November Chores Around the Farm
What autumn chores are on your to-do list this year?
To stay organized during seasonal transitions, I create very detailed notes of all that needs to be done around my farm. Over the last few weeks, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew have been working hard getting all the tasks completed. They've been blowing leaves, planting evergreens, cleaning, feeding, and mulching the garden beds, covering air-conditioner pits, leveling the gravel along the carriage roads, and much more. While we desperately need rain, the weather has been mild and so much is getting done.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- It is so beautiful this time of year when all the deciduous trees show their stunning autumn colors before dropping their leaves. Here at my farm, there are leaves everywhere.
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- As the weather grows colder and sunlight decreases, the trees seal the spots where the leaves are attached – this process is what causes them to change color and fall to the ground. Rather than expend energy to protect these fragile organs, trees shed leaves to conserve resources for the next year.
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- Here’s Pete blowing the the feathery brown foliage from the bald cypress trees.
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- And here’s Adan gathering the fallen leaves below my magnolia trees. Once the leaves are blown into a manageable pile, they are directed to the opening of a vacuum tube connected to our dump truck. The leaves are then taken to the compost area, where they will decompose and get used again as mulch.
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- Fernando is working on the air conditioner pits. I keep all my air conditioners in large pits, where they are well hidden behind each house. These air conditioner pits are covered with industrial strength plastic, plywood, and then burlap to protect them from the winter elements.
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- The burlap is trimmed and then held down with wooden strips. It looks very finished and tidy.
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- Covering these pits also makes them easier to maintain. Any snow or debris that falls can be brushed to the side before accessing the units below.
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- Josh is cleaning up the flower garden beds. It takes a lot of time to cut down and remove all the old, dead plants, and root systems. When cutting back perennials this time of year, they should be trimmed to a height of one to two inches above the ground, close to the dormant base of the plant.
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- Once a bed is cleaned, Josh feeds the soil. Soon, all the gardens will also get a layer of compost which will replenish nutrients and improve the soil structure over the winter.
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- All the debris from the garden is loaded onto the tractor and hauled to our compost pile.
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- Here’s Phurba ready to take another load up. There’s never a dull moment here at Cantitoe.
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- Meanwhile, here’s Ryan down in what I call the boxwood nursery, where I am nurturing young boxwood shrubs originally planted from bare root cuttings. He is feeding them TopBuxus Health Mix, which prevents the fungal disease called box blight and provides the plants with rich nutrients that restore new green leaves and strong branch growth. I have been using TopBuxus for several years as a monthly treatment.
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- In my maze, a tractor bucket full of mulch grown right here at my farm is ready to put down. The mulch helps regulate soil temperatures and protect plant roots from extreme weather fluctuations. It also retains moisture, and suppresses weeds, ensuring healthier plants going into the next growing season.
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- Phurba uses a hard rake to create a two to three inch layer over the beds.
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- Nearby, José plants a row of ninebark, Physocarpus. It’s been unusually warm here in the Northeast, so we’re getting as many plants in the ground as possible.
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- These plants still have time to get established before it gets cold. We’re expecting temperatures to be in the high 70s mid-week.
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- My farm has four miles of gravel-covered carriage road. Gravel roads are attractive and accumulate less pollutants over time, but it is important to keep them well-maintained. Here’s one of the trucks from Bedford Stone & Masonry Supply Corp. As it moves along the carriage road, the gravel is released from the bottom of the truck’s tailgate very slowly and evenly.
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- This stone is not only pretty, but water drains more quickly through small stones and gravel, so it is good to use around the farm.
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- In some areas, Pete uses the tractor bucket to level and spread the gravel.
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- Here, Pete uses a landscape rake to spread and level the gravel to the edges of the road. This area is also high traffic, so it needs extra attention.
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- When maintaining a road it is important to ensure it has a crowned driving surface and a shoulder area that slopes directly away from the edge for water drainage.
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- Here is my Boxwood Allée after a new layer of native stone washed gravel was dropped. Maintaining a farm and property is hard work, but it is also very rewarding.
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