This gardening year is drawing to a close and this years wandering aimlessly’s season is just opening up. We have about 4500 garlic in the ground.  We had to create new beds this year, as garlic needs a 3 year crop rotation. So we needed to create about 1000 square feet of new bedding. 

We took out a lot of raspberries to make more room for garlic. We got 4 loads of donkey manure from the Donkey refuge https://turtlevalleydonkeyrefuge.com.  What a great place, check out the pictures.  We decided this year to be extremely generous with our manure, so each bed got nice and thick (3 year aged) manure.  WE WANT BIG GARLIC next year.

We then put KRAFT paper on top of the beds, (the paper is to keep down the weeds),and then put fresh wood chips down on top.  We had to cut down a few Fir trees this year that were too close to our house (fire concerns) and we got all the limbs chipped, hence the fresh wood chips.

Then we were “gifted” a load of leaves from our neighbour, who usually burns them. We convinced him that we could make MUCH better use out of them by tucking our garlic under them for the winter. (we did NOT tell him that composting leaves is better for the environment as well)

PRESTO….  covering up all the garlic beds with a thick layer of leaves. NOW the garlic is ready for the winter. Some years we get a hard frost, and the ground freezes, before it snows, which is not good for the garlic. So all of what we have done here is to provide some insulation. The garlic is technically under 8 inches of stuff, much  less likely to freeze down there. In the spring when it starts to warm, we will move a lot of this “mulch” away from the garlic so it will not make them too wet.

Of course I need to keep track of which type of garlic is where…. this is my complex record keeping “program”.

Another new process we have started this year, out of sheer desperation for controlling weeds, is to use the thick landscape fabric on top of the ground with the plans to move it when we want to “rotate crops”  My theory is that the “carcasses” of the  weeds and plants under the fabric, die and then compost in place.  So when we move the fabric the soil will be enriched and weed free. So everything that is not planted is covered.

We have also been working on Motorhome, “customizing” it.   For the past year, we have been largely camping in places without hookups, essentially going solar. SOOO we have not used the large convection/microwave since we put in the stove/oven.  Sadly I did not get a very good “before” picture, but this is picture of the stove/oven with the convection microwave above it.

Ken has taken it out, and created a beautiful motorhome “pantry”.  Which holds an amazing about of stuff.  He does such beautiful work 🙂 

Ken has also been working hard to make sure that nothing goes wrong with the motorhome, here checking the tires…..lubing what needed lubing to keep us on the road.

Of note, check out the beautiful deck he built this summer, then we wanted an awning, so he went to Craigs list and found an awning perfect for our house….50$.  Now we can sit out on our deck, and pretend we are in a French Cafe. 🙂

Our “other” new feature this year is the jeep wrangler we are now towing.

Now we are down in Kelowna in the pouring rain, which is always the way we spend the first days of camping each fall.  Fortunate to have Josh, our son, looking after the house for the winter.    Much love to all who choose to follow us, and our obsessive life.  Janet