This fall I plan on expanding my food forest with more trees. My rows are generally 120’ on contour and fit 10-12 trees per row and a usually double that in support species plants. This new row will be focused on Pawpaws! I have 12 spots and looking to get 12 distinct varieties and as genetically different as possible. The goal is to get promising and proven trees with large and productive fruit. Eventually having a chance to produce crosses between them! With the abundance of fruit I will sell and collect seeds to start a small nursery 50-100 and then sell to public!

Designing landscape/garden can be daunting especially when you have to consider many areas such as space, focal view, plant type, existing conditions and purpose just to name a few. Not too long ago, one might just get a landscape designer and depending on affordability, hopefully you get what you want. This would usually be for larger plots like 2-10 acres. In this age of AI, you could get it to design your landscape idea but it seems everything is possible unless you have the proper prompt. In addition, description can only do so much but a vision of the finish landscape in 1 yr, 3 yr, 5 yr, 10 yr and 20+ yrs is much better. Has anyone experience or come across a program/AI that allows one to plan and vision as such? An actual picture rendering of what makes sense before proceeding in a ..... does not make sense scenario!

We typically look at the 4th of July as the planning date with starting several plants indoors to be transplanted in late August or September when the heat breaks. That being said, there are several cool weather crops that with a little early frost protection can easily reach maturity and some leave in the ground for a winter harvest like carrots. Frost protection does not need to be expensive and can be used in the autumn and the spring. We can make another post about cost effective frost protection if anyone is interested. To begin planning the autumn garden, first check your average first frost date and count backward to find expected days for maturity. We will then use these days to select seed that has the best potential to mature. Remember that growth slows as the days become shorter, so allow a little extra time. Also for me, I can eat anything from a sprout with first true leaves to maturity, so as long as I do not let the frost take it out, I'm good. Next, how much bed area is available to plant now? For me in TN, I am planting soaked lettuce seed under my tomatoes. Will your bed area receive enough sunlight as the sun moves lower in the southern sky? Everything south of me is deciduous so soon to loose there leaves. Will you sow seeds directly or use transplants to save time? Probably by August you are looking to direct seed although many cold weather crops will have poor germination with soil over 75 degrees F. Are you ok using short maturity hybrid seed or do you want to stick with open pollinated seed? Once we know the answers to these questions, we can make a seed list that has the highest potential for success. Cool-season crops such as lettuce, spinach, kale, radishes, carrots, beets, turnips, and Asian greens may all have a place, depending on your climate and remaining growing season. Fall gardening is not about filling every empty space. It is about choosing crops that fit the season, the household, and the care we can realistically provide.

I sadly have to admit if you want to know a fact the best and most effective way is to ask my wife's boyfriend (chat GPT) he gives reliable answers and is charming at the same time. If you want to know what it feels like to smell rain , even a light drizzle, after a prolonged drought, you need to experience it. Experience tells me this rain will make no difference to the moisture in the soil, and won't save dieing trees, but I feel uplifting and encouraged that rain is possible. The experience of a catastrophic event gives an opportunity to reassess and make a better system, or in my case perhaps downsize to a concentration of plants more easily manageable in a crisis. The year has show weak points and how delicate balance tips quickly, at the beginning of the year we had too much water and it looked like a lush paradise everywhere, and I thought it would be the best year ever. Now it's a scorched dieing landscape, limp mature trees with yellowing leaves . Some parts have remained green, obviously the areas with reserves of water and deeper soil . So the next step is to take this experience and use it to replant more appropriate plants and to prioritise the more resilient areas. Find better ways to preserve water and increase shade. History and experience are intwined and I know that the last great drought in 1976 was followed by extensive flooding in October.