November Garden

Years ago we could expect a heavy blanket of snow to cover the garden from December until March. Snow cover is a good thing, but we can no longer count on it. Until this week, November temperatures in southern Wisconsin have been way above historic normals. It’s cooling off, but the meteorologists are predicting little snow cover for this year.

Snow or not, I try to cover as much of my garden as possible with leaves. Leaves act as a weed suppressant, they insulate and protect the beds through the winter, and as they break down, they become organic matter to feed and soften the soil. Last year, because of some travel, I got almost no leaves at all into the garden and I paid the price with a lot of extra weeding and hard work in the spring,

This year the garden is in better shape. I already have a lot of leaves in, and most of the beds are weeded, shaped, and ready for spring planting. I’ll continue to get beds ready as long the weather permits.

I planted garlic the first week of November. I always plant garlic in a bed that had just grown potatoes. This rotation is working very well. The fall-planted garlic, covered with a blanket of straw, gets a huge head start and is one of the first sprouts of spring. I always feel better after the garlic is in. It’s a crop we count on, and it’s quite easy to grow once you get a technique.

Deer have been in the garden. There are still a lot of green veggies they can nibble on. After we take down the fence, they can have whatever’s left.

The garden is very wet. It just rained for two days. You can see the moisture in the photos. Now I just need it to dry up so I can get more leaves moved in.