Blog of The Organic Gardener

Fall Gardening - Tidying Up

I tidied away the Runner Beans, Sweet Peas and outdoor Tomatoes.

I've already harvested sufficient over ripe pods for next year's seed. But, yesterday there was still about a handful of beans for the pot, and the leaves were green and unblemished. However, low light and temperatures have brought productivity to an end as evidenced by a few bean pods dying back or with wilted tips. So I cut the ties, removed the canes, and broke off the stems at ground level for composting. It's remarkable how swollen and fibrous the bean roots have become.

I also uprooted 2 outdoor tomatoe plants one with a nice fruit truss that will ripen indoors. The sweet peas - a little dissapointing this year - were also removed.

All this organic matter was piled together and chopped with the spade before putting on the compost heap and continuing with more chopping there.