The Marigold Potager – A Zone 3 Prairie Garden

I’ve been keeping an eye on the forecast as I go about prepping the garden for winter. The snowflakes have disappeared on the long term forecast, but minus degrees are still there, and coming up soon. Eek! I really , really need another 2 weeks to get all the yardwork done. Crossing my fingers!

We had stuff come up this weekend… family stuff of a few different kinds so were gone all day Sunday and got absolutely nothing done at home. Not even sending out this Bits post. Stuff just happens sometimes.

Not to worry, everyone is healthy and fine! Just a bit more stuff on our plate… and everything needs to be done over the next 2 weeks. Things are crazy busy over here. How are you guys making out?

Check out how lovely my compost is! We finally got our tumbling composter emptied and moved over to a full sun location for faster compost next year. This compost (I got two big pails of it) is being used in the front yard, for the new perennials and alliums. That soil is rock hard with clay and completely depleted of all nutrients.

In the picture at the top of the page, you can see that while everything else broke down nicely, the webbing that forms peat pucks ( I don’t use them) and the little plant plugs (you see them in pots of flowers in spring, from when growers planted the small plug into a larger pot).

Garden Stuff

Are your brussels ready to harvest for the Thanksgiving Day table? Mine are still If they are on the smaller side this year due to the hot, dry summer. I have been watering them once or twice a week lately to keep them growing while the weather is still nice. Brussels sprouts tolerate frost just fine, and even snow, so I am in no hurry to harvest.

I will grow them in a bed with weeping hoses next year, rather than wand watering. I am just not reliable enough to water them often enough, or long enough. Weeping hoses make my gardens, and my life, so much better, honestly.

Lemon and lime trees. For those of you who are growing these, try to keep them in a heated greenhouse, sunroom, someplace where they can stay at 5 to 10°C (40 to 50°F) in a bright location.

If you bring them indoors, they will likely perish. If your leaves are curling or dropping, they are too wet or in too hot and dry of a location. Try the spare bedroom that you can cool, turn off the heating vents, beside the bright window. Stick your finger in the soil, if dry two inches down, then you water. Most of the time, I only water once a month in winter. Feed now with a slow release citrus food, or this one, and then again in February.

Check for scale and bugs before you bring them in. I like to wash them down with a cloth and soapy water, scrub the main stem and branches with a soft nail brush or dish brush and soapy water.

These Great Links…

The alliums in this article look so good! Hopefully mine look that good by my front pathway. The kitchen island and sink are super dreamy, too. All the pictures in this read are worth a good browse!

How to lift and store your glad corms.

This fall garden clean up guide is a pretty good one!

These 3 easy things you can do this fall to improve your soil for next year. Great article. I must add that if you want a pest free garden next summer, wait till a good freeze before you do the second one!

How to clean your greenhouse. You want to do it in fall or spring. I usually do it in fall as I want to be ready to roll in spring. A clean, algae and bug free greenhouse is a must.

Are you still in planting mode? Me, too! Just a few more things to move and plant and then I am done for the year. Wondering how much to water? Here is a good article about how to take care of your newly planted garden. Please, please, no shallow daily waterings! Yikes!

Recipes

My son’s favourite food is beef stroganoff. Of course, both his sister and I are veggies, so hubby always makes us a mushroom stroganoff instead. This recipe looks yummy. Not sure if it is as good as hubby’s is, but here is a secret tip when making any kind of strogie… julienne some pickles into it and a splash of pickle juice. It will be the best strogie you have ever eaten.

These cute fall simmering pot ideas to make your house smell amazing, in a natural way. Pop them into cute jars like shown in the picture above, and give them as gifts for the holidays, or as a housewarming gift (like I plan to).

I have been making my sourdough recipes, and baking from my European recipe books for years without having a decent scale. I had an old manual one that we got about 25 years ago, and have just been making do with that. I always ended up with more flour than the recipe called for, more everything. By some weird magic, the recipes by and large all turned out really well. Well.. last week, I decided to get myself a new digital scale that measures down to just a few grams! I made some of that yummy caraway rye bread, and wouldn’t you know it? No extra flour needed! First time ever! So… get yourself a new scale. This one even has the batteries included.

Homey Bits

I’m on the lookout for new flannel sheets as fall comes ever closer. I love, love, love the luxe cooling sheets that we have been using all summer. They are soft, cuddly, great if you get night sweats, but nothing beats flannel in winter, eh? I’m looking for flannel sheets that look great, are not plaid, not full of evergreen trees, or animals… just, well, you know… flannel that is cosy and warm in the winter, but looks good, too.

Flannel sheets / Floral flannel Sheets / Super Soft, Cosy Flannel Sheets

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Candles in a Jar / Natural Rustic Tea Towels / Swedish Dish Cloths

Rope basket / Gold measuring cups/spoons / Cutting board w. handle / Cutting board oil

We are heading to my son’s new house for Thanksgiving on the weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving) and besides bringing them some of my mom’s furniture from the farm and a bit of homemade baking, I am wanting to put together a housewarming basket for the young couple, too.

These are some of the ideas that I have for them (check out the awesome pattern on the Swedish dish cloths, eh? – so cute!) Thinking one can also never go wrong with a bottle of olive oil and a cosy plush throw. Here is a link to 15 gift basket ideas, and this one with a printable gift tag. Oh, the cutting board oil was my brother’s idea. He uses it regularly to keep his boards in tip top shape.

So, these are the things on my mind this week as I give mom’s old teak furniture a bit of loving, try to keep up with the doghair in the house, clean out the gardens, do some baking, wash up the outdoor furniture and stuff to put away for winter, empty the rest of the planters (cannas are going into the cold room for the winter)…

I hope you’re having a lovely week leading up to Thanksgiving~ Tanja