WHAT ARE THE forward-looking steps in your fall yard routine—a really highly effective duties you are taking now to get your yard tucked in, that mainly cope with success subsequent 12 months? Over on the part-farm, part-garden of Lee Reich throughout the Hudson Valley of New York State, his emphasis is on setting up soil nicely being, and as well as on stashing his tender potted figs, so that they’re primed for a further productive fruiting season throughout the 12 months to return.
Lee Reich has ranges in horticulture, soil science and chemistry, and is the author of many books, along with the merely out one known as “Rising Figs in Chilly Climates” (affiliate hyperlink). He’s a really very long time no-till pure gardener, and an skilled pruner, and a grower of many unusual fruits, and any person I’ve turned to for advice for my very personal yard quite a few cases over just a few years. He supplied some concepts to help us tuck in smarter–and as well as some on mixing your particular person potting soil, in case you might be in search of alternate choices to peat-based mixes.
Plus: Enter to win a reproduction of Lee’s new e-book by commenting throughout the subject farther down the online web page.
Study alongside as you’re taking heed to the Oct. 25, 2021 model of my public-radio current and podcast using the participant beneath. You could subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts proper right here).
fall concepts for cleanup and overwintering figs, with lee reich
Margaret Roach: Hiya, Lee. You ready to offer me some further advice?
Lee Reich: Yeah, anytime.
Margaret: Congratulations on “Rising Figs in Chilly Climates: A Full Data,” very useful to people like me with potted figs to tuck away. So thanks.
Lee: Properly, you’re welcome. And I’m really pleased with the e-book.
Margaret: Yeah. So we did a “New York Cases” story collectively not too way back, based on the best technique to develop overwinter figs in pots, one in every of many strategies you cowl in that e-book. And we’ll focus on that in just a bit bit, nevertheless first I really want to do some fall stuff, because of everybody who’s acquired a yard has to do some fall stuff, whether or not or not they’ve acquired a fig or not [laughter]. I’m already starting. We haven’t had any frost however on my aspect of the river, I’m already into some fall chores, though. What’s your most important focus that’s really in your ought to itemizing?
Lee: I assume the Primary issue I like to do, and it’s principally greens, is cleanup. Positive parts of the yard, not the vegetable yard, nevertheless completely different parts of the yard, I don’t like to clean up too utterly, because of there’s quite a few helpful bugs and fungi and points like that, that mainly identical to the particles and overwintering web sites, and some points look good moreover. Nevertheless the vegetable yard, to have the ability to maintain illnesses down and pests down, I want to utterly clear it up. And the other trigger I want to utterly clear it up is because of then in spring, all I acquired to do is exit and plant. I don’t should do the remainder, nearly.
Margaret: Correct. And likewise you’re a no-till gardener in that vegetable yard, correct? And maybe merely inform us just a bit bit about that.
Lee: Yeah. For over 30 years—I ended counting just some years up to now, however it absolutely’s over 30 nonetheless [laughter]. And for over 30 years, successfully, over 30 years up to now I ended tilling. And the first impetus for that was to attenuate weeds, because of weed seeds are buried throughout the soil and whilst you till, they get uncovered to mild after which they sprout. So that was the first trigger.
However moreover it’s an entire utterly completely different.. I really feel it’s increased for the vegetation, it’s increased for the fungi, it’s increased for the earthworms. And so I ended tilling after which yearly, principally the one… Properly, to begin with, the vegetable yard is in beds, eternal beds. And yearly, what I do is I lay a 1-inch depth of compost, accomplished compost, on each vegetable mattress, and this provides all the fertility, all the vegetation need. And that’s very intensively planted. It begins very early throughout the season and points are nonetheless rising now.
And so the complete season prolonged, that provides all the fertility the vegetation need. It stomps out any small weeds and it insulates the soil and it feeds the soil microorganism. So it has quite a few benefits, other than merely conserving weeds down.
Margaret: Correct. So that you just’re topdressing the beds and in addition you’re doing that in fall or spring? I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure whilst you talked about.
Lee: I’d do it anytime, nevertheless I like to do throughout the fall, because of this way in spring, I can merely plant and it seems to be like there’s so many various points to do in spring, that one thing I can get out of the easiest way… And one issue I’ve been doing in addition to is I plant cowl crops [below]. Anytime sooner than early October, if I plant a cover crop that will not overwinter, nevertheless can go late into the autumn.
And what I reap the benefits of is oats, because of oats winter kills. So that meshes with my no-till system, because of I don’t should till it up throughout the spring.
So what happens is that oats develop their lush greens into December and through December and throughout the end of January, they merely winter kill and they also flop down ineffective like a mulch, in place, which moreover appears to be kind of excellent because of it’s acquired these tawny stems merely lying on the underside. And throughout the spring, I’d plant correct into them, nevertheless what I want to do is solely kind of rake it up, which might be very easy, because of they’re not associated to the roots anymore.
Nevertheless the best issue regarding the cowl crops is like correct now, I can look over at my yard, it’s merely lush inexperienced, it’s like strips of backyard. Each mattress is type of a strip of extreme backyard and it merely appears to be so good. It’s a extremely good inexperienced shade.
Margaret: Correct, versus empty beds. And I actually just like the expression for cover crops,”inexperienced manure” [laughter]. I on a regular basis beloved that expression. Inexperienced fertility. Yeah. So that you just talked about cleanup and very good yard hygiene throughout the fall, really cleaning up the vegetable mattress. Are there certain crops you really objective very fastidiously for that, or it’s wholesale? After which what do you do with the particles? If you happen to occur to had, like we had quite a few rain this 12 months, some people had quite a few fungal illnesses and tomatoes and so forth. Do you compost all the particles no matter? What’s the rule on that?
Lee: Properly, to begin with, I’d say the one crop that I’m most fastidious with is tomatoes. Just because there’s certain leaf spot illnesses, notably three leaf spot illnesses, and two of them overwinter throughout the flooring. So I clear up every leaf I can uncover on the underside, every tomato. After which between that after which defending it with the compost, that retains quite a few the spores throughout the soil, any which may be left.
After which all the particles, whether or not or not it’s from the vegetable yard or my fruit plantings, each little factor goes into my compost soil. I do know that for individuals who study in some areas, or most areas they’re saying, “Properly, whenever you’ve acquired one thing that’s diseased, don’t put it in your compost.”
Properly, I contend that for individuals who checked out any part of any plant rigorously ample, there’d be one factor inimical in that, and it may have some pest or sickness lurking there, and in addition you’d put nothing throughout the compost. So I put each little factor in my compost. I’ve accomplished this for a few years and I’ve on no account had a problem due to this.
Margaret: Correct. And is your compost type of cooking alongside fast and scorching, or is it passive? It’s in bins, I really feel, correct?
Lee: I’ve to admit that my composts [below] do get pretty scorching, generally. I merely constructed one and my compost is like 145 ranges, nevertheless the issue is a compost doesn’t have to be scorching to kill all these organisms. It takes some combination of time and temperature. If you happen to occur to don’t get a scorching compost and also you allow it prolonged ample, it’ll moreover kill the pathogens. And whenever you’ve acquired a extreme temperature, you’ll be able to do it further shortly. So a technique one different, they’ll principally be worn out and I might not worry about them.
And I really feel just for the environmental benefit of… I can’t see inserting these diseased plant parts in a plastic bag and inserting them in a landfill. I’ve this issue about landfills. I’m not an unlimited fan. [More from Lee on composting.]
Margaret: Correct. And likewise you’ve confirmed as soon as extra, you say over a very long time, it actually works. I indicate, for you, it’s working, and it’s not rising your sickness load the following 12 months or one thing like that. Yeah.
Nevertheless leaving it lying throughout the beds is usually a foul issue. That’s positively… The great yard hygiene is de facto vital, I really feel. And notably in fall, even with pests, with insect pests. Nothing like leaving your brassicas and your cucurbits, the squashes up, and folks pests that merely can’t wait to find cozy place near their favorite vegetation to overwinter [laughter] or irrespective of. It’s not good, you understand?
Lee: Yeah.
Margaret: Yeah. So that you just don’t want to depart that to be, or after they awaken throughout the spring to have the meals provide correct there, some outdated shriveled, irrespective of. Correct? It’s merely harmful enterprise, I really feel, to go away a big quantity throughout the fall.
Lee: Yeah. The alternative trigger I’ve to say why I do it’s as a result of it appears to be nicer moreover. Yeah, I like a certain messiness throughout the yard, nevertheless I moreover like a certain neatness, and it’s merely good to look over the yard to see each little factor in order.
Margaret: It seems to be like a method of closure in a technique to the season. Are you conscious what I indicate? It has a method of ending, and ending, and leaving it in good scenario and so forth.
Lee: Yeah. Properly, actually, one among my favorite quotes is from a e-book from the late 1800s. I don’t know for individuals who’re acquainted with Charles Dudley Warner, “My Summer season in a Yard”?
Margaret: No.
Lee: Oh, it’s an superior e-book. It’s very successfully written and he takes just a bit swipe at politics on the time. He was a pal of Mark Twain. Anyway, I merely found this quote shortly, he wrote that, “The closing scenes is not going to be primarily funereal. A yard should be acquired ready for winter along with for summer season season. When one goes into winter quarters, he wishes each little factor neat and trim.”
The complete factor about not being funereal and melancholy throughout the fall, having each little factor in order, or as a minimum part of the yard—I’ve to say my perennial flower yard might be very lots not in order.
Margaret: [Laughter.] Oh. So fruit is a gigantic issue for you and the first time I met you was after I suppose, I wrote a story about one among your earlier books, “Uncommon Fruits Worthy of Consideration,” which then I really feel acquired republished beneath one different title afterward and so forth. Nevertheless fruit, fruit, fruit, you type of woke us all up, quite a few gardeners all over the place, as a lot because the idea that we’d develop better than a strawberry or an apple or irrespective of.
And figs are one in every of many points that I affiliate with you because you’ve helped me over time to find out the best technique to make mine [above, ripening] work. And I merely have one outdated one in an unlimited pot and so forth.
So I believed maybe we’d focus on that just a bit bit for folk. We merely did a story about it, as I discussed, in “The New York Cases,” throughout the yard column. And it was pleasurable because of on this new e-book, you do give a lot of approaches that people can use. Some take far more work. The one which we talked about throughout the story was rising them in a pot because of that’s the best, in a fashion.
Nevertheless one issue I really found talking to you this time was, and from learning the e-book is, don’t put tender vegetation—shrubs like this, or timber, throughout the case of the fig—don’t put them in storage too rapidly throughout the fall. Correct? It’s not time the least bit. You don’t put yours away till mid-December or one factor, regardless that you just’re in a cold zone, correct?
Lee: Yeah. People don’t perceive that to begin with, figs is not going to be tropical fruits, they’re subtropical fruits. They are going to take right down to twenty ranges or presumably even lower. In a pot, maybe not that chilly, because of the roots could be uncovered to further chilly local weather. So I’d depart mine out as long as doable. And generally spherical proper right here, and that’s Zone 5 throughout the Hudson Valley, till late December. I indicate, you want them to experience that chilly, because of that mainly helps toughen them up for winter. And likewise you want them to get as completely dormant as doable. You want them to lose their leaves—go to sleep, so to speak—after which they’re in a position to take winter and hold asleep hopefully prolonged ample.
Margaret: Correct. And you’ll be able to do a whole lot of points with a potted fig. I merely drag mine on a hand cart into the unheated barn, nevertheless it is insulated and it’s protected towards wind and ice and so forth. They normally merely sleep in there. And it’ll get pretty rattling chilly in there.
Nevertheless as you taught me after we talked not too way back, it’s a mix of security and pruning, that’s the success to us Northern gardeners attempting to get a fig to be productive. It’s not merely conserving it, not getting proper right down to zero or irrespective of throughout the winter. And it’s not merely pruning. It’s these two points, certain?
Lee: Correct. Correct. I indicate, fig is such a… Maybe that’s what attracted me—oh no, couldn’t be this, because of I didn’t know one thing about figs after I started rising them—nevertheless I was eager about rising them. Nevertheless now, one issue that mainly fascinates me with the fig is how distinctive it is. And that’s important for pruning, is that figs bear fruit on two utterly completely different doable strategies.
One is a model new rising shoot, which is not widespread for fruits that we develop spherical proper right here. The apple bears on branches just some years outdated, and peaches on as a minimum one 12 months outdated, nevertheless a fig will bear on a model new rising shoot. The shoot begins rising this season and it bears. And they’ll moreover, in some varieties, bear on one-year-old picket. Lots of the varieties that people develop throughout the north bear—or as a minimum some figs—bear on two crops, a model new and one-year-old.
Nevertheless most of the figs that people develop in Northern climates bear on new rising shoots on the very least, and the best technique to deal with them for individuals who develop them in pots is to cut the plant once more. This moreover makes it easier to maneuver the pot indoors and outdoors, wherever you’re defending it.
Nevertheless the one issue that people don’t perceive usually is you probably can’t decrease it once more as lots as you want, because of the additional it’s within the discount of, the longer it takes sooner than it begins bearing. And if it takes too prolonged to start bearing, then the fruit acquired’t ripen throughout the season.
So you need to depart, by my estimate, just a few toes of outdated progress. And the perfect technique to develop a fig tree in a pot and prune it precisely is to teach it to a single stem, have that stem be 2 toes extreme, and yearly on the end of the season, within the discount of all progress to that stem and these are creating from flooring stage in every single place. Merely have a single stub, a 2-foot extreme stub, so it makes it very easy to prune, too, and actually easy to maneuver spherical. It merely has a particular look, fig tree may be grown with a shrubby variety. It’s not going to have that shrubby look then.
So Margaret, are you going to retrain, reconfigure your fig now?
Margaret: I’m so torn, because of mine is further shrubby. So by being in a pot all these years, a extremely, very, very large pot, however it absolutely’s dwarfed it. And I do take it out every couple years and root-prune it as successfully. And that’s one different important issue we’ll inform people about. So mine appears to be like a shrub, an unlimited shrub, and I actually just like the look of it. It’s beautiful, and fig leaves are beautiful. It’s very ornamental.
So I hate to do it as solely a stub after which have the shoots come off it, nevertheless I do know that may give me further of this current-year picket that doubtlessly, because of it’s coming off older picket, the trunk that’s left behind would doubtlessly have a great deal of time to develop and ripen quite a few fruit, better than I’m getting now. And so I’m tempted to almost get a second one, and have it is my producer. You already know what I indicate [laughter]?
Lee: Nevertheless you probably may even have almost the best of every worlds by, in your shrubby one, any spindly growths, notably rising out sideways, you merely decrease that once more, because of that’s not going to do one thing subsequent 12 months. After which any really sturdy progress, save that as a minimum 2 toes prolonged and don’t save too many or there acquired’t be ample vitality to primarily pump quite a few fruit out from that. After which the typical growths, you probably can depart some and take away some.
Margaret: And so pruning can happen—and this was one different issue that you just simply rang a bell in my memory of in our newest discussions—it might nicely happen anytime from after leaf drop, sooner than storage to when it first comes out in late winter, early spring. Correct? I indicate, we have a different of after we do it?
Lee: Yeah. The advantage of doing it now—not now, nevertheless sooner than you place it into storage—is it’s easier to maneuver spherical. I do know because of after I used to take mine proper right down to the basement, it’s a extremely slim stairway, so I couldn’t let stems develop too far and intensive, so I might decrease them once more. Nevertheless I might moreover tie them collectively so that they wouldn’t unfold as lots, merely to maneuver them spherical.
Margaret: Correct. And as I merely talked about, the premise pruning. So there’s this top-growth pruning. And we’re attempting throughout the Northern climates the place we’d not have ample time or the place with quite a few the varieties had been going to develop—you’re increased off going for that main crop. Not that crop on the older picket, maybe, nevertheless lowering once more further, and having further of these new shoots and going for the main-season crop on the model new picket.
So if we’re doing that, the other type of pruning we now have to do is—because of the plant’s going to exhaust its belongings even in a extraordinarily large pot, the underground belongings…
Lee: Correct. The roots will get too cramped plus there acquired’t be any nutritional vitamins, ample nutritional vitamins, left. So you need to refresh the soil now and again, which you’ll be able to do by inserting it into an excellent larger pot, otherwise you probably can merely root-prune, you slice off the roots all through the premise ball and pack new soil on there.
Margaret: And do you do that with a observed, or what’s it that you just simply use? On account of we’re talking woody roots in there, correct?
Lee: Correct. Properly, I used to utilize an outdated bread knife, which didn’t work that successfully. After which I can’t keep in mind, there’s a status for this software program, nevertheless people usually identify it Sawzall. A Sawzall with a metal blade and it takes two seconds. [Above, Lee at work on a fig.]
Margaret: Wow.
Lee: [Laughter.] It’s very untraditional.
Margaret: Yeah.
Lee: Nevertheless that works successfully. One issue you talked about that I merely want to level out moreover, you talked about that the easiest way I talked about pruning, in Northern climates, you go for the first crop. In case you might be defending the plant, shifting it to shelter over the winter, and you have one which bears the first crop, which is the crop on one-year-old picket, which is called the breba crop, you actually would possibly get an earlier crop with that, lots ahead of you do the first crop.
So for individuals who happen to have that choice and in addition you save ample amount of one-year-old picket, you probably can get a further reliable early crop, nevertheless then you need to save far more picket. After which you need to prune it in a fashion that saves just a few of that picket, however moreover stimulate progress for subsequent season’s new picket.
Margaret: Correct. Correct. So that’s just a bit further refined, strategic-
Lee: Correct. And you need to discover a vary—not that it’s that unusual, nevertheless quite a few cases people don’t know what choice they’re really rising or people make up names for varieties—so you need to get a variety that notably does bear an excellent breba crop, first crop.
Margaret: I’ve a really stray question, not about figs and by no means exactly about… [laughter]. A shock question. Nevertheless it makes me take into account it because of a reader merely requested it of me the other day. He, as I had, had study one factor about peat moss, not wanting to utilize peat moss, I really feel it was in an English newspaper, newspaper yard column. And likewise you make your particular person potting medium.
So proper right here we’re, we’re going to re-pot this fig and root-prune it and make room for some new medium. So throughout the ultimate couple minutes, I merely wished to ask you, I do know peat is doubtless one of many points that you just simply embrace in your particular person potting mix that you just simply make. It’s not the primary ingredient, you could have completely different components. If we shouldn’t be using peat, are there another points that people can use? You have a soil science diploma and as soon as extra, you mix your particular person soils and so forth. Any concepts about that the least bit?
Lee: Yeah. Properly it’s kind of humorous because of after I first started discovering out soils and commenced gardening, I appeared up each little factor—there’s so many recipes for potting mixes, with all kinds of points.
There are particular points that you just simply desire a potting mix for. It has to produce a spot for the roots to hold up the vegetation. It has to produce nutritional vitamins, it has to produce air. Ideally, it moreover provides pure matter to hold moisture. And there’s quite a few strategies you probably can acquire that. So I acquired right here up with my mix, which happens, I based it on one other mixes I had study and it actually works slightly nicely.
And so the one issue as an alternative of peat, is coir, which is a byproduct of the coconut commerce. So it’s a sustainable, so they’re saying, product.
So I’ve tried that and I’ve to say—and this is not heavy scientific experiment, merely my, what’s it known as—my anecdotal data. Nevertheless I haven’t had good success with coir. So I really don’t use that anymore.
Nevertheless shortly, if I merely wanted to place collectively a mixture, and I didn’t want to endure dipping into my peat container, I can use compost, because of compost is an pure matter, which is what peat gives. And likewise you get a extremely really feel for it for individuals who do it hundreds, even in your arms of: O.Okay., that’s going to have an excellent stability of air and moisture-holding.
So I’ve made mixes out of merely compost and perlite, which most likely moreover should not be sustainable. You could make a mixture out of compost and probably sand or compost and soil. I do know {{that a}} native grower proper right here, for all his seedlings, he makes use of merely pure compost. I don’t perceive how that works. I don’t suppose it may work for future, because of compost being outdated, pure matter, over time disappears.
So it’s good to use all kinds of, principally the thought is you could have some kind of pure matter, which can very nicely be compost, peat, leaf mildew is one different issue. And likewise you want some mineral product, which I reap the benefits of perlite, nevertheless you probably can moreover use calcined montmorillonite clay, which can also be known as kitty litter, or one type of kitty litter. You should utilize coarse sand.
And I want to… I do know potting mixes that you just simply buy don’t have precise soil in them, nevertheless I really feel there’s a certain revenue to having precise soil-
Margaret: Just a bit bit. Yeah.
Lee: … in a potting mix. So I reap the benefits of one-quarter of soil, nevertheless I wouldn’t use better than one-quarter soil. So there’s quite a few strategies to make a mixture that works.
Margaret: O.Okay. Properly thanks, Lee Reich and congratulations as soon as extra on “Rising Figs in Chilly Climates.” I’ll converse to you rapidly. Thanks lots.
Lee: Yeah. Good talking to you.
(All photos moreover ripening figs from Lee Reich; used with permission.)
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