Fall to-Do list for my cold climate garden

I am ever so busy in the garden this time of year. So many tasks to get accomplished to both put my garden to sleep (metaphorically) for the year and to prepare for a wonderful spring!  I thought I would share the items on my list.

Fall Flower Garden To-Do List:

Add Mums for Fall Color

• Divide day lilies (trade with friends :) )
• Divide peonies
• Plant hardy mums (from friends or rescued from commercial sites)
• Remove annuals as they are spent
• Select any annuals for overwintering. (get tips on this blog entry)
• Collect fall flower seeds
• Prepare for winter sowing (cone flower, shasta daisy, gaillardia, salvia)
• Move perennials which were in containers into the garden
• Scour garden centers for plant sales 
• Clean out dead plants and leaves (to mulch) 
• Dig out hardy decorative grasses as needed to manage spread 
• Pick aster flowers for drying

Fall Garden To-Do List for Bulbs:

Fall - dividing time for iris

• Divide daffodils (note marked with yellow and white golf tees. Note, I mark the placement of bulbs in my garden with golf tees. Yellow for daffodils and red for tulips. When I think a clump is ready to be divided, I place a white golf tee there too. Then in the fall I know where to dig and not dig)
• Plant daffodils, tulips (mark with yellow and red golf tees respectively)
• Plant garlic
• Start drying down canna for storage
• Dig up begonia tubers for winter storage

Fall To-Do list for Shrubs and Trees:

• Prune off diseased, damaged or broken stems.
• Plant new shrubs
• Trim back long branches that may be broken by snow
• Stake down limbs of Japanese Maple for bark-over the winter (move into the spot you want the branch to be in when it is limber. As it barks over in the winter it should stay in that spot next year when you remove the line.)
• Fertilize those trees/shrubs not done in springtime
• Mulch in trees
• Cut down and remove invasives (buckthorn, honeysuckle, privet)

Fall To-Do list for Vines, Ground Cover & Ornamental Grasses:

• Propagate by layering the euonymus vines (make shallow cut in vine and bury it.)
• Cut back vines from house and shrubs
• Pull tender grasses for over-wintering indoors. See this blog for how-to
• Pull out invasives (buckthorn, poison ivy)

I love fall weather! So crisp and just a great time to be outside! Which is great because I know what I'm doing today, tomorrow, and the next day!

Today I'm singing and feeling Forever Autumn by the Moody Blues!

Enjoy

Teresa Marie
 

Review of Tour at "The Plant" vertical farm in Chicago

For some time I have been eager to get down to the Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood and tour The Plant - an experiment in vertical farming located inside an old meatpacking facility. How cool is that? Well - for me it turned out to be not so cool, it was an outing that I do not recommend at this time.  I bet in 3-5 years it will be an awesome venue.

OK - what I liked about it. The fundamental premise of the organization and the mission it serves. That's what got me there. I wanted to see the hydroponics lab too!

Let me give you an over view of the tour - which ran about an hour, and cost me $20 for my friend and I.

- Introduction (15 minutes) - in the lobby area I was provided an overview of The Plant organization and facility. The tour guide also educated visitors on the closed loop system and linkages between various parts of The Plant that are planned or anticipated future developments. Key here is future - much of The Plant facility is still in a state of disarray or construction. The introduction presented essentially the exact information which is available on the website. Visual aids were pages from printer taped to the wall. :(

- Review of future brewery location (10 minutes) - we walked to a large room, full of rubble, which will eventually house a brewery. Here there were posters on the wall discussing the principles of anaerobic digestion, and we were provided an overview on this science. We also looked out the windows to the vegetable garden below. 

The Plant, Chicago - hydroponic garden - 2013

- Tour through lower level - (12 minutes) he we walked by an area where mushrooms were grown. The door was shut, there was nothing to see.  We then went into the Hydroponic garden to see floating beds of lettuce and other greens and tanks that housed the tilapia.  There was another brief discussion of the principals of the vertical farm (same material reviewed previously).  While there were folks working here and discussion of the science and study occurring - we were not treated to any additional insight to their learnings. The set-up itself seems kludgy - well I'm used to touring manufacturing sites with lots of automation and sleek equipment, maybe this is as good as it gets.

Hydroponic greens - The Plant, Chicago

Fish tanks, Hydroponics garden, The Plant

- Tour of food production areas (20 minutes)  - Here we walked through old meat preparation areas and old smoking units.  We learned the plans of the organization for this space. I was hit by the very strong odor still remaining from the smokers. The most interesting part for me was that one of the individuals on the tour had worked at this facility back in the day when it was meat processing. His stories were excellent - if not a bit gory at the same time.  We saw two areas in current production of baked goods. This was a very lean operation for small scale production.  If you've toured the Eli's Cheesecake Factory here in town, you will understand the low volume nature of this test-kitchen.  

The Plant, Chicago - old smoker room. 2013

The Plant, Chicago, future shared kitchen space. 2013

- View of Anaerobic digester - look out the window to see the machine which we learned of earlier.  This will eventually be used to generate energy from food and plant waste material. Great idea! 

the Eisenmann anaerobic digester, The Plant

That was it. End of the tour. I had hoped to see more items in operation or to learn more about their findings.  I wanted to know more than I learned on the website. I was disappointed. That said - I do support the mission and direction The Plant is going.

If you do head to The Plant for a tour, pop around the corner to Garfield Park Conservatory afterwards for a bit of green, it will round out your day :) 

For some reason, singing the Oscar Mayer wiener song...

Teresa Marie

Harvesting Hydroponic Garden - The Plant

Behind the scenes at Garfield Park Conservatory - Spring 2013

This spring I had the opportunity to peek behind the scenes at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. The conservatory is over 100 years old - and the buildings behind it, on the Northside, are almost as old.  In the photo below you can see the conservatory (square shape with the (A) marked on it), the production greenhouses just north, and then just north again, in the blue box, are these working buildings.



Garfield Park Conservatory Grounds - Aerial View

The West Park System was the part of Chicago politic responsible for the conservatory.  This was before the formation of the Chicago Park District.  When the smaller conservatories in Douglas Park, Humboldt Park and Garfield Park were taken down a key element in the decision on where to place the larger "Jensen Conservatory" was the existence of the Power Plant building in Garfield Park.  The Power Plant is the eastern most building in this space.  It's got this great brickwork and high windows. Really pretty. It was constructed in 1896. That's some old architecture :)

In 1928, the West Park System built the "works" building adjacent to the Power Plant. Today it is used by the Chicago Park district for various trades.  The trade building was designed by Michaelsen and Rognstad, so it's affectionately called the M&R building.

Below are a few photos of a quick exploration of these old buildings.  The last two photos are from inside the M&R building looking back onto the Conservatory.  It was a really fun day and an interesting perspective that I'd never before experienced.  One portion of the works building houses the shop that makes signs for the Chicago Park District, that was pretty interesting. There is also a carpentry workroom - that smelled just amazing.

I kept thinking these would make great loft offices or apartment spaces. Or perhaps an awesome party venue?

I enjoy the rich history of Chicago and the Conservatory. Always something old to learn :)

Power Plant and M&R Building Garfield Park - 2013

Garfield Park Conservatory - Back Yard, 2013

 

View from M&R Bldg over back of Garfield Park Conservatory, 2013

View out of Woodshop window

Happy Exploring,

Teresa Marie

Up-cycling DIY Coffee Table - pallets, fence posts and fruit crates parts

Anyway, today I was inspired by this DIY project.

A friend quickly put together the frame of a box from pieces of a fruit crate and pallet. I liked the added detail of putting little handles on the sides. Then cut up a square post to make the legs. Viola - I have a new coffee table.  I brought this home and had to put my little touches on it.

I grabbed the hand sander and went over all the surfaces and edges to make sure that there were not rough edges or potential for slivers.  I also checked to see if it was level - which it wasn't, but a little sanding fixed that right up.  I was about to apply a coat of stain, but was halted by my daughter who liked it just the way it is.

DIY Coffee Table from Pallet & Crates

Pallet and fence-post Up-cycles Coffee Table

Quite rustic - and lovely for the sun room. It matches the end tables which are fruit crates :)  but not so much the Victorian couch. Well eclectic is nice right?

It all works for me!  Give this project a try.

Teresa Marie

Woodland Restoration - Adding in Mature Trees

One of my major projects is the restoration of a woodland adjacent to my house. I think I should start to call it a garden restoration, since as I've continued to clear away at the under-story of buckthorn, I'm finding more and more decorative plants. I've even found old wire supports for peonies which are sadly  all faded away.  I also found a new favorite wildflower - the privet. This year as I was clearing I came across 10 or so bushes in bloom. The fragrant is so wonderful! Can't wait until next year as these mature some more!

Anyway, the parcel I'm working with is approximately 294 ft long x 62 ft wide. It's the eastern portion of the woodlands that is closest to my house. That's right - it's 0.42 acres. Nearly a half acre that used to be someone's showcase garden, and is not trash.

Woodland restoration satellite view - google maps. 

In the photo to the left - this is the area between the two roughly horizontal roads and approximately three-quarters of the distance between the major road on the right-hand side, and the end of the photo on the left hand side.  I call this my "guerrilla garden."

The photo is wintertime clearly - so it's hard to see just how dense the trees are.  In the next photo below, the perspective is from the intersection in the lower right hand side looking back against this parcel. There is a little rock garden I carved out, a big overgrown rose bush, and a big burning bush (almost 12 feet tall!). Almost every thing else is buckthorn and poison ivy.

Before restoration, east side of woodland - looking west.

Happy days - removing buckthorn by the truck-full

I've started clearing from the south and east sides of the woodland (garden.) Mostly because this is the side that I see all the time!  For the past 10 years I've been planting the little saplings givin away for free on Arbor Day in this space. I think about half have thrived.

Nobody else in this neighborhood had the vision that I did for the restoration. This includes the owner of the land whose house is way off to the left hand side of the first photo (which is why they don't care about it at all.) Every time I was out there hacking away at the "trees" - someone would stop and complain, or I'd just get dirty looks. I generally have the buckthorn piled up in the street for pick-up so I have also gotten actual notes in my mailbox about what a mess I'm making in the neighborhood.  This sentiment was particularly acute when I had completely cleared the eastern side - the after clearing photo below. More open, light streaming through, room for growth....plus, the property owner was now so pleased she is begging me to keep going!

After clearing Buckthorn - wide open spaces

Digging a big hole for tree

It was pretty interesting watching them plant these trees.  They are to be planted in  a low area. I was worried about the quality of the soil. There were a few surprises. For example, we found lots of pavement chucks and stones. Looks like someones dumping ground for road work. :(  On the positive side, the soil is rich so we didn't need amendments.  The trees were planted to sit about 8-10 inches above ground level. This is because the water pools here with heavy rains and we wanted there to be some portion above water. Then soil was ramped away from the trunk to match the existing ground level. Then we applied mulch over that. Later I'll also apply a layer of wood chips.

In addition to these evergreen trees, I planted two serviceberry and one crab apple that I purchased at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance plant sale a few years ago.  In addition I had a few native plants from local sale - a button bush and two chokeberry. I also picked up a few items from close out a Lowes (distressed for $1 - $5 each ! Yeah)  These were three golden privet, and two mountain fire pieris. Lastly, I picked up some daylilies and hosta for free of craigslist and scattered these in front of the trees.  I had some leftover stone from a porch demo that I used to create a little pathway.  In fall I'll distribute the existing flowers from the left had side along the front as well.

June 2013 - Woodland Restoration with new trees

Taking the long view - I really hope the next owner is passionate about this garden. In the past few days as I've been out there working neighbors driving by have actually yelled "great job" as they fly by!  In a few years I'll start redistributing some of the saplings into the open spaces created by continued removal of buckthorn, dying elm and ash.  I envision my kids coming here years from now and showing their own children the "little trees" then cared for as a child - which should be reaching for the stars.

Dreaming big!

Teresa Marie