Oct. 27, 2022: Wet and Mild

(image courtesy of hartono subagio via pixabay.com)

Thursday, October 27, 2022

First Quarter Moon Waxing in Scorpio

Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus Retrograde

Celtic Tree Month of Ivy

Cloudy and mild

We’ve had weird weather the past few days, sometimes going up into the 70’s. Bands of rain come through, then it’s bright, sunny, and humid, more like spring than autumn.

The tomato plants are loving it; like I said: tomatoes for Christmas.

We haven’t finished rearranging the front porch and bringing in the last of the plants out of the back because we want them to enjoy the last bit of warmth until spring.

But temperatures are supposed to dive down in the next few days, so we’ll bring in the geraniums and anything else that needs warmth, and setting up the plants that need the cooler weather on the front porch.

I forgot the plant the bulbs yesterday, although with the warmth, that might be a good thing. According to my calendar, the next planting day isn’t until November 3. (I have a Llewellyn calendar that notes planting days and harvest days).

I’m sure I’ll spend some time arranging and rearranging plants over the winter, as the light shifts. We’re lucky to have wonderful, large windows with lots of natural light. Unlike the neighbors, who keep blinds and curtains drawn tightly shut, we  open up in the day to let the sun in.

I miss having a philodendron, so I’ll get another of those at some point over the winter, and maybe a couple of other typical houseplants, too.

We are already talking about what we want to plant next season, so I can order the seeds in January.

Looking ahead at weather predictions, we’re supposed to get snow starting the first week of December this year (it didn’t start until January last winter). The cats are all very fluffy, so I think we’re in for a harsh winter.

How are you putting your garden to bed? Or, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, how’s your garden waking up?

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Thurs. Oct. 20, 2022: Frost

image courtesy of Perez Vocking courtesy of pixabay.com

Thursday, October 20, 2022

4^th Quarter Waning Moon in Leo

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus retrograde

Celtic Tree Month of Ivy

A little cloudy and cold

We’ve had frost several times in the past week, although it’s supposed to go back up to the 60s over the weekend. Plant rearranging time has come. By Sunday, we will move more plants in from the front porch, such as the geraniums, and probably bring in the last few from the back balcony and put them on the front porch for the winter.

We have to sort out the different pots, too, and figure out where we can store them.

The tulip, daffodil, and hyacinth bulbs arrived, and we will plant them on the next planting day, which is Wednesday. They will live out on the front porch all winter. In spring, when they come up, they will go out on the back balcony.

Pretty soon, we have to sit down and figure out what seeds we want to plant next year. I think we’ll focus more on medicinal herbs, and maybe some zinnias.

Although. . .the tomatoes are suddenly growing like gangbusters. Go figure.

The trees are absolutely gorgeous. The colors are spectacular.

How’s your garden?

Thurs. Oct. 13, 2022: Larch

image courtesy of sergei_spas via pixabay.com

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Third Quarter Moon Waning in Taurus

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus Retrograde

Celtic Tree Month of Ivy

Cloudy and cold

We’ve had frost, which means the foliage is finally turning. I’ve become rather fascinated and obsessed by larch trees. Their color is such a vivid orangey yellow. I wasn’t familiar with them before moving here, other than hearing the name. I should have been familiar with them: I grew up in Rye, NY and took ballet in Larchmont, NY, which was named for larch trees. But I didn’t realize it at the time.

We’re watering the plants inside, letting the annuals outside finish, and then we’ll dig them out and take in the pots. The porch is still warm and lovely in the afternoon, sort of like a greenhouse, since we keep it shut all night until it’s warm enough to open the doors.

The cats love spending the afternoon on the porch. Tessa, in particular, is determined to wring out every last moment on the porch before it’s shut for the winter.

I’m having trouble with the tulip bulb order. That’s what I get for ordering from John Scheeper’s instead of Color Blends, with whom I had good experience. I wanted smaller quantities than Color Blends sells, so I went to Scheeper’s, and their customer service is awful (and ableist). So we might not have any bulbs after all. I’ve been trying for over a week to fix the issue. I keep getting the emails, and I respond, and they ignore them. It’s a simple fix that could be done in 2 minutes, if anyone on their customer service staff gave a damn. Not doing business with them again.

What a shame. I was so looking forward to having tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths again next year. And it’s too late to order from anywhere else.

Anyway, I’m getting ready to hunker down for the winter. Virus numbers are going up again, there aren’t enough protocols in many places, so I will not put myself in dangerous situations.

Oh, and tomato update: the plants are growing the way they should have been in June. Go figure. Tomatoes for Christmas, I guess?

Hope things are going well in your garden!

Thurs. Oct. 6, 2022: In Stasis, in Fog

image courtesy of Joe via pixabay.com

Thursday, October 6, 2022

2^nd Quarter Waxing Moon in Aquarius

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus Retrograde

Foggy and mild

It’s been foggy/rainy/dreary for over a week now. Not much is going on at the garden front. A few plants are still out on the back balcony. The black-eyed Susan vine, morning glory, and moonflower are in their last stretch. When they are finished, I will dig out anything left and put away the pots for winter.

The plants we brought into the house and/or moved to the front porch are doing well. We shut the porch off at night, because it gets cold, and open it about mid-morning. Often, it’s like a greenhouse out there.

Temperatures have gone down, and we’ve had frost advisories, but no actual frost yet. While some of the leaves are turning, there hasn’t been that pop of color yet, and business are worried that it will be a dull leaf-peeping season.

I need to update the notes in the plant journal. Soon, it will be time to decide what to plant for next year. We’ll try some different things, since we had such a hard time with some of what we tried this year.

The tomato plants started growing, after staying small shoots all summer, so I don’t know what’s going on there, but we’ll see.

We’re in the process of putting up the Halloween/Samhain decorations. I can’t believe how close we are to Christmas already. I’m already thinking in terms of holiday cards.

How are things where you are?