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This will have to do for a bit. We’re not making really great progress on the chicken coop. Red is still in the chicken run and I don’t trust the dogs to leave him be. The babies are so small, they can escape through the chicken wire. I’m going to have to use smaller wire around the bottom so if we have baby chicks later, they will be safe and sound inside the run.

Still in my small living room. Last time, in the spring, we only had five, this time, there are eleven. This is going to get old really fast. LOL!

The heat makes the smell stronger, faster. At least they are safe from the dogs and cat. Strider (the cat) does like the warmth from the lamp, he sits on top of the crate during the night. He’s SUCH a baby. Sometimes he sits and peeps through the holes. And when the chicks see him, they get really cheepy and run to the four corners. Can you imagine being stuck in a box with two big eyes staring at you? It would creep me out too.

I still haven’t gotten tired of watching them, their cuteness has not warn off… yet.

Here it is fall and the garden is ready to snooze. Hold it, there is more work to be completed. Some mulching and some pruning. Those fallen leaves and dying annuals are not for the trash but that organic material is black gold for the garden.

A step that is both ordinarily and commonly neglected, to lay the garden to bed for the winter, is the addition of organic matter. More people should use organic matter in their beds rather than casting off their yard waste.See, this is right at our feet, yard waste. It has to be raked or mowed, so why not utilize it for Mother Nature’s blanket - mulch.

It is impossible to put too much organic matter into the soil. Fall is a good time for many reasons. One good reason is all of the materials that you want are there for free, leaves and dying plants.

A good suggestion is piling up leaves, grass clippings and dead plants (those free from disease) and going over them with a mulching mower, then putting them into the garden bed. How much benefit can a few inches layered on garden beds really help? A lot.

The very best thing a gardener can do to better their soil is add organic matter. It increases the water capacity and nutrient holding capacity of the soil. It assists in making minerals available for plants. While it accumulates, it binds clay particles into larger sums, improving aeration and drainage. And don’t forget, gardening success always begins from the ground up.

Alright, so it seems many gardeners are taking for granted the most important resource in the yard which is the soil. Now where do we begin? Run over that grass and leaves with a mulching lawnmower is recommended. This will shred the material into tiny pieces, and it can be left on as a top dressing. Put on two or three inches. If you have mulch already down, rake that back, apply to the surface the shredded organic matter and then return the mulch on top.

Working with mulch

Some jobs done in the fall will determine the success of the next gardening year. Mulching is one of these chores, particularly if you have put new perennials to the garden this fall. To mulch or not to mulch is highly talked about. Many experts claim that if you mulch too soon, it will cause new growth and give the plant a falsified view of the true temperatures. Other people say mulching is essential to ensure tenderness, and new perennials are provided a good foundation in which to root. One thing is for certain, just add mulch after you have cleared away any unwanted waste from the base of the plant. It is also best to wait until the ground is frozen.

Garden advice when less than 5% of our soils are composed of organic matter.
• Apply 25 to 50 pounds of compost per 100 square feet yearly.

Mulching over the winter works as an insulating blanket, keeping the soil from buckling from constant freeze and thaw cycles. If you plant perennials this fall without mulching, the bald soil will thaw during the day and freeze at night, producing movement that can heave small plants up out of the soil. The crown of the plant will be dried out and either be injured or die over the winter.

A concluding word on mulching, rose gardeners should not be in a big rush to mulch this fall. Putting down a layer of mulch now will do more harm than good. Fall freezes will not hurt the roses, so it is best to wait a few weeks for the soil to freeze before putting down a layer of your winter mulch to any rose.

Prune or not to prune

Specified perennials, such as peonies after their leaves have died, without a doubt need to be trimmed. The iris is also open to diseases and rotting and is better off if its leaves is trimmed back. The tree peony, however, is somewhat like a deciduous shrub with a woody stalk and won’t need to be trimmed, just fertilized around November and mulched for the onset of a cold winter.

A little bit of clean up and trimming should be evident, fruits and vegetables left deteriorating on the earth will only bring disease and rodents. Trimming perennials that provide no winter appeal will lower the likelihood of pests, disease and other gardening troubles, and it will liven up the outdoor space by making clean lines and a clean slate for the spring.

You can always leave perennials that have winter appeal, like sedum or black-eyed susan, and you always leave ornamental grasses there until spring. Texture and multi-colors of tan, brown and rust can be just as important to the winter garden as the bloom colors are to the garden of summer.

Plants, such as broad leaf evergreens, like holly and azaleas, are inclined to feel winter dryness and are much better left uncut.

So even if you’ve received kudos for the great color and design of your yard this season, we still need to clean up after the garden so that we are ready to start again in the spring.

Jim’s articles are from extensive research on each of his topics. You can learn more of fall prep, mulch and pruning by visiting: Fall preparation

Learn more about gardening for all seasons

Our First Home, a box from Subway Deli!

Guess what my mother informed me she found while perusing my favorite ag store today? BABY CHICKENS! in the fall no less… I was really torn. Starting baby chicks in the fall… getting them grown up enough to face a cold surly winter. Should I? Mr. Red is so lonely… he needs some more of his own kind. What is a rooster, without hens?

So, I go home, I research the city statutes that I had left the girls to do last time we bought chicks in the spring. Sure enough, they were right. We are allowed twelve birds. Only one can be a rooster… well, that is accomplished well enough, so I bought eleven chicks. Once again, hoping for the best. If you’ll recall, that’s what we thought we bought last time.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed. The just cheep and talk. They are really adorable. Last time, in the spring, I didn’t have to worry about temps, it was just so warm and a plain old light bulb was perfectly adequate, but with winter coming on, this time, I bought them a red heat lamp. They are warm and toasty in my LIVING ROOM. One more REALLY motivating reason to get the chicken coop finished!

Even experienced gardeners will often ignore the fact that their gardening efforts can extend well into the fall season, while in certain sections of the world; gardening is virtually a year round endeavor. Extending the gardening season is becoming more critical to all of us because of the changing dynamics in the world’s food supply. This is a situation that we will have to live with for an extended period of time, so it is a good idea to do our bit. The victory gardens of World War II provided 40% of the country’s food supply, proving that we can make a difference.

It is hard to think about planting more vegetables at a time when fresh produce is so abundant in our garden, but late July and early September are good times to plant cool weather crops. Fall plants such as broccoli and cauliflower usually taste better when grown in the cooler weather, while others such as kale and Swiss chard reach their peak flavor after the first frost.

Fall planting requires less work because the soil was worked up in the spring, so a light cultivation is usually all that is needed after removing all the previous crop waste. Place the debris into your compost pile after being sure to remove any diseased vegetation, Top dress the garden with some compost or organic mulch and work it into your soil. Then you can proceed to plant according to recommended methods.

Examples of good fall plants are: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, endive, kale, lettuce, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, mustard and spinach. Do not plant the same crops back in the exact same place, but rotate your crops to reduce potential disease problems.

It is a good idea to consult with your local garden center or your local county extension service for advice on correct planting times for your growing zone.

As the fall season nears, protection for these crops has to be considered. One method is to cover the crops with sheets, plastic sheeting, or mulch which will trap the radiated heat from the ground and raise the temperature enough to protect them from a light frost.

Some crops such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, potatoes, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage and kale are not affected by frost or even moderate freezes and can be left in the garden until the hard freezes set in. Root crops such as beets, carrots, parsnips and turnips can be re-mulched, left in the garden and dug up as needed.

If a hard freeze is predicted, pick the green mature tomatoes or pull the entire plants.

Store them in a dry cool (65 degree) place where they will ripen in about two weeks. Delicate plants such as squash, peppers and eggplant should be harvested and stored in a comparable location as the tomatoes.

After harvesting and while the weather is still pleasant, many chores can be accomplished in anticipation of spring and next year’s garden. Cleaning up garden refuse, adding soil amendments to your plot and making a planting plan of your garden to decide how you want to rotate your crops while this year’s garden is still fresh in your mind, are just three jobs to get out of the way.

Now you can kick back in your easy chair, read the seed catalogs and dream of those prize winning vegetables you are going to raise.

Dick Murray loves to write about growing fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables at http://www.vegetable-gardening-basics.com and has created an information packed web site dedicated to gardening basics and designed for families who care about their food supply. Gardening Information for all Seasons

With more and more homeowners trying to maximize their home’s living space, it is no wonder home construction and renovation companies are recording record profits. But by assessing what you have and with a little creativity, new outdoor living and entertaining spaces or “outdoor rooms” can be had without spending the thousands of dollars it would take to actually add rooms to your existing home.

Late fall through early spring is a great time to assess how space is used in your home. Often, decks and patios go unused or underused. These areas are becoming “standard issue” add-ons in new home construction, and new homebuyers many times will not be prepared to furnish these areas after moving in. Obviously, these areas are great places to begin the creation of outdoor rooms. Also, places you wouldn’t normally think of for use in entertaining - flat, shady spots in the yard, for example - may also lie empty and waiting for use. In other words, when you think of your “home,” think of your entire property and how you can utilize each area to its fullest. Many times, there are ways you can create “backyard retreats” in these underused areas without much trouble or cost, and truly bring the indoors out.

The primary focus of a new or existing outdoor room could be a pond or falling water feature, fire pit or flowerbed. In most cases, however, the heart of an outdoor living space is an outdoor furniture grouping, either large or small. Lately gaining in popularity, groupings of “Adirondack furniture” including Adirondack chairs, tables, loveseats and rockers, are an excellent choice for creating seating groups. Naturally at home in the outdoors, wood furniture offers durability, comfort, and the natural look that you expect from a natural material. Adirondack furniture is exceptionally comfortable, and has a design that has withstood nearly a century of use. Thus, furniture groupings including Adirondack chairs and other Adirondack furniture will certainly give long, comfortable service during the warmer months of the year!

In addition to the seating and table grouping you choose, strategically adding plants or small shrubs, either in planter boxes or large terra-cotta pots (for mobility and flexibility) can help to define the seating area of an outdoor room and create a more intimate “escape” just meters from your home. Small boxwood shrubs are extremely attractive when potted and placed around a furniture grouping. They are also very easy to maintain. Potentilla shrubs are equally as nice when potted, hardy in many climate zones, and will flower in yellow, white or orange throughout most of the summer. Erecting a cedar arbor or cedar pergola at the entrance to your patio or backyard retreat is a wonderful way to add a welcoming touch as well. Plant some climbing flowers or vines at the base of your arbor or pergola, and the setting will become that much more rich and lush.

As you take time to assess your increasing need for living space during the upcoming warm months, also take into account traffic flow from one area to another: from a deck to a patio and then on to a set of Adirondack chairs on the lawn, for example. Creating “hallways” from one to another with plants (either in pots or in the ground) or temporary or permanent stepping stones (either natural or cast concrete) will help tie each living area together visually as well as physically.

Finally, the most important suggestion in creating your outdoor living rooms: enjoy the experience! From brainstorming to planning to finding the furniture and accessories to the actual creation of your new living areas, have fun and be creative. The best outdoor living areas, like the best indoor living areas, are personal reflections of the owner filled with warm, inviting seating and objects that make visitors feel at home and the owners relaxed and comfortable.

Jayson Gerth is the general manager of the Iowa Adirondack Company: http://www.Iowa-Adirondack.com which offers a large online assortment of the best Adirondack chairs.
More information on Outdoor Living