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Putting the Garden to BedNovember 27, 2010 The tomato plants, basil, chives, and marigolds were KOed by the first hard frost. The parsley glowed bright green amidst the late fall grays and browns, but that only made the rest of the garden look more forlorn. Sometimes those hardy optimists make me want to reach for a muzzle, or maybe a muzzle-loader. (Shotgun deer season starts Monday on Martha's Vineyard, by the way.) It was clearly time to put the garden to bed. I procrastinated, and as usual procrastination paid off: an unexpected horse-sitting job came my way for the holiday weekend, and with the gig came access to some high-quality composted manure. This morning I scored three buckets full. Malvina Forester hauled them with ease; later in the day I filled my neighbors' small trash barrel two-thirds full and hauled it home to Sarah's garden without even putting the seat down. After yesterday's overcast, the weather was bright, sunny, and seasonably brisk -- high 30s and low 40s Fahrenheit. For a work break (I wish I could compost the interminable book I'm currently copyediting, but nothing healthy could possibly grow in any soil it became part of), I pulled all the dead vines and plants, took a deep breath, and pulled the parsley too. Tomorrow I'll use the last of it in some hummus. I raked the dead leaves out as best I could -- this is challenging because there's a foot-high wire fence around the dinghy that is my garden. Into the newly naked plot went the three buckets of manure and the last of the summer's potting soil. It was past time to empty the various pots and containers on my deck, so into the garden I shook reusable soil loose from the tangled roots, then tossed the roots into the woods. Several cherry tomatoes had fallen off their vines. I plowed them into the soil. I didn't get around to saving any seeds, so if any of these decide to come back next year they'll be more than welcome. Now my garden looks a lot like it did when I started last June, as long as you don't notice the lack of green in its immediate surroundings.
That photo was taken in early afternoon, when the sun was already heading west. I took this one from my deck after the sun went down. The "night snapshot" setting on my camera made a serious difference: on "automatic" the image came out much darker. The little clump of green off the starboard bow is parsley waiting to come up to the kitchen. Sarah advises planting winter rye, I think to nourish the soil and prevent erosion? Can't remember, but I think I'll do it.
Good night, little boat garden. Have a good nap. See you in the spring. P.S. Monday afternoon: Neighbor Sarah said that her parsley wintered over and came back the next year. Hmm. I just replanted my six clumps of parsley. We'll see what happens. Yesterday I put about a third of a cup of parsley leaves into my hummus. The hummus came out great. Oh yeah: the winter rye is to replenish the soil with nitrogen. Peeing in the garden periodically does the same trick.
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