 24.

 These are herbs I salvaged from a "re-wilded" area that I'm cleaning up, which will just be mow-able grass- to keep thistles and Himalayan blackberries at bay.  More or less.

Old sage plant.  I think this was one I temporarily place in a potato trench two years ago without actually planting it.  It originated from the front of the house, and was dug out to install a sidewalk.  It shows how rugged this plant is - among weeds, not watered for two hot summers, and not planted properly.

Also a "Curry Plant" from the same area.  When I dug it up, it split.  This was the smaller of the splits.  I also air-layered a branch to try for a new start.  The foliage is highly scented, rich spicy scent.

I planted both of those in an area where I'm expanding the xeric border.  I'm trying  not to prune too much before winter.  It will be interesting to see how far back I can prune them, next Spring, to give them a good shape that isn't so scraggly.

I accidentally pulled this Stachys (Lambs Ears) I also division off the main plant, while I was raking out weeds.  Also xeric - no watering for two hot summers.

 I also planted that.  We'll see if it grows next year.

Pawpaw Harvest. 16 Oct 24.

 Here's the pawpaw harvest this year.

Not a lot, but we don't need a lot.

Ironically, I didn't pollinated them this year and they did better than in years when I did.  Also, these are from the rootstocks of the original trees that I planted.

Nice flavor.

I brought the fragrant herb cuttings indoors. 29 Sept 24.

 I brought in the herbal perrennial cuttings.  Sage, lavender, rosemary.

It's interesting.  Most are not growing roots through the bottom holes yet, but they aren't wilting either.  So maybe they have baby roots?

Technically not a cutting.  This woody lavender stem broke off from the other that I dug out.  So I planted it.  The buds are emerging from the old wood.  I think they need to grow indoors over the winter.

I started the cuttings in August.  One pelargonium (geranium) cutting died.  This one took, growing roots through the bottom holes.

I tried starting rosemary from cuttings in water.  The didn't seem to take.  So I cut off the bottoms for clean cuts, scraped a little bark from the side, dipped in rooting hormone.  This one has roots emergi g from the bottom

So thats a couple of "free plants" for next Spring.  If you consider my effort is free and the tiny amount of rooting hormone is too low cost to measure.