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Fall cleaning

  • November 5, 2014
  • 2 comments
  • 16 views
  • Rory

Cleaning up the garden with my favorite people

It’s the end of the season for us Zone 4B growers. My faithful standby’s Lisa and Zina, who helped me plant this Spring, joined me for a day of garden cleanup. My dad also came out to help with landscaping around the house.

We pulled up all the plastic mulch and drip irrigation from the vegetable plot. Then we re-mulched the blueberries with fresh fallen pine needles, a great natural acidifier.

Re-mulching the blueberry patch

We also fenced the blueberries because they are easy targets for rabbits and deer during the lean winter months.

I didn’t end up liking the variety of strawberries we planted (Sparkle and Ft Laramie). So we pulled all the strawberry beds and I will re-plant my newly discovered favorite Jewel next year.

Ft Laramie strawberries

The other major project was weeding and re-mulching the apple orchard. Becca and, to a lesser extent, Ivar and Elsie helped with weeding and shoveling piles of wood chips around the base of each tree.

Mulching the apple trees

Everybody worked hard. But the pay was good. Everyone got to take home a free pumpkin.

Zina's pumpkin

Paid with pumpkins.

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Rory

Rory Groves moved his family from the city to the country several years ago to begin the journey towards a more durable way of life. Rory and his wife Becca now reside in southern Minnesota where they farm, raise livestock, host workshops, and homeschool their six children. He is the author of Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time.

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  • Apple Trees
  • Blueberries
  • Pumpkins
  • Strawberries

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2 comments
  1. John says:
    November 6, 2014 at 10:35 am

    Great work, people! What is planned for next year? Anything new?

    Not that you need anything new! You’re already doing so much!

    Reply
    1. Avatar photo Rory says:
      November 6, 2014 at 3:06 pm

      *Lots* to think about for next year. Some things I’d do different, some I’d keep the same. Some good winter hibernation ought to help think things through!

      Reply

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