Seasonal-based Regimen

This is a checklist-like assembly of items to guide the habitat-builder through the seasons.  There are many benefits to living seasonally in one's diet and activities.  Not only does it help with staying in tune with nature, but by living seasonally, we tend to learn by doing and witnessing the changes and developments in nature.  Books are great, but being a first-line witness is preferable.  Sorry about the bullets-I know it is a lame way to digest info...I will morph into something better as time and inspiration allows.

Autumn

• Apply compost
• Prune plants as necessary to prep for winter
• Emplace pollinator-friendly trees and shrubs
• Harvest seeds from vegetables from the most durable plants.  (note: by harvesting seeds from plants late in the season you are then benefiting from the plant's adaptability throughout the growing season.)
• Use leaves for composting or a leaf mulch pile (vice throwing them out)
• Conduct mower and tool maintenance (sharpening) before winter storage.  Good time to sharpen your ax to prepare for wood splitting
• Install a micro-weather station
• Canning of your harvest

Winter

• Shut off outdoor spickets
• Track wildlife after any snow fall
• Conduct research on how to hit the ground running in spring with your habitat building and restoration
• Work on internal energy systems: water efficiency | battery power | reduce household waste and disposables
• Make kombucha
• Keep composting (or start for crying out loud!)
• Organize your seed bank
• Plan to emplace solar panels
• Drain some rain water to prevent freezing damage to rain barrels

Spring

• Plant native plant species
• Emplace/expand rain harvesting/barrels
• Emplace bee house by march for mason bees, late May for leafcutter bees
• Put down compost around plants and trees
• Put down fresh leaf mulch
• Pull early weeds for fertilizer tea
• Replace fossil fuel mower/weed whacker with battery powered tools
• Reduce lawn coverage with productive (vegetables or herbs) or native (pollinator-friendly) plants
• Visit farmers' markets

Summer

• Remember to use harvested rain as much as possible
• Keep weeding by hand and make fertilizer tea
• In lieu of fertilizer tea use organic fish fertilizer
• Compost all of your food scraps and byproduct from your lawn care or unused summer harvest
• Place your mower at the highest possible level
• Monitor rain barrels during thunderstorms, your barrels can fill very quickly
• Tend to vegetables and herbs and enjoy increasing the productivity of your habitat year after year