Gardening season has still been going strong due to great weather. We’re still pumping out peppers, a few tomatoes, and our basil even still looks pretty good. We’ve also acquired some new shrubs that will be available for sale next spring. Other than that, we’re kind of winding down the garden and setting our sights for next spring’s plant sale.
I’ve put two pepper plants to sleep for the winter by removing all of the foliage and cutting back to the main stem. Peppers are perennials, and allowed to go dormant in cool (not cold) plce with a little light and water, they will come back in the spring, and overwintered peppers will produce before new ones started from seed (due to the already established root system). I plan on overwintering maybe one or two more plants, but they still have fruits ripening. I’ll also keep a couple pepper plants in the greenhouse too. Last year I picked my last pepper from the greenhouse on Christmas eve. It’s always great to have something garden fresh in December in Pittsburgh. We’ve also got Kale planted to give us some freshness through the winter.
In fall, I’m also putting some stock into our beds for potting up next year. I received a shipment of butterfly bush plants in two colors (Nanho Blue and Royal Red courtesy of Wagner Family Nursery) and we have other perennial shrubs on the way. We’ve also got rooted cuttings of arborvitae (Emerald Green and Little Giant), weigela (Rosea and Ruby Red) and more. In addition, we have perennial flowers such as: lavender (munstead), echinacea, and black eyed susans. We’re also preparing for next spring by purchasing seeds from various catalogs. I’m super excited to try some new pepper varieties, and new heirloom tomato varieties too. Keep an eye on this blog late winter/early spring for info on what we’ll have available and when.
We’re also excited for other fall activities. We’ll be making our annual trip to Triple B Farms one of these weekends coming up. We’ll enjoy the Fall Festival activities, and we’ll also buy apples to make our annual batch of hard cider. Perhaps some blog posts about Cider making are in order! What plans do you have for the fall? Let me know in the comments below!
This will probably be the last nursery/garden update for the year. We’ll try to write some informative blog posts occasionally, but as we’re cleaning things up for fall and focusing more on production for spring, there’s really not much more to report. I hope you all have a delightful fall and look forward to having healthy and vigorous plants for you next spring!
Meneely Family Nursery 