Saving Onion and Shallot Varieties For Next Year. 11.5.22

 The onions did not do well this year.  I think the main reason was, I was not able to keep up with weeding and cultivating, and the irrigation lines weren't working well in this bed.  Next year, I'll want a different type of emitter.  Weeds overwhelmed the onion plants, so that finished most of them off.

On clearing the weeds, I did find a few of the Red Wethersfield onions that survived and made bulbs.  Red Wethersfield is an heirloom variety that should come true from seeds, which is why I tried growing it.  Plus, I like red onions.  I don't want giant ones like in the grocery store, just a nice medium size.

Onions are biennial,  This year's bulbs will send up flower shoots next year, to make seeds.  So I replanted some of the Red W bulbs, to make seeds next year.  Also to see if the make a good size bulb.  It's worth a try.  I kept a couple of large ones for the kitchen.  They are a good tasting onion.  Also, I'll keep a couple dry, in the garage, in case the planted ones don't survive the winter.  I planted them in a container that had pepper plants this summer.

I also divided shallots and winter onions from one of the raised beds, in this and in another container.  I cant tell the difference between some.  Some of the shallots also have a rounder, red bulb, and I think some of the winter onions still have stalks, and a narrower, brown skin bulb.

Before planting, I mixed about 1/2 cup of organic bulb fertilizer into the soil mix.  It should be slow release, especially in cold weather.

I planted tulips in the front green container .

I still have some onion family plants to sort out, including potato onions (still in one raised bed that I cleaned up), shallots I grew from seeds this year, and Egyptian Walking Onions.  Some of those will go into containers.  I'm not sure yet. Maybe in the raised bed that is currently occupied by tomatoes, which next year is reserved for onions.

Raised Bed Prep For Next Year. Nemagon Mustard. 11.5.22

 I raked the soil for the three original raised beds, weeded, and scattered Nemagon mustard seeds as a cover crop / green manure / biofumigant,  The mustard should grow to six inches to a foot tall, survive the winter, and reach about two feet by the time I want to use the raised beds in the Spring.  Three weeks before planting the Spring crops, the mustard will be chopped and incorporated into the soil.  

The mustard plants and leaves release substances that kill harmful nematodes, fungus diseases, and bacterial diseases.   Until then, the deep roots (up to 5 feet deep) bring nutrients from deep in the soil, the leaves sequester nitrogen, and the leafy plants inhibit weed growth.

I think the mustard cover crop will reduce the need to collect as many tree leaves to enrich the soil, as well as help keep the beds free of diseases and harmful soil life.  

I decided to remove any onion family plants, to simplify the rotation.  Next year these beds will contain tomato plants and beans, and the following year any can have onions or garlic again.

The middle bed needs repair.  I can do that in the Spring.

Saving Seeds for Green Bean Bush Beans. 11.5.22

 This year I was able to collect maturing bean pods from the bush beans.  I have not saved the seeds in the past, because my late planting results in the pods not maturing.  This was a hotter hear, so some of them did mature.

I let them dry inside until the pods were crunchy.

Now the drying bean seeds shell out quite easily.

I shelled the seeds.  My estimate is I need roughly 80 seeds for an early crop, and 80 for a late crop.  I think I got that many.  There are also some later ones, still drying.

Here are the seeds so far.

They need to be kept in a paper or cloth package, so they continue to dry out.

I'm not certain of the variety.  Probably either Blue Lake or Contender.  I grew both, but can't tell them apart.

Preying Mantis. 10.29.22

 I found this little creature while working on the garden bed.  This makes me happy, knowing that my garden has a rich web of life, feeding me, the plants, the creatures, and the soil. 

Preparing Next Year's Tomato Bed. Marigold Treatment. 10.29.22

 This raised bed had the following succession.  Last year, onions.  This year, garlic, then bush beans.  I planted a row of French Marigolds at the end, which grew vigorously.

Marigolds contain a substance that is toxic to some harmful herbivorous soil creatures.  So, I thpughtbit might be useful to treat the soil with a marigold "green manure".

First, I cut off all of the beans and weeds.

I removed those.  I thought about mixing them with the soil, but it seemed like more effort than I could handle.  So the bean tops and weeds went to the compost heap.  Then I roughly chopped the marigold plants, and spread them over the soil.

Then I used the shovel to turn over the soil, mixing in the marigold choppings.

This bed was the only one not to get a treatment of biochar last winter.  Supposedly, biochar will help keep the soil healthy and  nutritious.  So I spread the remaining biochar onto the soil.

I also found a bag of chicken bone / woodstove ashes, in the garden shed.  So I spread those too.

Then I used the hand tiller to roughly mix it all together.

Now it's ready for the rain, and settling in, and the next couple of weeks of coffee grounds.  Then I'll cover with a layer of leaves, and it can rest until May.