2024 October Edition
Tall and (Small) Tales from the Great Basin of Northeast Nevada
October is the best month to enjoy those beautiful fall colors. In the hustle and bustle of life, it is great to slow down a bit and notice the changing of the colors. Trees and shrubs spend a few weeks changing their green outfits into colors of reds, oranges, and yellows before they bare it all for the winter.
News from the garden
October officially puts us in the season of fall! One of the greatest times of the year, although spring can be a close second. Saving that debate for another day! Anyway, October gets here right when we are ready for it and as October ends, get ready to kick off the holiday season. Long story short, it is time to hunker down and enjoy the views
Innovations and Ideas
This time of year, you may be harvesting corn or see corn on the cob on sale at your local grocery store or farmer’s market. Here is a fun craft to do with those left over cobs. Dry them out, add a stick, wrap in gauze, and then paint with fun glow in the dark paint or colors of your choice. Glue on eyes and mouth and you have some fun ghosts to add to your Halloween décor…they can be a boo-tiful addition!
Inner Work
Since October can remind us, it is ok to slow down and the cold will be arriving in the coming months, it is ok for us to rest and relax a bit. Also make sure you check your wiper fluid and have a bag in your trunk for emergencies. 😊 Nature sometimes tries to tell us things and one of those things is take a rest and find beauty in your surroundings. Resting your mind is often more important than resting your body, resting can also reduce stress and anxiety, improve immunity, and inspire ideas!
Plants in Science:
Weeds, ok a weed is just a plant in a spot where we do not want it, but most farmers and gardeners agree there are plants considered weeds. One interesting concept to lower the spread of those unwanted plants is to consider No-Till Gardening. Dirt that remains undisturbed or minimally disturbed is less likely to sprout an abundance of weed seeds that may be buried! If you notice tumbleweeds growing near the shoulder of the road, but not so much as you venture further off the road it is likely due to the disturbance of the dirt near the road. Clearing a plot and tilling an area for a garden in a common practice, but be prepared to mitigate some weeds with this method.
If you are a beginning gardener, No-Till gardening allows you to disturb only small areas of land, this method keeps the soil as intact as possible which means the weed seeds stay buried and all beneficial soil organisms to continue to do their thing.
A few key benefits of the No-Till method include:
· Higher yields
· Less physical labor
· Few weeds – hip hip hooray!!
· Less Erosion
· Improved moisture retention
Last, but not least: Bulbs
If you love the pop of color that daffodils, crocus, and tulips provide in the early spring you are going to want to plant those bulbs in October. You can find a good selection of bulbs in the gardening section of most stores this time of year or if you have a friend that is clearing some from their yards see if you can rehome them. Bulbs can be put directly in the ground before it freezes or you can also put them into containers.
You don’t need to visit Amsterdam to enjoy tulips, they come in a plethora of colors and styles, so use your imagination when planting.
Daffodils are also a hearty spring flower, they come out early and like the tulip and crocus they are guaranteed to add a smile to your face, especially coming out of a hard winter.
Beholding beautiful purple crocus pop up through the snow in early spring can be one of the greatest joys in life, crocus are fun to plant here and there in your lawn, they pop up early and are usually done blooming by the first mow.
Moral of the story: Plant some bulbs this month and you will be guaranteed a few smiles come spring!
Kommentare