Ep 230. Lessons from a Late No-Till Garden

In this episode, Mary Stone shares the surprising gifts of her late-season vegetable garden and highlights the benefits of No-Till gardening. She walks through ripening green tomatoes indoors, saving seeds for next year and putting the garden to bed without disturbing the living soil below — a gentle practice that nurtures healthier plants and fewer weeds.

Mary also reflects on nature’s timing, the season of letting go, and the heartfelt loss of her dear friend and design colleague, Marty Carson. A tender, practical, and hope-filled episode for gardeners and nature lovers navigating their own seasons of change.

Thanks for tuning in!

Related Podcasts & Blog Posts:

Lessons from a Late No-Till Garden— Blog Post

🌿 No-Till Gardening Essentials

 No-till Gardening and Starting a No-till Garden— Blog Posts

 Ep 28. Three Sisters, No-Till Gardening

 🌺 Veterans Day Reflections

 Significance of Veterans Day Poppies  — Blog Post

 Ep 135. Significance of Poppies on Veterans Day

🌶️ Hot Peppers & Kitchen Fun

Growing HOT Peppers into cool Jelly  — Blog Post

Ep 33. Hot Peppers into Cool Jelly, DIY Worm Castings

 8888

I'd love to hear your garden and nature stories and your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. 

You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook and Instagram #MaryElaineStone.

Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page

 Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life,

Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer

More about the Podcast and Column:

Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

Transcript

Ep 230. Lessons from a Late No-Till Garden

Sun, Nov 16, 2025 7:31 AM • 14:14

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Garden dilemmas, nature inspirations, Veterans Day, hospice singing, sustainable care, late harvest, no-till garden, hardening off, ripening tomatoes, hot peppers, cover crops, soil microorganisms, composting, natural rhythms, emotional challenge.

SPEAKERS

Mary Stone

Mary Stone  00:00

Mary, Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other, we have lots to talk about. 

Mary Stone  00:26

Hello there. It's Mary Stone on a chilly screen porch, but nothing like a few days ago, when we never got above freezing. It was 28 degrees on Veterans Day, which is officially always 11-11, although we celebrate it at different times, which we spoke about way back in episode 135, the significance of poppies on Veterans Day. It's always fun to visit that story. Anyway, it's going to be a bit over 40 today, so a little bit better. I want to thank those that reached back after our last episode, Flocking Together - Wisdom from Grackles. Indeed, as I said, on the wrap-up, as the season of letting go continues, may we hold on to the image of a sky filled with wings shimmering together, reminding us that even in endings, there is beauty and the possibility of flying forward in grace. 

Mary Stone  01:14

So today, Ken Roberts and I have our last of our volunteer sings at the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice. But as we promised, Julia Quinlan, we will continue to sing, using our Songs of Hospice project as a call to change the broken system of nursing home care here in this country. Compassionate care should be sustainable, as the Home for Hospice proved at one time. And that goes for you, my kind listeners, if there's something in your life that is undergoing change, it is the season of letting go, but beyond that is something bigger that will grow from it. 

Mary Stone  01:51

I've shared bits about my late-to-plant vegetable garden in previous episodes. All season, I felt as I was chasing my tail. Have you ever felt that way, you just can't keep up? I'm sure you have. I started strong in my own garden, as I usually do, and this year I was way ahead of previous years, buying starter plants from my wonderful local Race Farm. I remember last year getting there so late that the starter plants were kind of scraggly. Nothing against you. Race farm. They had outgrown their pots, but there was enough to gather, and they grew into beautiful plants. But this time, I was way ahead of things. I had a mission to be so, and I bought my plants. I put them in the transition zone to harden them off.

Mary Stone  02:33

 As you probably know, annuals are grown in a controlled environment and have tender foliage that will transpire water, which means they sweat more quickly, and therefore they're prone to sunburn or yellowing leaves. So, hardening off means you help your new plants adapt to the sunny conditions that is in their future. You place them outside in a shady area for a few days, and then you move the plants into the morning and late-day sun but protect them from the mid-day sun. And after a week or so, your plants will be ready to face the world and face the world they did. However, I did my due diligence in the transition zone, and that's where the plants stayed, growing way beyond their small pots. But this time, it was on my watch. 

Mary Stone  03:16

I have to laugh, because when I was checking out my purchase of over $220 and included annuals and herbs for the garden pots, I must say. But I commented to Devon, who is one of race farms members, who runs the farm stand and nursery, I could buy a lot of produce for that. Never mind the 90 bucks and deer netting to replace portions that I couldn't save from last year. But we get so much joy of digging in the dirt, don't we? However, I don't technically dig unless I'm planting—no tilling for me. Mine is a no-till garden, and my late-to-plant vegetable garden produced an abundance of late-season veggies. To my delight, I literally have pounds and pounds of tomatoes, no kidding. And now it's time to put the garden to bed, leading to this week's story that starts like this.

Mary Stone  04:03

 Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I harvested the last of my vegetables late by most standards. It was November 2 when I gathered the remaining tomatoes. Though many were still green, their color shifts showed that they could finish ripening indoors. That's called, by the way, the mature green stage. It's when they turn a bit lighter, and they have that gel-like substance inside at that stage two, growth hormones change and cause the production of ethylene gas, which ages the cells, resulting in ripening. Tomatoes are one of the few vegetables, technically a fruit, you can harvest before they fully ripen, which prevents skin cracks, green shoulders, and stretch marks. Lucky tomatoes. Plus, it lets you control the ripening process, and you can enjoy the bounty before the assailants, those cute little chipmunks, take a bite, or before the first heavy frost snags them. 

Mary Stone  04:56

 Keep them out of direct sunlight, and they'll reach peak ripeness in seven to 10 days. Or if you wish for them to ripen faster, put them in a brown bag, and if more slowly, place them in the cool garage. There is something magical about staging pounds and pounds of green tomatoes to ripen at different times when most gardens have gone to rest. I have two baskets of them in my kitchen and one in the garage, and I have been rotating them and sharing them. And it's kind of a hit and run of tomatoes with friends. You know, kind of like what you do with zucchini. Have you ever done that? Just left one at somebody's doorstep. 

Mary Stone  05:29

Anyway, I also harvested the last of the peppers. Chuckling over my earlier blunder, I bought starter plants at the local Race Farm Market, bell peppers, and the long green variety, while deliberately avoiding hot peppers, or so I thought. During the first harvest, one broke while I was picking it, so into my mouth it went, one small bite, and my lips were on fire. I grabbed a green tomato to cool the burn, biting it like an apple, and it was not in the gel stage. So, it was very hard. Lesson learned. Label your peppers, carry water, and laugh at your gardening faux pas. Literally, my mouth was so numb I can't even imagine how anybody can eat those things. It gave me fear about the other long pepper plants, and it took a while for me to memorize which plant it came from. Then came finding a home for those bloody hot peppers. Maybe I should have sent them to Russ and Sarah Moore, who we featured in Episode 33 they grow hot peppers and turn them into cool jelly. It's a kind of neat story. 

Mary Stone  06:32

As I mentioned. Mine is a no-till vegetable garden, a method I learned from Patti Doell of Little Big Farm here in Blairstown, New Jersey, a handful of years ago, featured in Episode 28. Soil is alive with microorganisms and nematodes, fungi, protozoa, and earthworms, all working together to decompose organic matter and help build soil structure. Not only will plants grow better and produce more, but they'll also resist pests and diseases and are more tolerant of drought. Plus, you have fewer weeds since tilling a garden brings more weed seeds to the surface. It is a far easier way to garden, I've learned over the last few years doing it. And when you're putting your no-till garden to bed in the fall, clean up rather than pulling plants up by the roots; I cut them down to the soil line. The decomposing roots feed microbes, worms, and fungi that naturally aerate and enrich the soil. 

Mary Stone  07:25

Patti plants cover crops in the fall to improve fertility and suppress weeds. They die back over the winter. I confess, I haven't delved into cover cropping, as I'm still harvesting beyond the time to plant them. And so, one or two inches of organically grown straw does the trick. Or I protect the soil with an inch or two of shredded leaves or leaf mold. They decompose naturally, feeding the living soil below. 

Mary Stone  07:50

As I tidied up, I saved seeds from the last beans and peas left on the vines. The easiest seeds to save are tomato, pepper, bean, and pea seeds. Once the tomato is fully ripe, scoop out the gooey center with the seeds, then swirl them in water for a few days to separate the gel. Rinse and dry them on paper towels. Allow peppers to ripen and start to wither on the plant before harvesting the seeds. And if you're doing hot peppers, you just may want to keep those separate. I'm just saying. For peas and beans, let them dry on the plant until brown, or cut and hang the whole plant if they aren't dry before the risk of frost. The seeds will draw energy from the plant until it dries. Harvest the pods and spread them out on a tray and indoors to dry. You can wait until the following spring to shell the pods and sow the seeds. Easy peasy, and it's such fun to do. Make sure seeds are thoroughly dry before you store them, because I've made this mistake. Once you put them in airtight containers, which is a good thing to do to keep critters out, the moisture from the seeds could encourage mold, and that has happened to me. So definitely make sure they're thoroughly dry. And then you should label them and date them so that you can monitor the results and keep track of the best-producing seeds from year to year. There's nothing like the fun of gathering free seeds and watching them grow into nutritious vegetables.

Mary Stone  09:10

 My late-to-plant vegetable garden taught me it's never too late. We often think otherwise - that we've missed the window of opportunity, yet the garden gently says no such thing. Even in November, my tomatoes ripened, my beans yielded seeds, and the soil is brimming with life. As Lao Tzu expressed in the Tao Te Ching, which dates back 2500 years, nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. Reminding us that the timing isn't about calendars.

Mary Stone  09:41

 Actually, the expression is an interpretation of Lao Tzu's words - his actual words. The Tao does nothing but leaves nothing undone, which is in chapter 37 of the Tao Te Ching, meaning, nature has an effortless way to make things happen as it cycles through the seasons. That is, if we allow it to unfold naturally without interfering. But going with the flow isn't about slowing down. It's about finding the rhythm, surfing a wave, moving with the flow, rather than against it, like a leaf in the water. Sometimes you have to speed up to ride the wave, but not too fast, because you'll miss it. When we follow the natural flow, the right timing reveals itself. The garden mirrors that truth. What we've planted in our lives, even when we think there are mistakes, feeds what comes next. Trust the timing. By letting go of rushing or forcing, we join the rhythm of the natural world. One that always finds its way back to life. Garden dilemmas? Ask Mary Stone.com.

Mary Stone  10:48

 Over the weekend, I took the deer netting and stakes, and cages off the plants, and I found other tomatoes that could have been harvested despite the heavy frost. They were tucked safely below the damaged foliage. I did snag a few of the red cherry tomatoes and ate them while I was working, but I left everything else for the critters to enjoy. I admit that I hesitate to put produce in the compost pile. When I first moved here, I did and invited black bears and raccoons to have a feast. So now my compost pile is leaves, plant debris, and coffee grounds only. But in the fall, I make an exception, a Thanksgiving feast for the critters.

Mary Stone  11:26

 Although I have to say, when I first cut down the plants in the vegetable garden, I just leave them there for a few days and watch the glory of the feast going on, which I don't usually see because it's overnight. But this morning, I gazed upon a young buck in the garden. He gazed back at me cautiously, standing still. It's okay, enjoy the bounty. I said to myself.  We were eye to eye for a moment, then he sauntered off with bits of foliage in his mouth. It made me so happy, I bet it did make him happy too. 

Mary Stone  11:59

Speaking of natural rhythms, my dear friend and garden design colleague, Marty Carson, passed away on Monday, November 11, Veterans Day. I am grateful she is no longer suffering. The gifts Marty gave to the gardens she created, and through her plant wisdom and design talents, she shared with me, will continue to grow in my work, beautifying landscapes organically to nurture a healthier world. Our love and relationship, like the seasons, will never truly end. The same is true for you, kind listeners. As we approach Thanksgiving, may we take comfort in knowing that our dearly departed are always with us. 

Mary Stone  12:40

So thank you for allowing me to share the update on Marty. I am going through an emotional challenge with that, combined with the hospice closing. But of course, that's what life is. It's about change, just like the changing seasons, and as hard as some of those changes can be, in this letting go of the fall season, there is such growth that comes from it, and with that is hope.  I may miss next week with our porch chat because I have some personal things to tend to, but if so, I will be back, and I look forward to it, just as I look forward to all the emails I receive from you. And encourage those of you who like to be on social media to leave your comments there as well. I can't thank you enough for all that you're giving to my life by the wisdom you share with me, and the experiences. May we all continue to learn and grow in this garden of life. It is indeed what it's all about, learning and growing and sharing what we learn and sharing the love with each other. Thanks again. See you next time. 

Mary Stone  13:43

You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at GardenDilemmas.com and on Instagram at the hashtag. Mary Elaine Stone. Garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.