Seedy Saturday - Garlic and Potatoes

Yes, I know it doesn't look like much now. But if you look closely, you will see a few of these starting to poke their heads through the grass clippings I am using for mulch. 

My elephant garlic is shooting up. When I planted them I gave the area a good feeding of fertilizer and started putting my grass clippings over them. One, to mulch so as to conserve water and to give them a bit of protection against upcoming cold weather. 

I am so excited because, living up to their name elephant, the stalks are much bigger than regular garlic. I still need to plant 3 cloves of a different variety of hardneck garlic in the bed which I received a couple of days ago at a plant/seed swap. 

Just across from them is my little potato patch.

This is my 'experimental' patch - which needs some mulch or grass clippings dumped on it. I pulled out some potatoes from my early summer harvest and stuck them in the ground to see what would happen. I have never grown potatoes anytime other than very late winter/early spring. So this is new to me. But according to other people, it works just fine.

I have started some seeds in the house for some Large Flat Dutch Cabbage (new to me), as well as, onions, leeks, lettuces and spinach. Carrots will go outside directly into the ground. I've never had real luck with carrots, so it will be fun to see if I can get the to grow for me over winter. 

Fava beans will also go out into the garden in the next couple of days, as well as a cover crop of some winter wheat. Both are new to me to grow. 

Asparagus needs to be cut back and mulched also. It's falling all over everywhere. And I have a couple of pepper plants I want to try to overwinter - a Shishito pepper and a Poblano pepper. Plus I am taking cuttings from my Roselle to start some cuttings and see if I can overwinter them either in the greenhouse outside or inside to get a jump on next year. 

But the temperatures outside are mulch more conducive to me being outside and gardening. So I am excited to be clearing and tidying - but not too much. Those beneficial insects need a winter home. I do need to also dig up and divide some cannas, blackberry lily and elder. Plus there are 11 pots of fountain grass which need to go into the ground, but until we get a bit of rain I really can't dig holes in the front yard. 

So loving fall gardening and planning on what I'm going to concentrate on during the coming year.