This post was originally written and sent to Garden Newsletter Subscribers on November 12th, 2025.
For the past several years, I have tried to find the swing between autumn and myself and every year, I seem to somehow miss the exact tempo. I dance, but it is always a beat too early or too late, never directly in step with the season. This year, I was a bit of both.
Back in August, I tried my hand at starting some fall seeds in the greenhouse, doing everything I could to limit the blazing heat from cooking them. A week went by, then two, then four, and still, none of the seeds sprouted. Frustrated, I set the task aside, convinced I would never get the hang of it.
September flew by in a blur and then October was upon us and we would soon be heading out of the country for a week. And for those who garden, you know how much can shift in a week's time. Determined to not let the season pass without at least trying to get a few seeds sprouted, a few plants established in the soil before our first frost, I dove back into the greenhouse and newly freed garden beds with gusto.
To start, I cleaned out the greenhouse in its entirety. There was a lot of rearranging to do, pots to clean, and spider webs to gently shoo out.
Everything pulled out and set onto a table for cleaning and organizing
Putting everything back inside, ready for round two of seed starting
As a back-up precaution, I also purchased a few frost hardy greens from a local community garden. I planted those as well as direct seeded radish, turnips, carrots, and beets beneath row covers before we left on our trip. I am so thankful I did, not because the seed starting failed (it didn't! I have an array of plants slowly growing inside the greenhouse!), but because the plants seem to have flourished in my absence and that always makes me happy.
I planted cabbage, mizuna, raddicio, and a french variety of lettuce beneath row covers, interspersing them with some directly seeded greens. Down the center of the row I sunk clay pots to act as slow release watering cans which worked wonders while we were away!
The greens are really popping off after four weeks! I've already harvested and enjoyed at least one full salad from their bounty.
As soon as we landed back in Georgia, I was filled with a renewed determination to really hone in and focus on all the little projects I'd been putting off in the garden for years and years. I was so inspired and invigorated that I went so far as to make the task of ‘transforming our landscape in a way that benefits both us and the local wildlife’ to be one of only three major goals I will be tackling for the whole of 2026.
Sitting down to write out exactly what we have accomplished in the last four weeks was astonishing. We've accomplished so much and it feels incredible! Many of these tasks were done in small spurts from as little as thirty minutes a day to a few hours at a time. But it all added up in more ways than I could have hoped.
Throughout the month of October, we have slowly accomplished the following:
- Cleaned out the greenhouse, started seedlings (a little late), and transferred frost sensitive plants inside
- Purchased and planted frost tolerant greens and direct seeded radish, carrots, turnips and some surprise brassicas
- Began clearing the front garden pathways of weeds
- Began clearing out more of the side garden (where I found the copperhead snake in the summer) and started building new garden beds
- Sheet mulched the side yard garden beds
A third bed going into the side garden, featuring a native PawPaw tree grown from seed. This time, I opted for sheet mulching the area as its been entirely overrun with common sorrel and Japanese stiltgrass, something that has already begun to pop up in the other two garden beds where I hadn't tried suppressing their growth.
- I seeded my own blend of cover crops (oats, red clover, and winter rye) in any garden beds that would remain empty for the season (which are most) along with some plots of land that I am attempting to build the soil back up
- Cleaned and then set out three bird feeders in the areas in which we are trying to replenish the soil plus purchased a new suet block feeder
- Arlen kindly built us a new compost bin and we began transferring the remnants of our other three, very scraggly bins into the one. We have plans to build another and set them to one side of the greenhouse so that their remnant heat might help keep it warm through cold, winter nights
- Cleaned out the last remaining tomatoes and dried beans
- Went around planting all the fava beans and peas and garlic I could squeeze into every little spot!
- I planted my first ever batch of tulip bulbs and am so excited to see each of the varieties (La Belle Epoque, Double Gudoshnik, & Queen of the Night) pop up come Spring
- I began (but have not finished) putting up another garden box around the side of our pergola using scrap wood we burned then tung oiled this past spring
- We tried our hand at putting together some little birdhouses using scrap wood, and I am absolutely hooked! I want to build ALL the birdhouses now!
- Cut and attached a trellis gifted to me by a neighbor to the front of the pergola in an effort to deter our cats from antagonizing nesting/ feeding birds
The tulips getting ready for their winter nap.
The tiniest little house for the tiniest little birds: the Wren
This particular house is perfect for Chickadees (my personal favorite), Nuthatches, and Titmouse.
And finally, I tackled a task that has been on my mind for the past several autumns: refreshing our little asparagus, raspberry, and blackberry patch.
This particular area has some of the most fertile soil in our entire garden, partly because it is at the bottom of a slope, partly because I load it up with errant fallen leaves each year, and partly because it grows so rampant with random plants throughout the spring and summer that aid in its health. The only problem is. . . all that random plant grown makes it incredibly difficult to find the blackberries, raspberries and asparagus growing within. It also makes me nervous stepping into such lush overgrowth knowing full well a snake might be living within.
To mitigate this issue, I cleared out all the overgrowth over several days which consisted primarily of spent Zinnias and Black-Eyed Susans along with bunches and bunches of Chamberbitter.
Half-cleared away and oh-so-messy.
Fully cleared with a pile (or two) of everything ready for the compost
Then, I got to work setting in footpaths utilizing some bricks pulled up from the old side garden (I am ALL about reusing materials in new ways, thus extending their life). Once that was done, I asked Arlen to cut down some of the old cedar boards we had been using as our front yard garden beds but are slowly replacing as they age with thicker, sturdier boards. I then began hammering each of the newly cut boards along the newly shaped beds and footpaths. It's not fully finished (yet), but we will continue to add to the structure as more board become available.
To finish it all up (as much as one can when knowing there is always more to do in a garden) I sheet mulched the new beds, tucking in the asparagus and blackberries and raspberries for their winter rest. In a few weeks time, I plan to add a layer of manure or compost across the top of the settle hay, giving this area its best start come spring.
It looks a right mess, doesn't it? But come Spring, this space will be absolutely flourishing!
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That's a little of what I have been up to over the course of this past month, but I'd love to hear what you might be getting into in the garden. What new projects are you tackling or plants have you settled in? Are you looking forward to the calmer, cooler months, or simply counting down the days until spring returns? I'd love to know! Simply leave a comment below.
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**UPDATE: Since writing this post, I have finished outlining the blackberry patch. I have also removed all of the hay as it may still have pesticide residues on it that I don't want breaking down into any edible foods. I've since replaced all the deep mulched hay beds with fallen leaves from around the yard that I know have not been sprayed with anything.