N&C Midwest—November/December 2021

Wow, weather taking a dive here this week but it is November!  I can’t believe how fast the summer went!  I need to mend my cold frame, the fiberglass top has a section that broke.  I might need to replace the entire top but I’m going to try to use packing tape to keep it going until next year.  

Next up here is garlic for the overwinter.  Is there anything else that we plant now and harvest next year?

I picked kale yesterday - then have beets, garlic and leeks still under a fleece cover.  Some to protect and some to keep squirrel out of my pots.  Little stinker likes the loose soil in the containers.

You have real winters up there.

It's nice when one can get all the beds completely ready for winter before the weather stops cooperating.

I still have some small beds to work on. The others are planted in winter crops, garlic or strawberries. Two beds have to be rebuilt, one because the plywood bottom finally rotted and the other is the experimental bed set at ground level on cement board. The cement board worked great but I can't risk having a bed on the ground after what I went through with my back this summer. Of course, my days are well above freezing and I only have to deal with the wet fog we are having. The damp chill just works through the layers of clothes.

sanderson wrote:It's nice when one can get all the beds completely ready for winter before the weather stops cooperating.

I still have some small beds to work on.  The others are planted in winter crops, garlic or strawberries.  Two beds have to be rebuilt, one because the plywood bottom finally rotted and the other is the experimental bed set at ground level on cement board.  The cement board worked great but I can't risk having a bed on the ground after what I went through with my back this summer.  Of course, my days are well above freezing and I only have to deal with the wet fog we are having.  The damp chill just works through the layers of clothes.

I have been waiting to hear how your cement boards worked.  How long did they last.  If you built another bed that was raised off the ground, would you use the cement boards.  Wasn't there some comment from you about the best cement boards to use.

Yes, I would use "cementy" cement board again.

I used a "cementy" cement board, not a green board.  See photo.  The 2' x 8' bed needs to be raised off the ground because of my back, so I will be able to check the boards that were set on the ground.  Either post- Thanksgiving or in the spring.  I have no complaints with this on-the-ground use of the "cementy" cement board.  I will be using a double layer of "cementy" cement board and top with 3 mil plastic.  It will be supported by cement blocks with only 1' gaps.  It will simulate a bed set on a patio.    


I used a double layer of cememtry cement boards for the bottom of a new table top bed this spring.  (Red arrow) The bed is lined with durable weed fabric to keep in the Mel's Mix.  It drains fine. I am concerned that over time the cement boards will be soggy and sag between the cement blocks, but so far, so good.

I need to replace the plywood bottom of one of the original table top beds that is "leaking like a sieve."  I will be using a double layer of cement boards and covering it with 3 mil plastic.  There is a support frame underneath but it has 2' spans as it was made to support a plywood bottom.  Again, it will simulate a bed set on a patio.  This photo is from a another bed but it shows the type of under support for the plywood bottom beds.

Looks good, sanderson!

I have one table top bed on my apartment patio, but could use another on the other side.. or maybe to make an L leaving a small entry.  Trying to utilize the small space to the best of my advantage.  Right now, Tomato plants go in large individual pots.

I don’t have any table tops, but do put my tomatoes in big containers.  I actually rotate stuff in my containers but they work really nice for the tomatoes!

Starting to receive some catalogs!

I got one from Seed Savers Exchange today. 

Right now, I put up a suet feeder and a few other feeders for the birds and have been enjoying them in lieu of being able to garden.

I bought a platform feeder last year, that is a bird magnet!   I don’t fill it every day, I’d go broke!  But I do put some yummy treats up there a couple times a week when I can enjoy them.

Oh, my!

OhioGardener wrote:We have had to temporarily suspend feeding the birds. We have become overrun with hawks and a pair of Bald Eagles that were dining on the songbirds that were partaking of our feeders.  We miss watching the birds at the feeders, but the hawks still visit several times a day to see if there are any stragglers hanging around that they can feast on.

Oh my gosh!  I have seen a sharp shinned hawk around here before, but he’s most interested in the bunnies and squirrels.  There are no predators other than the occasional raptor.  I haven’t seen him since I accidentally hit a bunny nest mowing.  It was awful.

How awful that must have been. In all ways.

sanderson wrote:  How awful that must have been. In all ways.

You cannot imagine.  My neighbor was out too.  Never ever do I hope to repeat that.  So awful