Fall is upon us, the garden is winding down for the season. Or is it? There are ways to keep it going for a bit longer, until the snow flies if you're wise.

September 15 2025

Fall gardening can be much calmer than the spring time version. Lazy warm fall days and cooler nights mean that there's less watering. If you saved some of your rainfall in barrels, you may find that it goes a lot further. Collecting rain water off your roofs means that your well doesn't get used as much. Using the well water for household use is the best, especially if you pay for the power to run the pump, and if you have some kind of filtering system.

Ours is an ultraviolet light system, so buying new bulbs and filters every year can get costly. I like using the captured rain water for indoor plants too, if I can save some in one gallon jugs in the dark so they don't get algae growing in them. Probably boiling the water before storing it would help with that. Still thinking about it.

The biggest thing in the garden right now is the compost which has been quietly rotting down over the summer. Time to turn it and assess it, as we move it from one part of the stacking composting system to the other. The way we have it now is with boards covering the top to keep birds, skunks and dogs out of it. This means that it hasn't rotted down as well as in other seasons, so it might need more time. I do the supervising, Mike does the turning. We're a good team, and even if we're slow, we get it done. There's no rush!