Fall-work

I thought I would give you a glimpse of what fall entails for a small-time flower farmer. In October, I spend a great deal of time hauling dirt and compost and creating my brand new flower beds. Soil nutrition is such an important part of your ability to grow healthy flowers or vegetables. Some people choose to compost in the spring, but I like to do it in the fall so I can spend my springtime planting. I am mulching over the soil with leaves from that have fallen from the trees which get raked up anyway. Also, in October, I planted 400 tulips for early spring blooming! I have never planted on such a scale before and am hopeful for some truly beautiful blooms come April. Because the climate in Colorado is generally cold (and dry), our growing season is a bit shorter than that of other places. I put up a very small hoop house in one of the beds to see if it would help me get a jump start on the season come spring. It is my first time trying to grow in one, so I will not count on the results of that my first year. I have wrapped up planting my fall roots this past weekend, with 4 astilbe and 4 bleeding hearts plants put in the ground for a 2023 bloom. With the exception of some more leaf mulching, that is all that I have to complete before fall lends its way to the cold and snow of winter.