A SEMINAL NON-EVENT IN THIS YEAR’S GARDEN
No Drama
A seminal moment in the gardening year turned out to be thankfully anticlimactic. That moment was the arrival, on the morning of November 2nd, of the first fall frost. It turned out to be more than just a frost; it was a freeze, with temperature plummeting to a very chilly 22.7°F at 7:33 that morning. (I didn’t have to keep running outdoors to check my thermometer, but am able to monitor past temperatures recorded on my iPhone throughout days and nights with my handy Sensorpush.)
The cold weather had taken its time in arriving. Weather stations around the country have compiled the “average date for the first killing frost” for sites throughout the country. (Also the “average date for the last killing frost” for spring.) Where I farmden, that first frost date is October 22. That is an average; the chance of frost arriving sometime before early November is 80%, and the chance of that frost arriving by mid-October is 20%. Last week’s freeze was late.
Years ago, as a novice gardener, I planned my gardening around these published dates. I considered these averages fixed in stone. With global warming, those dates were officially amended. Messed me up for awhile until I realized that the complexity of the natural world makes it appear capricious. Read more
PRUNER SHEARS POISED AND READY
Why Now?
A strong urge this time of year, especially on clear, balmy days, has many gardeners wandering about their gardens with pruning shears in hand, clipping back old leaves and stems in an effort to tidy up the garden for the winter. In some cases, this clipping is good for the plants; in other cases it is not.
Topiary by Keith Buesig
One rationale for clipping stems and leaves off plants is to reduce certain pest problems next season. I’ll soon be cutting down all the old asparagus stems, usually waiting until they yellow and are anyway no longer “charging” the roots with energy. Cutting them all to ground level and composting the tops reduces the number of beetles present next spring. Read more
BIOCHAR
Enthusiasm
A couple of years ago a gardening friend shared with me her excitement about a biochar workshop she had attended. “I can’t wait to get back into my garden and start making and using biochar,” she said.
Biochar, one of gardening’s relatively new wunderkinds, is what remains after you heat wood — or other plant material such as rice husks, yard trimmings, or manure — with insufficient air. It’s akin to charcoal, although its physical characteristics vary with the kind of plant material, the amount of air during the burning, and the duration and intensity of the heat. 
Rather than releasing the carbon in wood or other material into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide by burning it or allowing it to decompose, the carbon in biochar remains locked up. Less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means less global warming.
And yes, biochar can be made at home — outdoors, because the process gives off Read more
