Autumn’s colorful tapestry is ending. 2025 Island fall has been beautiful and bright, and thanks partly to drought.
In the news: atmospheric rivers and flooding caused by heavy rainfall. The recent Nov. 9 afternoon downpour yielded two inches of rain in a little over 45 minutes. That is a lot of rain; but how much did it help the drought?
In such a torrential rain, runoff is a big factor; less is infiltrated into the water table. Swale plantings, rain gardens, catchments -— these are things we as homeowners, gardeners, and towns can put into effect, to counter increasingly destructive downpours as well as drought conditions.
On our road we deal with a pronounced swale. Over many years it has held water, and flooded under varying conditions. We always speculated about its potential to become a pond; or perhaps if we should simply try to mitigate the flooding with planting.
The latter option is what is happening: four bald cypress (North American native Taxodium distichum) I bought as liners and grew on, are now planted in the swale. It will be interesting to see how these wetland-adapted, deciduous conifers do there.
Raising awareness is one piece in getting all our rainfall down into the ground, instead of having it run off into the storm drain, harbor, or ocean! Water conservation is not a very sexy topic. It may be a tiresome reminder, but one everyone needs: All our fresh water comes from the sky.
We cannot prevent floods and drought, but we can offset effects to the best of our ability. The greater the amount of impermeable surface we construct, the more unmanageable heavy rainfall becomes, and the less groundwater recharge occurs.
Planting more trees, conserving biomass on site (yes, leaving the leaves), impeding runoff: We should do all we can as individuals and towns to make and keep Island soils absorbing the rainfall they receive, and remaining permeable.
What is a weed?
Many are familiar with Emerson’s often-quoted aphorism, paraphrased as something like “a weed is a plant whose virtues are yet to be discovered.” Healthy debate has surfaced in eco-gardening about the terminology in use for “weeds,” “pests,”and “invasives.”
This debate may have been sparked some years ago with an article Andrew Cockburn wrote for Harper’s magazine, “Weed Whackers” (bit.ly/HM_WeedWhackers). In it Cockburn parallels the language we use for uninvited plants — plant life in the wrong place — with that we use for human beings. He asks us to think about it. Words such as “non-native,” “invasive,” “weeds,” are now routinely applied to human life as well as to plant life, along with glyphosate and tear gas.
Julian and the asparagus bed
Our asparagus ferns remained green well into November. With asparagus here, I aspire to channel Julian Hill and his celebrated asparagus bed. Those who remember Julian knew him as a well-rounded, Apollonian character: scientist and inventor, musician, Polly’s husband, birdwatcher, gourmet and wine connoisseur, mycologist, figure skater, and steward of a productive asparagus bed.
Seaweed went on Julian’s bed, and a lot of other nutritious rot as well. Now that our plants here have been cut down, the next step is cleaning the chicken coop and transferring the nitrogen-rich litter, what Eliot Coleman might call “site-generated fertility,” onto the asparagus bed. One can only hope for 2026, and hoist a toast to Julian and quality results.
In the garden
Frost has occurred in many but not all gardens. This would be a good time for taking samples for soil testing. For a complete list of UMass lab testing services, go to bit.ly/UMass_SoilTest.
A few pink rose blossoms straggle on, while the remontant iris, ‘Harvest of Memories,’ shares its improbable reprise of large golden flowers. These scent the chilly air with the same, faint lemony fragrance as springtime’s tall bearded irises.
Meanwhile, cool weather self-sowers grow prodigally: in this garden, chickweed and spitting cress, some others I do not know (“weeds”); and chervil, cilantro, dill, calendula, and arugula. Comfrey has expanded vigorously. It makes a fortifying addition to composts. Cover-cropping with winter rye or other winter green manures protects soil surfaces from erosion, and adds organic matter when it is turned under in spring.
While the Internet supplies lots of information, some of the best sources of information for cover-cropping and more are books you can actually take out to the garden with you. They might contain more information than you can digest at the moment, but you will be able to consult them time after time over your gardening life.
I recommend Eliot Coleman’s “The New Organic Grower”; Shepherd Ogden’s “Step by Step Organic Vegetable Gardening”; and DK’s “Fruit & Vegetable Gardening,” edited by Michael Pollock. Buy used, or look for these at the library.
The purchased seed garlic is here, waiting to be planted in rows where marigolds are still flowering. Our 2025 garlic was disappointing; I am using commercial seed garlic this fall, instead of using the best heads from the previous crop.
Thanksgiving is when I usually get around to this; this year looks similar. Heads are separated into cloves, planted about 2½ inches deep, 7 to 8 inches apart, in rows that are 12 inches apart.
Thanksgiving with A-G?
Holiday meals need to have alpha-gal-compliant dishes these days. Here’s a soup course that fits in.
Chickpea-Tomato Soup with Fresh Rosemary
2 15-oz. cans chickpeas
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
needles of 2 to 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, stripped and minced
2 cans diced tomatoes, one 28-oz. and one 14.5-oz.
pinch of sugar (optional)
4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
Drain chickpeas in a colander and rinse well. Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot and add the garlic and rosemary. Cook for a minute or two, and then add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper, half the chickpeas, and vegetable stock.
Bring to a boil on high, and then reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Purée, using immersion blender, food mill, or food processor, and return to the pot. Add the remaining chickpeas and reheat.
Wishing a heartfelt Thanksgiving holiday to all!
