Garden Chatter

If you are getting static reception for today’s garden chatter, you may have your station tuned to Thanksgiving recipes already. Reed, get your hands off that dial. Before we start talking turkey, which is coming all too soon, you can’t forget about the November garden chores. Here are a few to keep in mind while preparing for the football games and upcoming feast.

1) Make sure the plant beds are clean. This includes cutting this past season’s growth on your perennials. We often leave some flower and seed heads like the Autumn Joy Sedum and the ornamental grasses for decorative winter interest. Otherwise, everything else gets the winter haircut – short, back and sides.
2) Stockpile your winter mulch. If you ran out of mulch, you may want to get another delivery from your local nursery before they wrap it up for the season. If you can’t get a bulk delivery, you can always purchase the bagged mulch. Note: cover the mulch to keep it dry. You do not want the mulch to get wet and freeze as it makes it unusable for chore 3 & 4 (See below).
3) As soon as the ground freezes, you want to mound certain rose varieties like tea and multi-flora. There are a lot of good tips on mounding roses. This UVM link is an easy read http://www.uvm.edu/pss/ppp/articles/fallroses.html and this below internet photo shows a simple mounding illustration.


4) Any bulbs, peonies and recently planted perennials should also get a layer of protective mulch for the winter. Again, wait until the ground freezes so you don’t create little hotels for the critters.
5) This is also a good time to clean up all your garden tools and start winterizing your equipment. Run all your lawn and garden power tools until the tanks are empty or condition the remaining fuel with fuel conditioner. Your local power tool dealer is your best resource for tips and recommendations for winterizing your handy garden gadgets. Hold off on the leaf blower. The last few days of November are a good time to give the last hoorah to the fallen leaves.

Inundated with the list? It’s not as cumbersome as it may sound and your reward at the end of November is my favorite holiday - Thanksgiving. For all my Massachusetts’ readers, here is a quick link for fresh turkey farms and winter farmers markets. And remember to root for your local All-Stars – the farmers! http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/holiday-page.htm

The inspirational quote for the day is by B. Cybrill. “When the bold branches bid farewell to rainbow leaves – welcome wool sweaters.” Get out your old wooly jumper. It’s the final stretch for garden chores. Word of caution: a true gardener always has a list!

Top photo of Ben, the infamous Border Collie taken by Greg Bilowz
P.S. The neighborhood skunk visited late yesterday but Ben gets it now. This ain't no cat to chase!

Garden Break

My favorite cartoon character, Calvin and Hobbes said, “There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want.” I'm scheduling a day or two of rest in the forecast. And as John De Paola points out, “Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.”

Be back on Thursday.

Images by Greg Bilowz

Diving Into November

It’s the first day of November and a Monday no less. So where do you stand on the garden chores? Even if you attempted leaf blowing already, this month is the best time to clean up all the fallen leaves; yours and your neighbors. By now most of the foliage has dropped, although there are still a few stragglers hanging on and the weather is typically cooler for the hard labor involved in this task.

There are a few good reasons to clean up those big piles of leaf debris rather than to let them sit for the winter. One of the biggest reasons is that leaf debris makes great compost for the garden. Replenishing your organic matter in your soil should be done on a yearly basis. A repeated message but one always worth recapping: don’t use grass clippings from your lawn if you use chemicals. Here are a few quick tips to make leaves part of your decomposition process.

Chop up leaves in a chipper grinder.
If you want to accelerate the process, add lime (especially if you use lots of acidic Oak leaves or pine needles). This helps adjust the pH. Compliment this mixture with ripe manure. Great compost with high fertility has a balance of carbon, (leaves and grass clippings) and nitrogen (manure).
Cover the pile with an old tarp to keep in the heat and moisture.
If you set up your bin or compost area correctly and cover it, the compost does not need to be turned as often
Composting is a fascinating subject for gardeners. Finding a good recipe for proportion and techniques are always recommended. Small versus large piles have different requirements so do your homework.

Clean your plant beds. Unwanted leaves should be removed to prevent over-wintering diseases. Damaging rodents often find warm shelter under the leaf debris so you need to discourage that habit. Remember, if you are going to mulch your beds for the winter months, wait until the ground is frozen. Otherwise, these pesky rodents realize there is a Holiday Inn under the fresh blanket of mulch.

For your lawn, you need to remove the bulk of leaves so grass crowns do not rot. A wet layer of decomposing leaves left to overwinter stifles your lush spring carpet of lawn. If you want to make it easy, mow the lawn short (2 to 2 1/2” for its last haircut) to keep any remaining leaves off the blades of grass and above all, do your leave cleanup during dry conditions. A couple of good rains and you find yourself blowing clumps of taffy off the lawn; not a good use of time.

A Russian proverb sums up leaves. “The fall of a leaf is a whisper to the living” Make your garden healthy next spring by creating your own private reserve of homemade compost.

Image from the Internet