How does your garden grow: October

In September I started harvesting and then pulling out plants that were finished producing and putting them in a compost pile or feeding to the cows. In the past I have let the garden keep growing until the weather put an end to it. But that has always left the gardening work for winter time and I never wanted to go out in the rain to work so I just left it.

I like this system better. It's enjoyable to be out right now, so I just do a little here and there.

I moved the compost bin into the garden area. It made more sense to have it in the garden.

Last weekend I pulled out the rest of the nasturtiums and fed them to Blossom, Duke and Blank (the cows). Then my son got to work with his pitchfork.

Didn't he do a great job? He covered most of the garden with a fresh layer of straw. It doesn't have to be fresh straw, if we had leaves that would work great, but we don't. It was easier to use straw. Just some sort of mulch to prevent grass and weeds from growning in the winter/spring time. Come spring you can just rake off the beds and you have beautiful dirt to plant in.

If you have any sort of manure (horse, cow, goat, sheep, rabbit, chicken) now is a perfect time to put it on the beds before covering with mulch. Remember this post? Well, that is now on my garden!

Or last spring when the boys were going to start a business selling manure? It lasted about 1 hour. Well, I collected their piles and a few of my own and hauled them to a designated pile. It sat all summer. Now that pile is on my garden too.

So you get the idea.

The more the merrier.

All that is left are my tomato plants and the sunflowers. After they are finished we will pull them out and cover their area with straw.

The gals are hanging their head pretty low these days. I think it's getting close to harvest time for sunflower seeds.

So when do you harvest sunflowers? The seeds are getting ripe when the shaggy heads hang low and their backs turn brown. In warm, dry weather, seeds ripen just fine in the garden. If mice or birds are raiding your crop, staple a mesh or paper bag over each head that you don't want to share.

In rainy years, cut off each head with 2 feet of stalk and place in a cool, dry place to ripen. That can be surprisingly heavy work, and stalks that are tough and thick may need to be sawed through.

Sunflower seeds are ready when they develop cream and black stripes and they wiggle like a kid's loose tooth. To set them free, bake the whole heads in a very slow oven (100 to 125 degrees) for several hours. Leave the door open a crack and check every hour or so. When you can easily brush out the seeds, they're done.

Spread newspaper on a work space, then rub the seedheads to release the seeds. If your fingers get sore, tap the back of each head lightly with a mallet or hammer and the seeds will pour out.
Save a few sunflower heads to share with the birds this winter. Hang one near your feeder and watch the birds enjoy the treat.

Soak snack seeds in salted water overnight. Drain well and place in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets. Bake at 200 degrees until crisp (usually two to three hours). To keep them fresh, store seeds in sealed glass jars for up to three months.

To save seed for growing next year, place uncooked seeds in a glass jar. Add a scrap of paper towel to absorb any remaining moisture and seal the jar tightly. Store in a cool, dark, dry place, and sow next summer when the ground is warm (usually the end of May).

I found all this info here.