November Garden Chores

Here are the November garden chores you need to complete now so that you have it easier in the spring garden.

This is my birthday week and we have a lot of appointments this week as well, plus David is settling his father's estate and trying to get all of his father's bills paid.

November 15-November 21, 2021
November Garden Chores

Monday, November 15, 2021 - November Garden Chores

Good Monday morning. It is light out and I still have not been out there. I noticed bands of fog across the farm again. I really like it when the fog does that. It is chilly but 56° so it should be nice and warm. The sun is bright in the sky and soon our team members will be coming through the gate.

David has a doctor's appointment in San Antonio this morning. The pond has grown more green string algae so that needs to be removed. A new nativity scene was delivered on Friday after everyone went home so that needs to be set up this morning. Plus all of the regular garden chores and everyday work that needs to be completed.

Before we left, I went outside to do one of my November garden chores. I wanted to water all of the bone dry plants in my new greenhouse. Last week, David had them put a hose next to the greenhouse for me to use. It is to be hooked up at all times. So I picked it up to water and no water...I followed the hose to the end and someone had disconnected it. I have no idea where it is supposed to hook up. Why? Just why? It is in our personal, private yard where the dogs run and where there is no garden bed for anyone to work in.

So I did not get to water my plants. I understand that it is hooked up now and I hope that is the case. I am not sure why I have to have some of our employee's permission to water my plants on my property but I will get to the bottom of it.

David and I went to the cardiologist and David had a good visit. His heart looks good and his tests and labs all came back as being good. On Thursday, we see the cardiac specialist who wants to do an ablation.

So we will have to wait until Thursday to see what the specialist says.

About 200 strawberry starts went into the ground this morning, both Chandler and Albion varieties. We got them from one of the local strawberry farmers here in Poteet.

200 strawberry starts went into prepared beds today out in our orchard.

The roots go into the ground and the rest of the start is above the soil or sand for strawberry starts. We do not sell starts. A farmer gave these to us. We sell the seeds.

This afternoon, we harvest corn, luffa gourds, and some of the dried birdhouse gourds.

November Garden Chores

The first of your November garden chores, no matter where you live, is to rake up all of the leaves that are on the ground. Here in Texas, our leaves come down after Christmas, usually at the beginning of January, but I realize that for most of the country this is not true. So rake everything into a big pile and get it over to your compost area. Yes, you need to compost these leaves so they are ready to be added to your garden beds in the spring.

Another of the November garden chores is to pull up all of the leftover dead plants that you grew this year. If you have an asparagus patch, do not pull those up. Once the ferns are dead, cut them down, leaving about an inch above the ground. If you treat your asparagus patch well, it can last up to 15 years. If the plant debris you have pulled up is free of bugs, compost it. If there are bugs or the plant was destroyed by garden pests, throw it away.

Tomorrow, we are having a birthday celebration, for me at Salt Grass in San Antonio so that should be fun. I have also invited Laura, sister of Linda to come celebrate with me since her birthday is November.

Wednesday is my birthday and the four dogs are getting groomed. Thursday afternoon, Molly sees the vet for a follow up regarding fluid on her heart and, of course, David sees the specialty cardiologist regarding a procedure he might have to take.

In two weeks, he has to have another blood draw for labs because the cardiologist today upped his dosage of water pills.

In three weeks, David and his step sister have an appointment with an attorney to probate David's father's will so assets can be distributed. The attorney said it will take two months. Meanwhile, his bills are coming in, some of which we have already paid. The hospice keeps calling.

One of our former employees is trying to go into the military and someone from there keeps calling, trying to obtain information from different ones of us here at David's Garden Seeds® to see what kind of young man he is. David told her he could talk to her next week. She called Jay and he gave her information but she is still wanting to talk with David.

Next week is Thanksgiving and we are having a houseful so it is just one thing after another. Oh, and I forgot to mention about everything that goes on here each day with our business and contractors. Life is coming at us fast and hard and we need a bit of a break but that never seems to happen.

Tuesday, November 16, 2021 - November Garden Chores

Good morning. I slept all night long! This is the first time in a very long time that I did not wake up for over six hours. When I did wake up it was after 5am and my nose was clogged so I got up and made a pot of coffee. The cat was up so I fed her. David and the dogs are still sound asleep. I love getting up when the house is quiet so I can get a few things done before I have to feed everyone. It looks like it is foggy again outside and the temperature is 62° Fahrenheit.

Today, we will be driving into San Antonio for the David's Garden Seeds® monthly birthday celebration. Our store will be closed from 10:30am until about 2pm so please do not plan on coming out here until 2pm today. It just so happens that we are celebrating my birthday so I am a bit excited!

We had a great time at Salt Grass for my birthday. It is also Linda's sister's birthday so we invited Laura and we celebrated her as well.

I got roses and presents and a Boston cream pie. It was a good day. Jay, our manager, bid on some photos up for sale from MGM and scored an early Lucille Ball photo and a Gene Kelly photo. Lucy is my absolute favorite and Gene Kelly is in my favorite movie, For Me And My Gal. He framed them in a beautiful gold colored frame and I love them. Did I mention that they are autographed? I also got a candle warmer and wax with a rooster, some candles, nail polish, shampoo, conditioner and some new facial brushes.

November Garden Chores

Today's November garden chores are to deadhead all of your roses and other perennials with dead flowers that will come back next spring and to keep on watering your trees, flowers, and shrubs until the ground freezes. Here in Texas, our weather is hitting in the 80s again every day. We have not yet had our first freeze. We have fruits on a lot of the trees in our orchards and new blooms in the garden every day. Keep on watering because this could go on for a while.

Wednesday, November 17, 2021 -
November Garden Chores

A very happy birthday to me! Yay! It's my birthday! So I spent most of the day trying to learn how to use my Cricut Maker. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a manual so I had to watch a lot of YouTube videos. I completed a cup project for each of my two grandchildren for when they come next week for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, I will get to do more before then.

November Garden Chores

One of the November garden chores you may have forgotten to do in October is to plant wildflowers. If that is the case and you want early spring wildflowers, like bluebonnets, and you live in a warm climate, plant your wildflower seeds now while there is still time. Here in Texas, we say to get them in the ground in October but you still have time. When I say to get them in the ground, I mean actually cover them with a small amount of dirt. Do not just throw the seeds out there on top of the grass. If you do, they will either blow away or get eaten by birds and bugs. They have to literally be planted, not thrown.

Thursday, November 18, 2021 - November Garden Chores

This morning, it is cloudy, windy, and chilly with the high of only 67° after it was 82° yesterday. I went out in it early this morning to unlock everything and to feed the fish, chickens, guineas, and rabbits. It is pretty chilly for sure.

Linda is working for me today so I can go to San Antonio to another cardiologist this morning for David. We are about to leave and I do not want to go out in the cold wind. I have to go water my plants in my greenhouse. I could not for the past two days because again someone disconnected the hose.

The hose problem got taken care of...In fact, I just talked to the person who keeps disconnecting the hose...

The doctor visit was sort of shocking. The doctor seemed to be upset that David gained some weight so he is not a candidate for the procedure that he wanted to do on David. In fact, he told us that like all other Americans, we sit on our a$$es in the living room in the evening and eat snacks and that we need to put in a treadmill or an exercise bike so we are moving around. (Yes, he actually said the word.) The funny thing is I am not even his patient, yet he addressed me, too. I am really not happy with this guy. I am 62 years old and no doctor or other professional has ever spoken to me like that. He was not happy and said David needs to lose 100 pounds in the next six months. So after that, we went to Salt Grass.

Now David has taken Molly over to the vet as she is still not breathing all that well.

It is still windy and chilly outside. It is now 4pm. The high for today was 67° Fahrenheit. Currently, it is 66°.

November Garden Chores

One of the November garden chores I have not yet mentioned is to plant a cover crop in warmer climates. David's Garden Seeds® has a nice selection of cover crops. These will put back nutrients into the soil that your garden plants may have used up.

Friday, November 19, 2021 - November Garden Chores

Good Friday morning! It is a beautiful, cool, sunny morning after a very cloudy night. We missed the eclipse of the moon because of the thick cloud cover, although we got a glimpse of the moon around 9pm last night.

Matthew is taking the Production managers place for a few weeks while he takes care of some personal issues. This morning, he has received a few large box deliveries already. Yesterday, we got in a new Keurig machine for the employee break room and I asked one of the guys to take it over. He did, and he left it in the Amazon box. I went over this morning...I opened it up and set it all up. I made the first cup of coffee and it is good. This Keurig is bigger and better and I think they will enjoy it.

It is 11am and the sky is just a gorgeous blue with no wind. It is 58° but so different from yesterday. A customer who lives about an hour away just stopped in to pick up a large order he placed online. We pulled it and had it ready. David gave him a tour. It turns out he and his wife have a lavender farm out in San Marcos.

November Garden Chores

An important part of November garden chores is to plan your spring garden now. Remember where things were planted and change it up. You need to rotate your crops so the soil is not depleted of nutrients. Draw it up on paper from this season and draw next season's plants, moving things around so you can decide what you want to plant and how many seeds you will need to order for spring.

Another one of our November garden chores is to actually order your garden seeds now while we have an excellent selection. The past two springs were very busy due to coronavirus and we ran out of a lot of seed varieties. Right now, we have most of your favorites in. Don't wait until spring because most other gardeners are getting their seeds now. Many people give seeds as Christmas gifts which is when our seeds really start flying off of the shelves for spring.

Saturday, November 20, 2021 - November Garden Chores

An 18 wheeler is coming. See the headlights? It was a foggy start to the day, but a good day to do November garden chores.

You can see how foggy it is in the distance behind the hoop house.

Forty-six years ago today, my family and I got on a plane and flew from New York City to El Paso, Texas where my father was transferred from Poughkeepsie to El Paso for work. He worked for I've Been Moved aka IBM. It was our first and only IBM move. We went from a gorgeous town in upstate New York to the desert of Texas. El Paso was pretty in its own way with the gorgeous mountains that look painted on the bright blue sky but we missed the green grass, tall trees, and water everywhere. It was a difficult transition for a 16 year old girl.

When I got up to let the dogs out, I discovered thick fog outside. It was 52° and now it is 72°. The fog cleared by 10am. Joshua came in to work out in the back forty to make up some time.

This morning, we got two deliveries from Home Depot of wood for the pool base in the backyard. For two years now, we have had our above ground pool on the sand and it is eating away at the vinyl. Also, the sand is always shifting, making the pool uneven so we are going to put down a wooden base so that doesn't happen again.

David and I went shopping this morning for new living room furniture since Molly ate my sectional. We found a nice couch and loveseat that will be delivered on Monday. We think we have found an owner for our sectional.

Once the new stuff gets here, I will start decorating for Christmas in the house. Right now, there is no room in the living room for the tree.

I picked up a few things at Walmart today for next week and I need to make some more stuff on my Cricut.

November Garden Chores

Our November garden chores today include continuing to add to your mulch pile and continue to stir your mulch pile. If you have not yet added mulch to your garden beds for next spring, add it now. Get it all mixed in with the soil. Come spring, you will be glad you do not have to do that task again. As to the newer mulch pile that you continue to make, as long as you are able, stir it up a few times a week as you add scraps to it. Let it sit over winter and when you decide to add some new garden bed areas in the spring to your ever growing garden, you will have fresh compost to enrich your soil. Our compost pile just keeps going year round.

Joshua crushed the November garden chores today by emptying out Nacho's trailer full of dirt and emptying it all into the giant raised garden bed. Now we need more!

Here at David's Garden Seeds®, we like people who are overachievers. This trailer bed was completely full of garden soil that Nacho picked up yesterday afternoon around 5pm. It's empty now!

Speaking of November garden chores, one of our new employees, Joshua, came in today as I mentioned above. He was making up time. Nacho brought in a truckload of soil on Friday afternoon and left it. Joshua completely emptied it out and poured it into our long raised bed in the orchard. It still needs more dirt. So if you need soil for spring, don't put it off. Go to your local soil provider and make this one of your November garden chores.

Sunday, November 21, 2021 - November Garden Chores

This morning is not as foggy as it was yesterday. It is chilly and wet. It looks cool.

Good Sunday morning! It is 63° at 6am. I need to get out and feed the animals but it is foggy and wet again. It is not as foggy as yesterday, but still kind of thick out there.

We went to church. Then I baked cookies and did some online Christmas shopping. We also found a bunch of outdoor Christmas decorations for our crew to put up tomorrow that they missed. Fun times!

Tonight, David is making deer back strap courtesy of our friend, Nacho, who builds things and does a lot of work around here. He got to go deer hunting and brought us some good stuff. Thank you, Nacho!

David fried us up some delicious venison this evening for dinner. Not just any venison...the good stuff--the back strap thanks to our friend, Nacho.

November Garden Chores

One of the important November garden chores is to let the asparagus ferns grow in fall until the frost turns them yellow. You can see ours are growing wild as we have not yet had frost.

November garden chores today include working in your asparagus patch. A well cared for asparagus patch will last up to 15 years. If you do not have an asparagus patch, plant one now in warmer climates. Remember you will not harvest anything for the entire first year so now is a good time to plant and establish your asparagus.

If you have an existing asparagus patch, there should be a lot of ferns growing where the asparagus grew all summer long. Once these ferns turn yellow from frost, cut them down, close to the ground, leaving an inch sticking up out of the ground to prepare them for winter. Notice all of the seeds on the ferns. Collect the seeds if you save them. Compost the ferns and now your bed is ready for winter.

I have been reading about asparagus on some other sites and they say that you cannot harvest asparagus for three to seven years after planting seeds. It may matter depending on where you live but here in Texas, I planted our asparagus in March of 2020 and we harvested our first asparagus in April of 2021. We had fresh asparagus every single day since then until the fall when the ferns started growing and the tender shoots no longer did. This is normal for asparagus. If you think you want some more asparagus, add this to your November garden chores. This is the time to plant it and then you won't harvest the new beds until spring of 2023 since you will be planting for spring of 2022. This completes our November garden chores, at least as far as living in a warm climate goes.

See what we did last week.

Here is what we are doing next week.

Return from November Garden Chores to Business Growth

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