Fall in the garden: cover crops, clean-up, and garlic planting

We've been busy in the garden the last few weeks, harvesting the last bits, planting fall crops, and cleaning up. We had such a good experience growing garlic for the first time last season that we decided to triple our planting this fall--to one and a half of our 8x4 ft raised beds. We met some wonderful farmers--Matt and Cyndee of Matt-Cyn Farm--at the Corvallis Farmer's market when we visited a few months ago. We tried several of their unusual garlic varieties and enjoyed them so much that we asked if they would sell us some seed garlic. As you can see below, they obliged by sending us a box of beautiful specimens (hand-written note and all), and it feels so good to know exactly where our garlic came from.

Planting garlic is quite easy. My husband experimented with double-digging the bed prior to planting, but this isn't required. He worked in some compost and all-purpose organic fertilizer with the pitch fork, planted individual cloves in rows about 6 inches apart, and covered with 1-2 inches of soil. Then he covered with straw mulch (and the netting we use to keep neighborhood cats from using the bed as a litter box). The garlic will establish root systems this fall, rest through the winter, and grow in the spring until the 4th of July, when we'll harvest it. (See this summer's garlic harvest here).

Yesterday we did a bunch of garden clean-up--composting spent plants, weeding, etc. We let the chickens out for the first time in a long time and they were so happy to scratch around to find slugs and bugs. Now that our remaining edible crops are protected in beds, we can let the chickens roam without worrying so much about damage to our food (they are fond of crimson clover seed, though). They have been molting and looking a bit ragged these days. Hopefully the extra protein from their slug snack will help them along.

And we have a spider city forming in the back corner of the yard by the chicken coop. I counted nine webs in a 5x5 foot area. They're looking quite plump and healthy!

We also sowed cover crop seed this weekend. After we remove the spent summer plants from their beds, we loosen the soil with a pitch fork, broadcast seed, and cover with a little compost if we have it. Our favorite cover crop is crimson clover. I wrote a tribute to it (yes I love it that much) which you can read here if you're so inclined. Cover crops are wonderful because they reduce erosion, prevent weeds, add organic matter, and some even fix nitrogen in the soil.

The bed in the back has garlic covered by straw in one half, and crimson clover seed in the other half. The front bed has daikon radishes, mesclun mix, leeks, and carrots--all crops that thrive in these cool, wet days of autumn. We planted these veggies at the beginning of August, after we had harvested the garlic and carrots previously planted.

And amazingly, bees are still buzzing (though more slowly), and cosmos still blooming!