How do you make your garden cleaning chores more fun?

[Tania]

This is a time again for garden cleaning. The long and cold rain we had over the weekend destroyed my container tomato garden on the deck - all tomatoes not covered were dying from late blight in just a short day, and I pulled them last night.

I did not weigh the harvest, but I probably got about 100 lbs of green tomatoes from these plants last night. Most of them I think will color up inside, as they are full sized green fruits. It has been the most disappointing year for tomatoes I remember. I did not have time to check my GH tomatoes yesterday, but I am hoping they are still holding up and will deliver a few more ripe fruits in the next couple of weeks...

Needless to say I found this cleaning episode very disappointing and stressful, because I was so hopeful these plants will finally get to ripening stage in a week or so. And I generally do not enjoy garden cleaning in the fall , especially if this activity coincides with the end of my vacation

How do you do make your garden cleaning more pleasant? Please share your tips and tricks!

Tania

[akgardengirl]

Well, it sure helps to clean up in sunny weather which we are having a small stretch of. It would of been nice to have had this weather during the growing season! All my tomatoes are off the plants and I am just waiting for the pots to dry out to recycle the potting mix into a garbage can. I guess I don't have any new tricks to show you Tania.
Sue

[mdvpc]

ipod or ipad music blaring

[Tania]

Michael,

That's a good one!

Sue, sunshine is badly wanted here... The forecast says we are getting a couple of non-rainy days.

I also wish I could 'picture' the new healthy spring garden there, while I am cleaning the current mess. Seeding winter crops should help that , perhaps?

Tania

[carolyn137]

I keep my gardening cleanup of everything, including the perennial flower beds, more fun and pleasant by letting someone else do it.

[Tania]

Or no!!! Carolyn, how can you trust someone else with this very important activity???

I know if I ask my MIL to help without my personal supervision, I'd be putting my tomato patch at serious risk of some diseased debris not properly removed and disposed of. Perhaps I am being too paranoid?

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Tania

Or no!!! Carolyn, how can you trust someone else with this very important activity???

I know if I ask my MIL to help without my personal supervision, I'd be putting my tomato patch at serious risk of some diseased debris not properly removed and disposed of. Perhaps I am being too paranoid?

Tania, I have to trust Freda to do everything and I am not a shy and passive person and she isn't either and in addition she's stubborn as well, so if you were looking on at one of the discussions that Freda and I have you wouldn't stop laughing b'c I'll say please do that, she'll say that's NOT the way we did it at home, please use about a 1/4 cup of that, she'll say I think it needs more, I'll say please take off the foliage with any spots on it and she'll say OK, but that won't stop new infections, but the
one that really got to me was when she brought up some of her own tomatoes she'd planted for canning and they had internal BER, all of them, and she wouldn't believe it until I came back here, pulled out my disease book and showed her the pictures.

Sheesh. And I'm the one paying her. But she's a treasure and I'd be lost without her, truly, and we do get along about 90% of the time.

[Tom C zone 4/5]

Do autumnal cleaning when the sun comes out, set up a nice Bloody Mary as you like it and take breaks.

[johnbro2]

BEER and lots of it.

[RinTinTin]

Diseased plants go first - to the burn pit.
Chipper/shredder (with bag) goes to the garden. Everything gets fed in, and the bags get emptied into a new compost pile.
Quick hoe and broadcast the cover crop...hope for some timely rains.
Break out the catalogs, and dream of spring.

[barkeater]

Nothing better than a beautiful dry and sunny fall day when I'm going to rake up leaves, White Russians and some good foot-stomping bluegrass on the boom box. Then when the garden is clear I dump on all the leaves, start the bonfire, make more White Russians and play more bluegrass and repeat until the leaves or Kahlua are consumed>

[ContainerTed]

This year with my new first time in the ground garden, I think I'll jerk the plants to the burn pile. Then I'll run the mower thru the remaining weeds. Later on, I'll spread mulched leaves and some composted cow manure and get the whole thing plowed. All this takes place with a couple or four 24 can cases of Natural Ice - each served in a frosty mug.

If the beer runs out, then it's back to the old standby - four fingers of vodka with a percoset chaser. Takes the pain away every time.

Ted

[Linda10]

Tania,

I break it up into smaller tasks on my checklist. After I have completed each task, I'll give myself a treat!

For example, if it is really dirty work like pulling out plants, I'll give myself a time limit and know that after that job is done I can have a quick shower followed by a nice soak in the tub while reading and enjoying a cold drink. The treat has to be something that you seldom take the time to do for yourself.

[Tania]

Too bad I hate beer... I'd go for a few martini drinks, but unfortunately we do not have any booze at home, as my men do not drink at all... so you get a picture of my misery

RinTinTin, you sound so organized!

barkeater, the way you are describing your chores sounds very calming and enjoyable.

Ted, too funny - I can picture you after the exercise...

Linda,
What a lovely idea! I will think about trying it out some day, when I am not too busy between my real job, piano lessons, and the garden work...

I did my 3 hrs of pulling tomato plants and picking more green fruits this evening, and treated myself with a big bowl of tomato salad with fresh arugula, baby cucumbers and garlic, all home-grown, of course. It was a treat!

I do not feel too bad anymore - I guess this is the end of the tomato season for me, and not the end of the world . A month earlier than I would have expected, but this happens sometimes. There are still plenty of sweet peppers in the plastic cold frames that will be ripening in the next few weeks.

Cleaning tomato GHs will be a major chore... including cleaning the plastic and the wire support, removing soaker hoses that need to be repaired, weeding, spreading horse manure, and finally planting winter rye and field peas. I am hoping I can do that before mid-October - with my son's help I think this is doable, even if I am back to work now, after a month long vacation.

Tania

[habitat_gardener]

For me, any time I can spend in the garden is fun, even if it's pulling out tomato plants earlier than I would have liked. I can garden year-round here with planning, which means that if I have transplants ready to go this time of year, there's still time for them to get big enough to survive the winter. So every plant that comes out is an opportunity to plant something else. Usually I let the tomatoes linger too long, hoping for a weather miracle, before the first frost gets them at the beginning of December.

Last week I pulled out a Brandysweet Plum that never tasted good, and in its place I'm going to plant the peas that I started a couple weeks ago. It looks like I may have at least a couple others ready to pull, so I have to start some radishes or lettuces or brassicas, if I have time.