Garden Notes: November 2025

I'm getting a jump on posting my November garden notes, because I want to clear my blogging calendar for my holiday series. It's 10 parts, which will take about a month, starting next week. I'll be updating this post as the weather and other garden events require. 

My early November view from the goat barn.

Rainfall

• 8th: 0.12"
• Total so far: 0.12 inches

 Temperature 

• range of nighttime lows: 25 to 58°F (-4 to 14.4°C)
• range of daytime highs: 42 to 80°F (5.5 to 26.6°C)

 First freeze: Nov. 11

• Outside: 25°F (-4°C)
• Greenhouse: 32°F (0°C)

Weather Notes

• We skipped first frost this year and when right to first freeze. There had been scattered frost in the neighborhood, but somehow it missed our garden.
• We could use some rain, but with cooler temperatures at least the ground doesn't dry out as quickly as it does in summer.
• Nov. 19th we had what felt like Indian Summer. We don't really have this seasonal reprieve here in the South, but it was reminiscent of my childhood.

Harvested

• lettuce
• kale
• cherry tomatoes
• Jerusalem artichokes
• red raspberries
• parsley
• oregano
• sweet potatoes
• green beans
• turnips
• collards
• carrot

Transplanted

• lettuce
• kale
• broccoli
• aloe vera

Garden notes

• I got the last of everything harvested before the freeze
• Garden chores now consist of finishing bed cleanup and mulching each. 
• After I get the beds mulched, I'll start working on the aisles between the beds.

Raking and hauling leaves to the garden for mulch is an almost daily chore.

More Photos

Jerusalem artichokes

The sunchokes were from a volunteer plant in a greenhouse container. Somehow it survived the hot summer temps in the greenhouse and I think I only watered it once out of pity. When I emptied out the pot for winter planting, it was loaded with the chokes you see above.

Here's how the greenhouse looks at present - 

This year's greenhouse experiment is peas. These are the edible pod peas we like so well.

When I harvested the sweet potatoes, I decided to try digging up and potting my bell pepper plants. I tried this several years ago but those didn't make it. Maybe they'll do better in the greenhouse.

4 potted bell pepper plants

I also dug up one nicely sprouting sweet potato. So it went into a pot as well.

Struggling sweet potato. I may have to move it indoors when it gets really cold.

The other thing I did before the freeze was to cut off a bunch of cherry tomato vines. These were set on the table in the carport. The leaves are drying out but the tomatoes continue to ripen, so we're still eating fresh cherry tomatoes even though the rest of the garden is done. 

The weather has been lovely so I spend part of each afternoon working in the garden. With sunny mild days in the upcoming forecast, I should get a lot done.

How about you? Anyone growing a fall garden? Anyone got a greenhouse?

Garden Notes: November 2025 © Nov. 2025

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Our First Baby Buff

Our Buff Orpingtons are 7-months-old and already we've got a baby chick. When we realized one of them had gone broody, we were surprised to say the least. Especially so late in the year. So we didn't mark the calendar to count the 21 incubation days for hatching chicks. About the time we figured she was setting on all duds, Dan said he'd give her another week. The very next day she presented with one baby chick!

The problem was that the dominant hen is pretty mean and she set out to kill it. That meant a scramble on our part to catch the remaining hens and move them to the big chicken coop. We'd recently thinned the flock to winter numbers and Rooster Shooster was a bit mopey with so few hens left. 

We shut the Buffs by themselves in the coop for the rest of the day and Dan let them out in the evening. Amazingly there were no territorial challenges and no fighting. Everyone seems to be getting along fairly well.

Of our Buff rooster, he didn't make the cut.

He was very handsome and attentive to his ladies, but he was too aggressive and came after both Dan and me. We won't keep aggressive animals so he had to go.

Mama Buff is an excellent mother and seems perfectly fine with just her and Baby Chick in the chicken tractor yard. Eventually, we'll move them in with the other chickens.

Our First Baby Buff © Nov 2025 by Leigh

at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Front Room Closet Progress

Making progress, a little here and a little there. (Continued from this post.)

Corner molding installed and front edge of floor added.

Track for sliding bypass doors installed.

In my last closet post I mentioned that the door opening is 79 inches. The longest track we could get was 72 inches. But it wasn't a problem because the wheels were inset somewhat on the door.

Slider wheels attached and door hung on the track.

Doors installed

Floor stained. Dan used leftover cherry stain.

Brace for upper shelf.

Under side of upper shelf

The left-hand and middle boards in the photo above are the boards from the original closet shelf. Since we added four inches of depth to the closet by tearing out the wall, Dan had to add another board to complete the new width.

Inside view of the new upper shelf

Dan's going to add a pair of sliding doors here, using cabinet door track. And of course, the new shelf needs to be painted. And polyurethane put on the closet floor. And the doors stained and polyed. And then, I think, the closet will be about ready to use. (Yay!)

Front Room Closet Progress © Nov 2025

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Front Room Closet: Decision About the Doors

I make a trip to the library once a week and on one of those recent trips I stopped by Lowes and Home Depot to see what they had on offer for closet doors. As I mentioned in my last closet post, I was hoping to find hollow core wood bypass doors, but alas, these apparently aren't popular nowadays. What both stores did have was a vast selection of bifold doors.

My reluctance toward the bifold doors is because they need unhindered space to open them. For two 36-inch width doors, that would be 18 inches of space out into the room. But space is a premium feature in this room and I'm not sure I want to give it up for bifold doors, especially against the outer wall, where I'd like to use the wall space. Lowes does carry sliding mirrored closet doors, but I really don't want to look at myself that much. Home Depot offers barn door kits, but sheesh, they are expensive. 

The other problem with finding doors is that the closet opening is almost 79 inches wide. The widest doors of 36 inches each would only cover 72 inches, and that would leave a gap of 7 inches. 

The solution? Dan decided to make the doors. He made the sliding doors for the chicken coop, old goat barn, new goat barn, and hay loft. The track is available separately, so why not?

He knocked out two doors for the front room closet in a couple of afternoons.

First of two barn style closet doors.

So that's done and they're ready to install after the door track is installed. 

There's still the question of how to finish them. At first I thought to paint them the same color that the walls will eventually be. But then we talked about staining them. That would certainly enhance the rustic look of the plywood, which would be perfect for the rustic farmhouse look I want in this room.

Anyway, that's done and I'm quite pleased with them.

Front Room Closet: Decision About the Doors © 2025

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Garden Notes: October 2025

It must be autumn if Sam has moved his nap spot to indoors.

Rainfall

• 5th: 0.03"
• 6th: 0.01"
• 8th: 0.07"
• 19th: 0.2"
• 21st: 0.01"
• 26th: 0.1"
• 27th: 2.59"
• 28th: 0.39"
• 29th: 1.01"
• Total: 4.5 inches

 Temperature

• range of nighttime lows: 38 to 67°F (3.3 to 19.4°C)
• range of daytime highs: 49 to 85°F (9.4 to 29.4°C)

Weather Notes

• The colors of the sunrise have changed with the cooler temperatures
• In summer the sunrise was peach and gold behind the green leafy trees
• In early autumn the sky is silver and gray behind the leafy green
• By the middle of the 3rd week the seasonal shift was firmly entrenched, which meant it was time to change our routines.
• Switching most of the cooking from the summer kitchen to indoors.
• Switching garden work to the afternoon and doing indoor projects in the morning
• Migrating Canada geese and hawks. The geese are no problem but we've had at least one hawk keen on trying to catch our chickens.
• Flannel sheets on the bed!
• An extra blanket on the bed.
• Soup season has begun.
• And of course, the first wood fire of the season.

Planted

• lettuce both garden and greenhouse
• turnips
• wheat
• edible pod peas (greenhouse)
• collards (greenhouse)

Harvested

• green beans
• yam berries
• green beans
• cherry tomatoes
• slicing tomatoes
• bell peppers
• parsley
• basil
• oregano
• okra
• lettuce
• winter squash
• pecans
• kale
• collards
• Swiss chard
• daikons (leaves and roots)
• red raspberries

Preserved

• green beans & yam berries, canned
• green beans (plain), canned
• parsley, dried
• basil, dried

Photos

Getting close to the last of the summer produce as frost could be at any time now.

Greens galore: kale, Swiss chard, and collards

We've been picking up pecans here and there, but after this week's 
wind and rain, pecans have be easy picking by the bucketful.

Our sweet potato winter squash have been somewhat disappointing.
They were late to develop and haven't gotten very big. We only got 8.

This one wasn't completely matured so it was selected for eating
earlier than the cured ones. We all get some: goats, chickens, and us.

That's about it for me. First frost any day now! How about you? 

Garden Notes: October 2025 © October 2025

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Front Room Closet: Painting & New Closet Floor

This is where we left off last time.

And this is what it looks like at present.

So, you can see two changes, the walls painted and a new closet floor.

The paint was leftover from another project and I wasn't sure I'd have enough, but I managed to get two coats on both walls and ceiling. It's a very pale yellow. After Dan re-installs the quarter-round trim in the corners, I'll use the last of the can for touch up. It could probably use a third coat but being a closet, it's doubtful anyone will pay much attention to the walls.

Next, Dan wanted to do something about the floor. The quickest, cheapest option was unfinished shiplap boards. They need trim, stain, and a poly finish. 

Next, is closet doors. 

Front Room Closet: Painting & New Closet Floor 

© 2025 by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Front Room Closet Remodel: Assessing & Planning

Dan's fall and winter project is to finish the front room. Originally a bedroom, I set up my big floor room in it and am now using it as a weaving room. Or at least I will be when all the remodeling is done! There are several things that need finishing in this room: the walls where he replaced the original windows, the back of the masonry stove, and the closet. He starting with the closet.

The first step was to tear out the remaining closet wall.

What's immediately curious is that paint job. Why would they only paint it green part way up? Probably because that was a high as they could reach.

Our ceilings are high at 8'10." The original closest door measured 72" in height (standard door height is 80"). The closet shelf was at installed at 64." Include the door molding and this configuration only allowed 7 inches between the shelf and the top of the door for shelf access.

You can see more photos including the original room layout here.

That meant that the 32-cubic-feet above the shelf were pretty much inaccessible for storage. I definitely want to remedy that.

The other problem with this closest is that the original interior depth was only 17.5 inches. That's barely wide enough for a clothes hanger! By tearing out the wall, we gained 4 extra inches in depth. You can see the difference in this next photo looking up into the closet ceiling.

The original closet interior is painted white. The unpainted part is where the wall used to be. The 2x6 is where the new closet exterior will be. 

The next step was to cover the exposed bricks on the lefthand wall.

I missed getting a photo, but before he put up the plywood, Dan added a thick piece of ceramic fiber blanket to insulate the wall, the same stuff that he used to insulate the masonry stove core. Because it's just the inside of the closet, he used plywood instead of trying to match the tongue-and-groove.

The plan is to install standard hollow core bypass doors, with a shelf over top to give me access to the additional storage space, similar to what Dan did in our bedroom. 

In the bedroom closet, Dan built shelves. He asked me to figure out what I want to do with this closet, so I've had to think about how the space will be used. What I really need is storage space for my totes and boxes, not a clothes closet. Considering that the room could still be used as a bedroom, however, I don't know that it would be wise to put the whole closet in shelves. At the moment, I'm considering some stand-alone wire shelf units, something like these. One on either end of the closet.  

So those are our tentative plans. Next step is paint those walls. 

Front Room Closet Remodel: Assessing & Planning 

© 2025 by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

2nd Test Fire & Masonry Stove Improvement #4

The Structo-lite plastering (stuccoing?) is complete and I don't mind telling you I don't know what to think. I really really liked the bricks, but with the small and annoying smoke leaks in the mortar, this was the option Dan went with. The second test fire confirmed it was a good choice because thanks to better sealing of the thermal mass, the smoke by-pass, and improvement #4, the stove worked beautifully!

Improvement #4 was to enlarge the built-in damper in the firebox door. It just wasn't large enough for a good air flow to get the fire started. 

Our firebox door. Photo from Masonry Heater Project

The slots on the bottom are the damper, with the cute knob to adjust the air intake. For our particular type of stove, this air intake needs an area of 2 & 3/8 square inches. The original door damper was less than 2 square inches and so the fire had trouble catching. Dan enlarged the air slots to the required specs and that made a big difference. 

The photo's a little dark but hopefully you can see the difference.

For our 2nd test fire, better initial air flow made it easier to get the fire going. 

My challenge now is the aesthetics of the thing. The plaster is off-white, which looks brighter compared to my pale gold walls. Off-white is a nice neutral color, but in my mind it needs to coordinate with it's color environment to its best advantage. I'm seriously re-thinking my living room color scheme! That's one thing I'm contemplating. The other is the solidness of the color. The subtle color variations in the brick gave the stove visual texture which is gone now. So that's the other thing I'm thinking about. The thing is, aesthetics is highly subjective. So there is no right or wrong, it's just a matter of what one likes.

The most important thing is that the problems we had have now been addressed and the stove is functioning as it should. It burns more efficiently with very little ash left in the firebox afterward, and the thermal mass retains and radiates the heat beautifully.

While I decide how to address the visuals in the living room, Dan is in the planning stage for finishing the back of the stove and rebuilding the closet in the front bedroom.

Finishing the wall and remodeling the closet will be two separate projects.

We have our indoor winter projects cut out for us.

2nd Test Fire & Masonry Stove Improvement #4 

 © 2025 by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Permaculture Adventure Bundle

 I just wanted to share a limited opportunity to purchase over $600 worth of homestead and permaculture resources for $45. This bundle was originally offered last year, and is a "back by popular request" sort of promotion. It's available for the next 48 hours.

Here's what's in it:

-Roundhouse Studio Plans Package & Earthbag Building Guide eBook by Owen Geiger - value $150
-Finding the Perfect Homestead Property Course (2 Lessons) by Curtis Stone - value $59
-PawPaw Quick Start Guide (Video and eBook) by Michael Judd - value $15
-Boosting your Garden Yields by Growing Algae Presentation by Matt Huber - value $7
-Wooden Door with Mycelium Insulation & Proenneke Hinge Guide plus plans by Andres Bernal - value $12.99
-Permaculture Guilds Training Session by Permaculture Gardens - value $29
-Hugelkultur: The Ultimate Raised Bed Gardening eBook (draft) by Paul Wheaton - value $10
-Easy Homemade Body Products eBook by Merissa A. Alink - value $5.96
-Composting Toilet Design Plan PDF by Rancho Mastatal - value $15
-The Design & Build of the Giant Solar Food Dehydrator movie by Paul Wheaton - value $9.95
-Save our Bees: Your Guide to Creating a Bee Friendly Environment eBook by Jason Johns - value $3.99
-DIY Specialty Soaps eBook by The Nerdy Farm Wife - value $9
-Building a Cob Style Rocket Mass Heater movie by Paul Wheaton - value $10
-Earthen Walls Webinar by Natalie Bogwalker/Wild Abundance - value $59
-Podcast Review of Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel with Paul Wheaton - value $3
-Wildcrafting Weeds eBook by Colleen Codekas and Joel Schwartz - value $9.97
-Building a Better World in your Backyard eBook by Paul Wheaton - value $7.99
-45 Low Tech Things Webinar by Paul Wheaton - value $10
-Issues 110 & 118 of Permaculture Design Magazine - value $9.90
-Practical Mending eBook by Kate Downham - value $5
-Cooking with a Rocket Oven movie by Paul Wheaton - value $3.50
-Thermophilic Compost for the Garden and Homestead PDF by Alan Booker - value $4.50
-Podcast Gob 281-320 by Paul Wheaton - value $4
-6 Issues of Tiny House Magazine - value $42
-Backyard Food Forest Webinar by Helen Atthowe - value $10
-Water Biofilters & Composting Toilet Systems Presentation with Tim Barker - value $10
-Why Chickens are the Enablers and Heroes of Permaculture Design (Workshop) by Patricia Foreman - value $15
-Issue 6 of Living Woods Magazine - value $3.50
-Core Site Layout: Zone 1 Planning Online Workshop by Ben Falk - value $20
-Saving our Seeds eBook by Bevin Cohen - value $14.99
-Celery Wine: The Story of a Country Commune eBook by Elaine Sundancer - value $8
-The Beginning Gardener's Toolbox eBook by The Little Green Shoot - value $37
-How to Bake without Baking Powder by Leigh Tate - value $6.99
-Northern Great Basin Restoration Agriculture Biome Models Presentation by Neil Bertrando - value $4.50

Sale runs through Sunday morning.

Here's the link - Permaculture Adventure Bundle.

Orphan Baby

 

Summer

This week I lost Sky, my favorite doe. 

Sky and her baby Summer. Photo from July 2025

At 8½ years of age Sky was my oldest doe and my best tempered. I really had no clue anything was wrong other than she had been quite picky about her feed for the past several weeks. That in itself isn't all that unusual, but then she developed severe scours and stopped eating altogether. I had recently wormed my goats so I added a coccidiosis treatment, vitamin B and iron shots, and Nutri-Drench. Two days later she was gone. 

That in itself is incredibly hard, but worse, she left behind her 9-week-old doeling, Summer.

Baby Summer is able to eat well on her own, but I really, really like for them to be on their mother's milk for at least 12 weeks or longer. They seem to grow so much better that way. Plus, things born or hatched of a mother need a mother. It's the way things are. Summer is now an orphan.

One concern for lone kids is that they get picked on by the other goats. Fortunately, Sky was very firm that no one was allowed to mess with her baby, so they've accepted her. She gets butted around some, but mostly the others don't bother her. 

Only once has Summer cried for her mother and gone to look for her. I let her see and smell the body before we took it away. Somehow, animals have an understanding and acceptance of death. That doesn't mean she doesn't miss her mother, but she's doing pretty well anyway. Being a single with no other kids her age around, she doesn't have a playmate or companion. So she's mostly by herself. She follows the other goats but stays out of their way. 

I haven't tried to give her a bottle because once kids are used to the teat they refuse it. I'm making sure she gets feed with extra protein and calcium. 

I'm going to be sad about this for a long time. 

Orphan Baby © October 2025 by Leigh

at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Garden Notes: September 2025

  Rainfall

• 4th: 0.07"
• 6th: 0.33"
• 16th: 0.11"
• 20th: 0.36"
• 25th: 1.34"
• 26th: 0.03
• 27th: 1.0"
• 29th: 0.15"
• Total: 3.39 inches

 Temperature

• range of nighttime lows: 51 to 69°F (10.5 to 20.5°C)
• range of daytime highs: 71 to 87°F (22 to 30.5°C)

Garden Notes: It's been a transition month:

• Finishing the harvest for some things
• Seed saving
• Cleaning out beds for either fall planting or their winter rest
• Planting fall and winter veggies
• Starting containers of same to transfer into the greenhouse when the weather is colder. 
• Watering as needed because rain has been scant

Planted

• parsnips
• kale
• blue collards
• garlic
• lettuce
• turnips
• daikon
• carrots

Harvested

• okra
• yam berries
• sweet basil
• parsley
• muscadines
• cherry tomatoes
• onions
• green beans
• green peppers
• elderberries
• slicing tomatoes
• garlic
• field corn
• asparagus
• lettuce

Preserved

• muscadines, frozen
• elderberries, frozen
• okra, frozen
• basil, dehydrated
• parsley, dehydrated
• field corn, dried
• green beans & yam berries, canned

Pictures

Summer tomatoes making a come-back after a hot dry spell.

Summer green beans. They were late producing but are doing well now.

Spring planted Swiss chard. Something ravaged it over the
summer so that I thought it was completely destroyed. But
with the cooler temps and recent rain, it's thriving again.

Greenhouse collards planted about a year ago. These survived much
 neglect over the summer, but survived in a shady spot under a tree.

Late summer planted lettuce

Late summer planted daikon

Late summer planted kale

And a few non-garden pics. 

Lots of eggs! Mostly chicken with a few duck eggs. The little
 ones are pullet eggs from our newly laying Buff Orpingtons.

Brownie sundae with homemade goats milk ice cream.

So that's my garden at the end of September. How is yours?

Garden Notes: September 2025 © Sept 2025

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com