Collecting Fallen Tree Leaves For Garden. 14 Nov 23

 Here my truckload of leaves from my generous neighbor.

Some of these went onto the refurbished, topped off, raised bed, after I mixed chicken bone meal, crushed eggs, and coffee grounds into the top layer of soil.  Now that will sit until Spring to mellow and settle.

More will go around the miniature fruit trees and onto containers, as a mulch, then the rest onto the fig tree and forsythia and wildflower border.  

Tree leaves are the best soil protector, enricher, weed prevention, soil conditioner on this green earth.  

A Tasty Hot Sauce. 14 Nov 23

 I harvested the last of the ripe chili peppers.  They were a mixture of about 1/2 Serranos, and the rest about half Cayenne and half Thai with some Tabasco peppers too.

This is the recipe I used, mostly.  It's from the this website.

1 pound washed and sliced chili peppers (as above)

1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves, sliced into 1/8 inch thick slices.

1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp fine sea salt.

I sliced the chili peppers to about 1/4 inch slices.  Then mixed in the salt, sugar, and garlic in a pyrex bowl.  Then I added the vinegars, stirred, and covered with plastic wrap.  The recipe called for letting the mixture sit in the fridge for one day.  I let it sit for two days, because I needed some rest the next day.

Then I transferred the mixture to a stainless steel pot, used the outdoor stove to bring to a boil, and simmered for 40 minutes with occasional stirring.

Then I carefully transferred to the big blender, put on the top, put a towel over that, and blended to make a smooth puree.

Here's how it looks.

 This hot sauce is great!  It's not blindingly hot, and the flavors are really complex.  Making it a puree of the entire peppers, really gave a great flavor.

Pruning and Mulching Triple Crown Blackberry. Winterizing. 14 Nov 23.

 I pruned and cleaned up the main clump of Triple Crown blackberry.  I removed all of the spent canes from this year.  I had already tipped the new canes at about 5 feet high.  I left those in place.

The main weed problem is a wild clematis.  It vines around everything and sends long underground runners.  I pulled out and cut off all I could.  Then I applied a tree leaf carpet, about six inches or so thick.  I left last year's in place, they have mostly rotted away.  

That's most of the maintenance I do each year.  Maybe two hours today, maybe an hour of little things in the summer.  

I also cleaned up the newer clumps, the same way.  That area has two younger Triple Crown clumps and a dwarf variety, Ponca.  I didn't add the leaves yet, because some grass clumps need to be removed.

 

Persimmons. 3 Nov 2023.

 Here is the Nikita's Gift persimmon tree at ten years old.  It doesn't really get any maintenance now, other than minor pruning.

Here is the Saijo persimmon tree, same age.

Now I just need so e good persimmon recipes.

The Garlic Is Mulched With Leaves. 3 Nov 2023.

 I was able to collect some tree leaves from the yard.   Most are yet to fall.   It was enough to cover the garlic beds.

Now the work is completed.  They are ready for winter.  The leaves will even out the soil temperature and prevent weeds.  This year's garlic needed almost no weeding at all for the entire growin season, a big benefit.