To Live To Laugh To Love- I'm trying!

[framing fowl]

Have fun in Costa Rica! What will you be doing there?

 

[murphysranch]

Your life is gonna be so exciting now! I'm happy for you, and the study abroad is a wonderful experience!

 

[Mackay]

I love Costa Rica! There is a beach called Antonio something something, a national park.. YOU MUST GO THERE!

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

I'll be taking rainforest ecology classes and volunteering and living with a family down there. Full immersion, no english at all.

How long does the mulching method take? I would love to be able to get some stuff in this year...

 

[Farmfresh]

Mulch it and leave it a few weeks, maybe while you are traveling (but it probably won't take even that long). You will still be able to get in a nice fall garden for sure!

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

This is probably a sad question, especially since I've always had a fairly big garden, but... what constitutes a fall garden? We usually just do spring/summer type things.

 

[Farmfresh]

I find that most people do the same thing so don't think it is a dumb question at all.

Around here in Missouri I usually plant a "second" garden or a fall garden. Basically what I do is find crops like green beans, squash, lettuces, broccoli etc that will have plenty of time to mature before our usual first frost date. Then I just plant away like normal. I often plant some things until the END of July around here (zone 5/micro climate 6 Missouri).

The main rules are to make sure the new plants get plenty of water while they are germinating and getting established and to have fun. Often crops like salad items and cole crops like broccoli, cabbage etc do FAR better when they can mature in the cooler temps of fall.

Once you get the hang of a fall garden you can even double crop way up here in the northern states. Try following peas with beets or cabbages, or sweet corn with bush beans. This also helps with crop rotation and keeping the garden fertile.

I first started this due to lack of growing space in the city, but I quickly learned a golden rule. "Nature abhors a vacuum!"

Either I keep my garden full of food baring plants and mulch, or cover crops (ornamentals would work, but there are so many pretty vegetables why bother with that. ) or nature will provide me with a nice cover crop of WEEDS that are hard to remove once established.

Since you are planning on being gone adventuring for six weeks that will bring you up to about the end of July. Give it a count, but you should STILL be on track for radishes, beets, some summer squashes, bush beans and salad crops. Far better than losing the whole planting season!

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

Awesome,thank you! So brief update on me. Moved a ton of stuff today, my parents and the boyfriend and a good friend of mine all helped me out. Even with so many hands, it was a lot of work!! I can't believe how much I've acquired over two years. When I moved here, all my stuff fit in the back of my car. Not so much anymore!!! And I'm thankful for it, actually. I feel very blessed. Especially in all the amazing cooking things I have.

Anyway. The sheets weren't clean, so I'm spending a last night in my old apartment (it came furnished, and I left my sheets behind in case this happened). My computer isn't here and my internet isn't hooked up, so I'm posting from my phone. Its really weird being in my apartment almost totally empty. I have to clean it tomorrow, which will be a lot of work. Even being a rather clean person (

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

The last post didn't get finished because my phone crashed. Sorry about that.

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

Goodbye for now! I will be back in 6 weeks. Costa Rica, here I come!