Greetings from Birch Meadow,

Breathtaking November days are finally upon us! What a joy to tend the earth under brilliant blue skies with cooler temperatures. We are all enjoying the crisp, fresh air and the rich colors that our tree canopies provide.

It’s time to put our hoses away and order firewood and candles for the cool, dark evenings. Time to celebrate the harvest time with family and friends and stretch into a slower pace.

Enjoy the subtleties of this rich season!

We are so grateful for you.

THINGS TO DO IN YOUR GARDEN IN NOVEMBER

• Here is a link for things that should have been done in October, just in case you are still catching up!

• Click here for Central NC Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs.

• It’s time to plant and transplant trees and shrubs.

• As the weather cools and you have ashes from indoor and outdoor fires, fertilize your vegetable garden, bulb beds, and non-acid loving plants if soil pH is below 6.0 with wood ashes. You can get a pH reader on Amazon for $10. It should have a list of non-acid loving plants. (Never spread ash without first checking your soil pH. It is far easier to change acidic soil than it is to change soil that is too alkaline.)

•  Plant one-year-old asparagus crowns in the vegetable garden this month and trim existing asparagus foliage to the ground after foliage is killed by frost.

• Finish planting spring-flowering bulbs.

• Cut back and clean up frost-killed perennials, unless you would like to leave seed heads for the birds.

• Prune out older canes on blackberries and raspberries.

• Order fruit trees and grape vines this month for a February or March delivery and planting.

• Remember to water your evergreen trees and shrubs thoroughly before winter sets in, particularly if weather conditions have been dry.

•  Fill your compost bin with unwanted fallen leaves.

CHECK OUT POPPYSOL FARM & APOTHECARY!

Just a few weeks ago, Debbie Roos, NC Cooperative Extension Agent, highlighted Hannah Popish of Poppysol Farm + Apothecary  who has been cultivating herbs and flowers at her one acre permaculture-inspired farm outside Pittsboro since 2017. A clinical herbalist, Hannah is passionate about connecting people with plants and provides holistic health consultations with customized tea and tincture blends. In addition to teas and tinctures, she also produces body balms, bath soaps, seasonal flower bouquets, and offers a flower CSA.

Learn more about Poppysol's products and services and view photos from the farm on the Growing Small Farms website.

OUR FRIENDS, THE LEAVES!

By Fifth Season, Carrboro

Love those leaves! No, not the pretty ones changing color on the trees – we mean the dead brown ones starting to blanket the lawn. Dead leaves are a great, free resource for gardeners. Here are a couple ways we make use of ours, rather than bagging them up or blowing them into the street:

As an abundant compost base
Now is the time of year to gather the carbon your compost pile needs to do its work. Simply rake leaves into a big pile next to your compost heap or bin, and let the pile sit (don't worry, the mountain will collapse into a compact hill surprisingly fast). Every time you add nitrogen-rich food waste to your compost pile, cover with a thick layer of carbon-rich leaves for a good, blended compost. At the same time, the leaf pile will be composting itself, for even more rich, delicious goodness.

As a feeding mulch
Provided that you have a bagging lawn mower, this trick gets rid of a lot of leaves and provides a nutritious protective mulch in advance of cold temperatures. Rake leaves into a long row, the width of a mower. With the bag attached to the mower, mow down the row of leaves for a nice, chopped mulch, ready to spread. Great for ornamental beds and borders, protecting container plants, and covering raised beds.

WANT TO HELP END THE CLIMATE CRISIS?

“We and all living beings thrive by being actors in the planet’s regeneration, a civilizational goal that should commence and never cease. We practiced degeneration as a species and it brought us to the threshold of an unimaginable crisis. To reverse global warming, we need to reverse global degeneration.”

– Paul Hawkin

Regeneration has two meanings. It refers to regenerating life on earth. And it refers to a new generation of humanity coming together to reverse global warming.

Urgency
Regeneration is a response to the urgency of the crisis, a determined what-to-do manual for all levels of society, from individuals to national governments and everything and everyone in between. It describes a system of interlocking initiatives that can stem the climate crisis in one generation.

Agency
The path to solving the crisis is counter intuitive: in order to reverse global warming, we need to address current human needs, not an imagined future. If we want to get the attention of humanity, humanity needs to feel it is getting attention. Planetary regeneration creates livelihoods that bring life to people and people to life. It is work that links us to each other’s wellbeing, that provides those in poverty with purpose and meaning, worthy involvement with their community and children, a living wage, and a future of dignity and respect.

“This is a watershed moment in history where all of humanity has come together, whether we realize it or not. The heating planet is our commons. It holds us all. To address and reverse warming requires connection and reciprocity. It calls for moving out of our comfort zones to find a depth of courage we may have never known. It doesn’t mean being right in a way that makes others wrong; it means listening intently and respectfully, stitching together the broken strands that separate us from life and each other. It doesn’t mean hope or despair; it calls for action that is courageous and fearless. We have created an astonishing moment of truth. The climate crisis is not a science problem. It is a human problem. The ultimate power to change the world does not reside in technologies. It relies on reverence, respect, and compassion—for ourselves, all people, all life. This is regeneration.”

LISTEN TO AN INSPIRING INTERVIEW WITH PAUL HAWKIN

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BOOK

FLAG YOUR PERENNIALS!

If we have designed and installed a garden for you or recommended plants for your existing garden, chances are you have one of our all-time favorite native pollinator plants, Baptisia Australis. Please note that this spectacular plant completely disappears during the winter, as do many others perennials, so just after clipping them down, you may want to mark them so you’re not tempted to plant something on top of them before they emerge in Spring!

If you would like help tending your established garden or installing a new one, please let us know! Click here for Maintenance Policy & Pricing.

Enjoy the wonders of November!

The Birch Meadow Team
Mary Beth, Kelley, Barbara, Karla, Jared, Frankie, Kizzia, Jess, Kellli, Rachael & CommUnity Based Landscaping
919-224-9697

Newsletter by Calypso Design, aka Barbara