November Not Normal
Welcome to late fall; crisp mornings and warm afternoons, the season of layers. Layers of clothing, layers of leaves, layers of worry…when is the next storm coming?
These thoughts are circling in my mind of late as we protect landscapes for the winter, keeping the land frozen with shade cover and sun breaks. We’ve been applying brush, hay, leaves and caging to our clients’ property to help get through another transitional month and season.
Freeze thaw cycles are really damaging to the young plants, warming in the day, and freezing at night. This cycle can cause frost heave and rip fragile feeding roots, leaving your plants to die
with unrepairable wounds during the winter. By spring the plant has starved, severed from the nutrient rich soils and mulches we had applied during the installation.
We cover the soil and add heavy bales of hay to hold things together. Keeping the ground frozen and allowing for thaw to occur slowly, based on spring weather conditions.
We learn to be more intimate with our landscapes at this time of year, saving seeds, final harvests and watching the changes the plants go through. I think that observation makes us great gardeners, and good humans. We can share our bounty, prepare for Seedy Saturday to offer up our crafts and harvest.
Plan to take a few courses and workshops this winter. Look ahead to the “dormant” season with renewed sense of hope and vigor. I always wonder what will keep us busy for 3 or 4 months?
We can help guide you, we will be offering our Ecological Landscape Design course again in January. We are offering a second course this year. A “Food Forest Design” course has been requested by a few folks.
ELD is 18 hrs of instruction, and FFD is 12 hrs. We also provide a dormant pruning, storm damage repair, and a whole host of other workshops. Let us know if you are keen.
We also do (by request) small groups, special events for organizations, and schools. Official registration is the second week of November
Let us know how we can help your nature heal.
Be well, enjoy our amazing weather, and keep in touch.