Saturday, October 10, 2015

Putting the Garden to Bed


We put the farm garden to bed a weekend ago.  No killing frost yet, which is most unusual.  Sue picked the remaining tomatoes.  I dug the last of the beets, pulled the rutabagas (not a good crop this year), and cut the remaining collards, which are still growing like everything.  I picked the last couple of the zucchini (what a run they’ve had this year), cut the last of the broccoli (also much better than average crop), and gathered up the remaining squash and gourds.

When we finished with the digging, pulling, cutting and gathering, we removed all the tomato and potato vines from the garden.  We had some late blight, and this is one way to keep the disease from the garden.

When this work was completed, Steve wrapped up the electric fence wire, and Paul pulled the little steel posts that had surrounded the garden.  Once more our two wire electric fence had successfully kept the deer (only one violation all summer), the turkeys and the raccoons away from our vegetables.

Now it was time to hitch the tractor to the disk and work all the remaining refuse into the soil—which Steve did.  He’s become the go-to-guy for driving the John Deere.  Once the ground was well worked, Steve and Sue broadcast winter wheat over the entire garden area.  Steve worked the wheat into the soil with the disk—and the job was done.  The garden is ready for winter.

With a little rain, the wheat will germinate, and the turkeys and the deer can feast on the new crop—our gift to them for keeping out of the garden all summer long.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Time to think of next year’s garden.

October 11, 10-12:00 a.m.  Heartland Forum, Chicago.

October 11, 4:00 p.m. Old World Wisconsin-Wisconsin Ag. History

October 12, 5:00 p.m. Coloma Historical Society.  Limping Through Life

October 15, 6:30 p.m. Prairie du Sac Library, Whispers and Shadows

October 17, 9-4 Teaching writing workshop at The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI

October 17, 4:30-6:00 p.m. The Clearing.  Book signing, Whispers and Shadows and Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.

October 23, 10-11:00 a.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum (on the square). Whispers and Shadows.  Wisconsin Book Festival.

October 23, 3:30 p.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium (On UW Campus) Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.  Wisconsin Book Festival.

October 25, 2:00 p.m. Schlitz Nature Center, Milwaukee with Boswell Books.  Whispers and Shadows.

October 29, Brown County Library.  Premier of TV Documentary,” The Land With Jerry Apps. “ Book signing, Whispers and Shadows.

November 1, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green. Ag History and Wisconsin Place Names (a Robert Gard book).
November 5, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Library, Whispers and Shadows.

November 7, Edgerton Book Festival, The Land (TV documentary) and Whispers and Shadows

November 10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.

November 12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium with Bellville Public Library.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History

November 14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.

November 15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church, The Land (TV documentary)  plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows.

November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  “Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow.

November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. (Time to be announced)
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.
Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street

Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

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