But I've realized that I set out too much for the first year, for the trees in particular.
I shouldn't trim branches and tap for syrup in the same year, it's too traumatic. And pruning means they loose some of their sugar production anyway.
So this is a process, I know my goals and the calendar will have to be adjusted as I become more educated.
Another reason the calendar will have to be adjusted: unexpectedly beautiful weather and the availability of transplant crops. I found asparagus crowns this week (volunteers in a soil scientist's garden 20 minutes away) and planted them before they go completely dormant. So here's my first vegetable bed. It's 8" deep and I'll be adding 8 more inches of mulch as soon as the ferns turn brown.
Speaking of mulch, we're trying the old Ruth Stout method of mulching the tarnation out of all your plants. To this end, we've saved every last one of our leaves that fell instead of sending them off with the city refuse collection. I like thinking of these leaves as wealth while I'm raking them into piles; they'll make the soil richer, and that means less cash invested into other fertilizers.
A fall Friday well spent, I think.
