To Does

Weeds are growing crazily.

Mulch the garden to keep the soil
from becoming compacted.  The mulch
will also keep the winter weeds under control.
If not, the weed hoe will make them short timers.

Use all of the leaves for mulching in the flower
beds, good for mulch &  protect from cold,
freezing weather and will protect bulbs.

Empty any remaining hoses of water
so they don't crack from water
freezing.

Indian summer

We have been enjoying a few more days
of the glorious Indian summer.

Most of the fruit has been picked.  Most of the
hazelnuts and walnuts have been picked and
dried.

Winter gardeners are actually doing quite well.

Most of the tree fruits are loosing their leaves
so pruning can start in the next three weeks.

Raspberries should have been done by now. 
Other berries need pruning between
December and March.

Roses need pruning down to 14 inches, then
 in mid February prune the hybrid teas back
to 6 inches.

This week

Weather turning cool and wet.
Most fields reseeded for spring
crops or cover crops.

Hazelnuts - mostly done.  Good yields.

Apple and pears - mostly done.
Medium to good yields.

Indications are that we will be having
a longer, cooler or colder winter. 
Since the weather changed in October,
we could have up to 6 months of winter.

With the late infestation of spotted
wing drosophila, be aware that if we
have a normal spring, we could have a
very high SWD infestation.

Prep

With the cold weather coming upon us, take the
 time to do a little prep for the winter time.  Some
call it the 72 hour pack.  A pack that contains food,
 water and shelter that will help you remain dry and
 fed for at least 72 hours.

Next, have a storage of water, food, shelter, heat
 that can sustain you for a week, a month or even
 a year.  The way things are going, having a back
 up food and water supply may be a necessity.  

Produce

Great time to use some of your produce,
dried, fresh or canned.

Fresh broccoli,  onions, garlic, potatoes,
carrots, etc.

Then apples, winter pears, hazelnuts.

Chestnuts are falling.  Go to the internet to ID
which chestnut your might have.  We typically
have two, horse chestnut or American chestnut.
The horse chestnut is not good good to eat.
The American chestnut is the one that is used to
 roast for the holidays.

Looks like ran for the next few days.

Get the leaves picked up on the lawns
or other living materials to prevent
smothering..

Place the leaves on flower beds, around
roses, blueberries or compost in piles.  Be
sure to add nitrogen to start the break down
 process and cover to keep from getting too
wet this winter.

Place winter squash in a protected area.

Garlic still slow at emerging.

This week

Most of the hazelnut harvest is over. 
A few waiting for the last nuts to fall. 
The next few rainy days  will delay any
harvesting for a while.

Some late apples and pears.

Pumpkins and farm Halloween events were
able to make a come back with the good
weather.  The last few days have been
hectic for the local farm stands - which
is good.

The next few days of rain will dampen most
of the ag activities in the area.