As the darker days of winter approached, there was less time to spend in the garden and food forest. Most gardening and homestead improvements took place on the weekends.
My highest priorities in November were getting food planted in the raised beds, planting fruit trees, and rebuilding our shed that hurricane Ian had flipped over.
Here’s how we managed it all in November of 2022.
Click the links below for shortcuts to each section.
- Journal Entries Weeks 1 & 2
- Journal Entries Weeks 3 & 4
- What’s Blossoming Now
- Harvest Summary
- Resources
- What’s Next
- What Do You Think?
Journal Entries Weeks 1 & 2
Our first project this month was filling the center of the papaya/lemon circle with wood chips. It took about 12 tractor bucket loads of wood chips to fill the circle to about a 6-inch depth.
As the wood chips decompose, I’ll chop and drop organic matter to enrich the soil such as pigeon pea, tree branches, and any excess green material. This spring I’ll add more companion plants to the circle such as comfrey, beans, herbs, sweet potato vines, and longevity spinach. Maypops have sprung up that had already been growing in the area. I’ll encourage their growth as part of the vining ground cover.
Many people in our climate create banana circles. However, my husband and I are not fond of bananas, so we created a circle of foods we enjoy eating. The papaya/lemon circle is just one of the two food gardens we are creating on our homestead. The second is still in the planning stages. Look for that design process and installation later in 2023 Garden Journal blog posts.
Our second large project of the month was to rebuild our storage shed for the tractor and implements. The October Garden Journal tells the short story of what Hurricane Ian did to our homestead.
Mike and I spent two long weekends and a few week nights disassembling then reassembling the metal building. It was difficult work, but the two of us managed to rebuild the shed. It has some cosmetic defects from the storm damage, but it is even more sturdy than before. We installed stronger stakes, used plenty of screws and sealed the gaps.
Journal Entries Weeks 3 & 4
November 14th, I planted two rows of Danver carrots in one of the raised beds after I got home from work. It was dark by the time I finished, so I waited to plant two more rows in another bed the following night.
We’ve installed a motion-sensor light on the garden shed that shines onto the raised bed area. It sure helps with gardening this time of year! I also need to trim the cardboard base around the beds and give the wood a coat of paint. There seems to be a never-ending list of tasks when starting a new homestead.
The cranberry hibiscus started blossoming mid-November. I have them planted in several places on the property. They are a beautiful edible landscaping plant. The young leaves are tangy-citrusy in salads. I dried several batches of leaves in the food dryer to make tea this winter. I’ll have seeds for sale in my Etsy shop spring of 2023.
I took advantage of some black Friday sales during the Thanksgiving holiday and purchased three peach trees and three blueberry bushes. The varieties I chose were two of the Florida King peach, and one of the Majestic peach. Both varieties are self-pollinating and have low chill hours. I purchased two Powder Blue blueberry bushes and one Brightwell blueberry bush. These plants are rabbiteye blueberries and pollinate best when two or more varieties grow near each other.
All the peach trees and blueberries were planted on November 27th. I used up almost all the wood chips from my deliver from Chip Drop. We’ve started chipping brush from clearing our land earlier this year. That should be enough to finish planting the rest of the trees.
I plan to purchase one more peach tree, three more blueberry bushes and a few apple trees yet this winter. Once those purchases are made, the canopy layer and understory trees of the forest gardens and orchard will be completed. Next year I’ll be adding the herbaceous plants, groundcovers, and vine layers.
Once the carrots appeared in the raised beds, I planted rows of Early Wonder Beets alongside them. I also planted 6 early cabbages I had purchased at a big box store.
One last project we tackled this month was putting a log border around the dragon fruit trellises. We installed pine logs around the base of the trellises to hold in the mulch and make it easier to mow around the area.
There are still Seminole pumpkins growing in there and I planted some perennial peanut to create a ground cover.
One food we are excited to grow is corn. We measured out an area to use as a “corn field” this spring. It’s about 40 feet long and 16 feet wide. Mike used his tractor rake to gently work the soil and we planted a cover crop of annual rye and brown mustard. This spring we’ll mow it, till under the mowed greens, then plant corn into the nitrogen-rich biomass we grew over the winter.
What’s Blossoming Now
Despite the shorter daylight hours, we still have plenty of blossoms appearing on the homestead.
- Cranberry Hibiscus
- Seminole Pumpkin
- African Blue Basil
- Marigold
- Perennial Peanut
- Orchids in the oak trees
- Potted Christmas Cactus
- Papaya
- Potted Snake Plant
- A wildflower mixture in the back yard flower bed
Harvest Summary
- 8 Seminole Pumpkins
- Longevity Spinach
- Cranberry Hibiscus leaves
Resources
- How to Create a Banana Circle
- Blueberry Gardener’s Guide
- Cool Season Vegetables
- HomesteadByDesign my Etsy Shop
What’s Next
Looking ahead to December, there’s plenty of growing and planting in the forecast. Florida gardens are in full growth this time of year. My raised beds will be full of produce. I want to finish planting fruit trees, chip mulch, and start planning for 2023.
What Do You Think?
In last month’s post, I asked what you were most thankful for in your garden.
I thought it over and decided that this year, just having a new homestead property with plenty of room for trees and gardens is what I am most thankful for.
This month, I’d like you to consider your gardening goals for 2023. What are your goals? Have you even created gardening goals? What do you see as the most challenging project for 2023? Let me know in the comments section.
Thanks!
And until next month, happy gardening!
Alisa