You are a lucky man...haha. I have buried myself with a project. I am increasing the size of my raised bed. It has turned from 2'x20' into a 5'x20'. Now I still have to fill it with topsoil and amendments. Fun...but a lot of work for an old man.

Peter, did you clean your garden already ?

Did you order seeds for next year ?

No not yet. Garden cleaning is after frost, in November, and ordering seeds is the highlight of the winter :)

Of course, to add, my Fall plans include raking the endless leaves.

Peter, do you still have tomatoes ?

I do, I was actually surprised to see a large amount of ripe ones out there this morning. They are not the cream of the crop but that's ok... the Sungolds are pretty much unusable due to splitting, unless they are picked at the perfect time and eaten immediately. They are all suffering from Septoria but at this point in the season they will long be killed by frost before the Septoria. It has been an exceptionally dry season.

This fall I'll amend my raised beds and mulch as I always do. Then around January I'll figure out what I'll plant for next year.

Rodney

Once all the potatoes are dug and squash harvested, mowing, plowing in manure and compost, and planting winter cover crops. Repairing fences and then planting onions.

Dave

Oh, I did forget the garlic planting. I will probably look to amend some composted manure during the fall, but have a nice compost pile going that will hopefully be good in the Spring so I am not going to go too crazy.

As much as I hate those leaves, they will be my overwinter mulch once they are chopped up by the mower. I'll put a good layer over the garlic I plant next month. I've already sowed hairy vetch in 2 of my raised beds for a cover crop.

My tomato plants are still live with some fruits. I keep picking the ones with just a hint of blush.. The leaves on some are just turning black and dead from the lower side but top growths are fine.

So, anyway, I cannot wait till frost to clean up, b/c it might not come til after Thanksgiving. I.ll do it in a couple of weeks. There is nothing else to be done till next spring.It is going to be a 5 months break. My mental plan is to cut back drastically in terms of varieties and instead grow more of the ones that have been productive.

Debating: Should I pull up the roots or just let them be there ?

Sey

Leave the roots IMHO. It is great organic material for the soil. Why pull them? I do not think they harbor disease.

@ Peter: Soon you will have 40s at night.

@ Rodney: IMHO, January might be late to think what varieties to
plant in 2016. Sometimes it takes up to 1 month to receive seeds from the seeds
companies. And if you want to start early, in the basement…

@ Dave: what winter cover crops do you plan to plant ?

@ Chris: I love hairy vetch.

@ Sey: Cutting the varieties number is a very good idea.
That’s what I did last year: I planted 35 varieties and I liked about 10. Regarding
the debate, I pull up the roots. I prefer clean soil.

@ Peter: maybe the roots don’t harbor diseases, but why take
the risk ?

@Daniel, because you need to feed your soil. The best defense against most disease is healthy, vigorous plants, and if you avoid composting/amending with anything that may harbor disease, you would not be accomplishing that. Benefits outweigh the risks.

I think also since I did not have any root/soil born disease then why pull the roots ? I will just the main a few inches below the surface. I bet those root hairs are loaded with a lot of nutrients.

Debate is over: Will let the roots be there.

Sey

> Remove
plant materials. Pull up spent tomato plants and weeds, collect dropped or
“mummified” fruit, and rake the garden to remove plant remnants. Burn or
discard plant materials, including roots. [ Fall Tomato Garden Clean Up ]
> They
[root knot nematode eggs] represent one means of overwintering. Root knot
nematodes may also overwinter in the soil in a juvenile stage.[ Root Knot Nematode ]

> The
formation of these galls [swellings of roots produced by nematodes] damages the
water- and nutrient-conducting abilities of the roots. Galls can crack or split
open, especially on the roots of vegetable plants, allowing the entry of
soil-borne, disease-causing microorganisms. [ Nematodes ]

> If galls
or knots are found on your plant roots, remove as much of this root material as
possible from the garden. These roots can be dried and burned or bagged and
properly disposed of. [Root-knot nematodes in gardens of mid-Missouri ]

I can't speak for Sey, but I don't have root knot nematodes.

Since this is the tomato forum I figured this question would be specifically about tomatoes and my previous comment was made with that in mind. Guess I can include other things then. In addition to prepping my soil, I'll be planting garlic, shallots, and multiplier onions in October and will be moving my Egyptian onions soon. I'll also be digging up my Belgian endive roots (aka witloof chicory) later this fall for forcing this winter. Never tried growing or forcing Belgian endive before so not sure if it'll be a success. And I'm considering taking some pepper cutting to try and overwinter indoors.

"@ Rodney: IMHO, January might be late to think what varieties to plant in 2016. Sometimes it takes up to 1 month to receive seeds from the seeds companies. And if you want to start early, in the basement…"

Nah, January is a perfect time for me. The holiday hoopla is over. All the seed companies have updated their catalogs so I get to see what's new. Plus I don't start seeds until March so there's plenty of time for them to be delivered.

Rodney

Peter, we have had no known disease except now this time of year we get some mold/mildew which are airborne. Never have had a plant to wilt, die for any reason. . I have pulled a lot of roots in the pasts have not seen any root knots or any root irregularities.

So basically my 2016 preparation is just the cleanup and removing the support structures.

Sey

> Tomato diseases overwinter in plant debris left in
the field, so garden sanitation and crop rotation are critical to preventing
plant diseases of all kinds. [ Tomato Diseases are a Gardener's Nightmare ]

There are 2 general class of tomato diseases:

1) Soil borne: The bacteria of such diseases can/may live/overwinter in soil. There are varieties that are resistant to some of those diseases or one can graft non-resistance variety to the root stock of the resistance ones.

2) Air borne diseases: The bacteria are transferred through the air and they cannot overwinter in soil. They need LIVE plant tissue to survive/overwinter. All blights and bacterial foliage diseases are in this category.

CROP ROTATIONS:

For most of us , the backyard gardeners, it is neither possible nor necessary. Sey

I've struggled to rotate crops. I just don't have the room for it. I'm considering growing most of my tomatoes in pots next year, because a lot of my tomato plants succumbed to disease this year. However, most of the varieties I used were not resistant to any of the common diseases(leave it to me to be so lucky :-/).

My local cooperative extension was kind enough to present a list of tomato varieties that are resistant, so I'll be looking to that for next year.

My garden is still alive . And I pick few now and then.

Yesterday I did a round of Clorox solution spray,for the last time to keep the mold and mildew in check.

I planted out most of my tomatoes in mid to late April, that is over 5 months ago.

Sey

I was just out in the garden and it looks pretty terrible. The tomatoes are about 50% dead (septoria) /eaten by deer (what grew through the fence), the pumpkin plants have completely decomposed, all of the zucchini except the Alexandria is dead (the Alexandria stems are like 8 feet long - crazy!), the winter squash is gone, the beans have rust and whatever else and are no longer the attractive plants they once were, the sweet potatoes have some kind of purple leaf disease. The peppers and eggplants are still mostly hanging in there, though about 25% of the plants are not thriving due to the frequent crown damage due to the difficulties supporting them this year.

But, there was so much stuff to pick! Beans, Peppers, Eggplants, Tomatoes, Zucchini all still producing... I wasn't expecting all the tomatoes, I am going to have to make another round of sauce tomorrow.

The sweet potatoes don't look like they produced much. There are at least a couple roots out there.... I wasn't expecting much really. I doubt I will plant them again when there are so many other reliable producers to plant that won't be completely shaded by the time they are planted.

The Brussels sprouts are making some blasts at the bottom and have been heavily damaged by cabbage moths. I hope they pull it together for a November harvest, I finally broke out the Bt.

I am honestly looking forward to the frost at this point so I can clean everything up and prep for next year -- it has been a long productive season. But no calling it quits until the frost kills most of the stuff. It will probably be another month.

To truly rotate crops you have to sterilize your equipment or have different equipment for each area and plant some distance away from the previous location -- it is not possible for 95% of home gardeners and I don't know why it is given as common advice, this is advice for farmers not home gardeners. The fact is the vast majority of diseases plaguing home gardens are not soil borne and don't survive an average USA winter, even if you were to leave all the crop debris out in the field, nevermind if you clean up properly.

My raised beds are all cleaned out now except my last corn bed. I am waiting on the corn stalks to dry out so I can shred them. I planted a green manure crop (Buckwheat) about a month ago in one raised bed. I have also planted peas, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, carrots, bunching onions, radish, bok choy, kale, kohlrabi, and lettuce. This weekend I will be planting fava beans. spinach and more leeks and lettuce. I will also be planting some cover crops/green manure crops in my unused beds (winter peas and daikons).

everything is still growing here. I think we'll have a week or two of decent weather left.

We are clearing up, got still second growing bed from cukes and zukes but it is PITA cover/ uncover since it is pretty cold now. Most tomatoes are done- we just do not have heat for ripening anymore, although few still producing so there is plenty of fresh tomatoes yet.

My order from Doublehelix farms is on its way, and couple of orders from Ukraine lined up. Tania will post her catalog hopefully mid Oct. I so want to grow some older varieties I like but once again overwhelmed with new seeds coming.

Collecting and filing seeds for MMM swap to send.

Going to send my soil for testing this week, I use two places, CSI and Intl Ag labs.

Might get another load at Upick organic raspberries yet, got apples from nearby " free" apple tree, which was totally organic LOL, so apple sauce being made...

Need to clean up my perennial garden. Plenty of work yet.

Jet Star and Sweet Tangerine looking pretty terrible. Honestly though after this latest batch of tomatoes picked today I would be very happy not to see another tomato this year!

Sungolds still hanging in there but the tomatoes split like crazy, they are eat immediately or not at all.

Season is just about done :(

My garden looks like a dang bomb hit it, one cage collapsed, no weeding has been done, peppers still chugging along, need to pick some tomatoes. Think that will be bout the end for them. Will start a partial cleanup at that point. Tried planting some greens in another garden but there not doing well. Oh well it's now deer hunting season here so most of my time off will be spent out in the woods :)

My plans for winter largely include waiting for spring.

A 20+ ton of horse for an 80 x 60' Townie Grower patch. Do not wait... get ready early, if possible.

Karl, I wonder why you have all those red tomatoes hanging from the vines ?

I keep picking anything with slight blush and let them ripen inside.

We are having a nice fall weather and I am holding on the clean up as long as possible. Once all the good size tomatoes are picked I will remove the plants.

Sey

Sey, yea I got to pick I know, I plan on it tommorow, been working to much lately and exhausted

Waiting, waiting for this infernal heat to die down so I can get my cool season/winter starts in without them bolting right away. Best time for gardening is just starting here, looking forward to it since my summer garden was awful this year.

One of the things that I have done, is major major : I had my soil tested via county development service. The results are generally good. For example my pH is near perfect : 6.3 to 6.5. The lab report said 5.5 to 6.8 is the acceptable range. However, I have a few deficiencies like iron (Fe), Sulfur (S) and Sodium (Na). On the NPK side P is high. That is often the case. K is slightly on the high side too. But N is deficient. That is also often the case. N being readily water soluble leaches and need to be added regularly. I stopped fertilizing since early September and with the rain we get, all the N has gone down.

I have yet to clean up my garden. I need a good sunny dry day to do it. I will just clean up the the dead tops and won't bother with pulling the roots.

As far as what to grow in 2016, I have my grow out list already is made public in other threads and I've got most of the seeds except for a couple of hybrids. I think I can pick them up off the racks in BBS'. My germinating date is 2 months away.

How are your plans are coming along ?

Sey

My plans for 2016 is to start harvesting. Lol

Im lucky enough to have started a indoor garden. Of course this will all spill outdoors come early spring

This year will be minimal in ground, such as zucchini, cabbage, squash, and the 3 sisters. All else will be dutch buckets or kratky.

Few pics of setup

Cuc at 13 days

Stupice tomatoes at 17 days

And some lettuce ill be using in salad jan 1st