October 2024 garden update
Fall is upon us! Happy Halloween! Leaves are changing color quickly, and the warm weather this week gave us all the bonus opportunity to enjoy beautiful Fall. My garden is slowing down, but carrots, spinach, and romaine lettuce are still growing strong - and so are my herbal tea herbs!
Need a healthy potion on Halloween? Check out my “good witch’s brew tea” recipe here.
Sunflower contest winner: If you didn’t see our winner post, I’m elated to share that our neighbor Willow (age 5) won our first annual Croton Kids Garden Sunflower Contest. Check out her sunflower here. Congratulations Willow!! Thank you to everyone who participated and sent me the most enthusiastic messages - it was so fun to grow edible flowers with you! Let’s do it again.
Garden content for all seasons:
In years past, my gardening activities have hibernated through the holidays and early winter before seed starting for Spring begins. This year is a bit different! I’ll be keeping the gardening and learning going throughout the cold season. Please check out and subscribe to my new YouTube channel and brand new Instagram. I’ve been creating gardening shorts daily - there’s a lot more to come; please send me suggestions for anything you want to learn about at alexandra@crotonkidsgarden.com. I’m also brewing up some ideas for more local classes in the cold season. More to come soon!
Tea harvests: I’ve been rapidly harvesting as much sage, tulsi (holy basil), anise hyssop, mountain mint, raspberry leaf, peppermint, chocolate mint, thyme, rosemary, and lemon balm as I can. I like to preserve herbal tea herbs for use all Fall and Winter using a dehydrator indoors, but this year, I’m also trying the ice cube method. Lots of my tea videos on Youtube.
Soon it will be just the beginning again - starting new annuals, watching perennials reappear!
Garlic soon:
2024 Garlic: I planted a generous crop of garlic last Fall, and I was rewarded with a beautiful summer harvest. I loved the garlic, but I equally loved harvesting, sharing, enjoying the garlic scapes that came out of it in early June. My 2024 garlic harvest video is here.
If you haven’t planned a garlic garden yet…it’s not too late for this year!
What to plant?
Garlic seed! Resist using garlic you have in the house from the grocery store - ideally, use organic garlic from a seed company. I’m planting Organic Italy Hill Giant Ivory Gardneck Garlic - can’t wait!
The seed company I buy from just changed their operations, but I’ve had success with other crop seeds from Hudson Valley Seed Company and have heard good things about High Mowing Seed company in Vermont. Love another regional seed company? Let me know! Always want to test new seeds.
When to plant? With these warmer temperatures we’ve had, best to wait on planting garlic. I always follow the plant between Halloween and Thanksgiving mantra. Last year, I planted on November 4 which worked well - every year is different! Follow my YouTube and Instagram for garlic planting instructions in next few weeks.
Greens for Fall and Winter: This year I focused on some simple greens - cold-resistant butterflay spinach and flashy trout back romaine. I’m hoping to keep these going in the garden so I can have fresh greens in salads through these cold months - let’s see how long they grow! I’m finding the best cold frame/greenhouse setup to meet my gardening needs and help me achieve some all-season garden goals in 2025 - excited to find that perfect fit!
2024 Season Garden Wins:
It was a great garden season. I was traveling for much of July and got to see how much some garden planning, plant biodiversity in the garden, automatic watering, and mother nature’s touch can help the garden grow with no day-to-day maintenance. Click through below to see the plants in-action!
Ground cherries - I finally had luck growing these from seed in the garden! The plant really took over the garden bed, so I’m not positive I’ll grow again, but the tropical taste and perfect snack size might push me to go for it again in 2025, with a different location.
Circus peppers - I loved these! They are easy-to-grow, space-efficient, and delicious snacks for the whole family.
Summer sweetheart tomato - What a fantastic two-bite tomato! This was second year growing these in the garden, and my first year growing them with my Croton Kids Garden classes. Great in containers, great in the ground. Easy abundance and health.