Hello again,
Well, Sandy has paid Skillin's Country a "good visit" and has left power outages, scattered tree limbs and some flooding. But really we have not been treated badly as our brothers and sisters in New Jersey, New York and many other states. Our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers go out to everyone affected by Sandy.
Power outages have definitely affected my keyboard time so for November Garden Tips I am going to defer to Margaret Roach's November Garden Chores from her outstanding A Way to Garden blog.
A couple of Margaret's tips really stand out to me:
1) Now and for the next few days is a great time to get a head start on 2013 weeding. The weeds come out with ease right now with all this moisture we have been blessed with.
2)Start paperwhites indoors. Stagger forcing batches every 2 weeks or so for winter long color. We also sell chinese sacred lilies and soleil d'or narcissus and hyacinths with just a little "coolness" before you force them in water or soil will also give us winter long color.
I will be checking into the Skillin's Garden Log as often as possible with my own thoughts. Send any questions to skillins@maine.rr.com and we will answer!
Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
October 30, 2012
Showing posts with label garden chores November. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden chores November. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
November Garden To Do's
Good gardening friend Paul Parent of the Paul Parent Garden Club sends out a great newsletter every week with pertinent gardening topics. I encourage you to go to his website to sign up for his newsletter. Paul can also be heard every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 10 AM at his website or at WBACH (104.7 FM) every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 9 AM.
Paul recently sent out a post titled "It's Mid-November; Time to Put the Garden to Bed". He brings up many helpful points for this month.:
The weather has been mild for most of us but let's use these remaining nice days to our advantage and close up the garden for the year. The weather has a way of changing without much of a notice so let's get it done and move our gardening skills indoors now.
In the vegetable garden let's pick all the roots crops, such as carrots, beets, turnip, and rutabagas. Remove all the foliage but do not cut into the flesh of the vegetable, I usually cut the foliage to one inch of the top and toss the greens into the composter. Store these vegetable in your garage or cold basement in a box of sandbox sand. All I do is cover the bottom of the box with a thin layer of washed sand and then place the root crop in the box and cover with the rest of the sand. This keeps the air off them so they do not dry up while in storage. Sandbox sand can be purchased in 50 pound bags at your local garden center and it keeps the vegetables much cleaner than using peat moss. When you're done eating the vegetables, use the sand on the snow and ice on your walkways as needed.
If you have not pulled your onions, shallots, sweet potatoes, or regular white potatoes, now is the time to do so. Shake off any soil, wash them with the garden hose, and let them air dry. Remove any dried foliage and place them in your garage or cold basement in open baskets or mesh bags to create good air circulation while in storage. . Check often for possible rotten vegetables and dispose of them as needed. (One rotten potato can and will destroy all your work.) When everything is removed, rake the garden clean of debris and spread limestone over the garden to keep the soil from getting too acid.
All your winter squash can also be kept in the same storage conditions in baskets and dry. Butternut, acorn, buttercup, Hubbard and more will keep well most of the winter. Many places are having specials on winter squash right now so take advantage of the price and stock up while it is available.
Brussels sprouts can stay outdoors in the garden until you are ready to eat them; along with kale. Many years I have picked both of them right up until Christmas; several years I had to dig them out of the snow and they tasted real good.
Let's not wait any longer--winterize your roses now. First, if you have potted rose bushes, potted tree roses, or miniature potted roses they must spend the winter in an unheated building like your garage or tool shed, NOT your house or basement. Roses must go dormant for the winter and rest. If you keep them alive they will grow themselves to death. Like you and me, they need downtime and winter is their time to rest. Once all the foliage has come off or turned brown, water the planter well and move it indoors. Do not feed them, do not prune them; just let them rest in the cold building until mid-March. When the weather changes, move the container outside, water well, and wait until April first before pruning the plant and feeding it to begin a new season in your garden.
Roses planted in your garden need extra protection for the long winter if you live in a cold climate like New England. Right now build a mound of soil, compost or bark mulch on top and around your plant 12 to 18 inches tall and just as wide. This will help protect the delicate graft on the plant. I also recommend that you spray the branches or canes of the rose bush with an anti-desiccant like Wilt-Stop or Wilt-Pruf to prevent the winter winds from drying out the delicate canes. Do not prune your rose bushes during the fall ever; wait until April to prune them and at that time start your monthly application of rose fertilizer. If you have climbing roses, make sure to tie them up to the structure they are climbing on so the branches are not damaged with the winter wind and snow. In April, spread the mound of protection material around the plant to help keep the roots cool during the heat of summer.
Hydrangeas should be cleaned of all dead flowers on the plant to prevent heavy snow or ice damage. Those large dried flowers will catch the heavy wet snow or ice and the weight will bend, possibly breaking the branch. Just remove the dead flowers; do not cut back the branches until spring. Your summer flowering blue hydrangeas are the least hardy, and if you live north or west of Boston, in northern New York State or in western Pennsylvania, they should be protected much the same way as the roses are. Follow the same steps with the mound of mulch and a spraying of an anti-desiccant to help protect the delicate flower buds on the plant for next year.
Newly planted trees over 6 feet tall should be staked to the ground to prevent the wind from moving the plant around during the winter months. If the tree moves around during the winter, the root ball in the ground will also move and the small newly developing roots will snap off, preventing the plant from establishing itself. If you have a flowering or fruit tree, it should also be wrapped with tree wrap to prevent the bark from cracking or splitting with the fluctuating temperatures.
If these trees are planted near open fields or near a wooded area, there is the possibility of rodents damaging the plant by eating the bark the first couple of years, until the bark toughens up. Please take the time to build a ring around the trunk of the tree with hardware cloth wire from the ground to the first branch. Make the wire collar so it has a 1 inch space from the trunk of the tree to the wire. If you don't, mice, moles, and rabbits will feed on this tasty bark when the snow gets deep; if they eat the bark off the plant, the tree will die.
If you have new arborvitaes, look at them closely and see that they are multi-stem plants; ice and heavy wet snow will split them, breaking them apart. Just take a piece of rope, like clothesline rope, and tie a piece at the base of the plant and wrap the branches together like a cork screw around the plant. Go 3/4 of the way up the plant to prevent damage and leave it on the plant from November to April. This will need to be done for the first 2 to 3 years until the plant has begun to mature and the branches harden.
If you have a new or established birch clump it might be a good idea to tie them together to prevent them from falling over with heavy wet snow. Tie one tree with the rope and wrap the rope around the others--like the arborvitae--in a corkscrew pattern. T,here is strength in numbers, so tie all the individual trunks together. Birches have weak stems and easily bend under heavy snow never to return to the same position in your yard.
Any newly-planted broadleaf evergreen like azalea, rhododendron, boxwood, holly or mountain laurel should be sprayed with an anti-desiccant like Wilt-Pruf or Wilt-Stop NOW and AGAIN in early February to keep them fromdrying out in a windy location. To me it's worth spending a dollar per plant to prevent damage on a plant worth $25.00 or more, now, isn't it?
Thanks to Paul Parent!
Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
November 23, 2011
Paul recently sent out a post titled "It's Mid-November; Time to Put the Garden to Bed". He brings up many helpful points for this month.:
The weather has been mild for most of us but let's use these remaining nice days to our advantage and close up the garden for the year. The weather has a way of changing without much of a notice so let's get it done and move our gardening skills indoors now.
In the vegetable garden let's pick all the roots crops, such as carrots, beets, turnip, and rutabagas. Remove all the foliage but do not cut into the flesh of the vegetable, I usually cut the foliage to one inch of the top and toss the greens into the composter. Store these vegetable in your garage or cold basement in a box of sandbox sand. All I do is cover the bottom of the box with a thin layer of washed sand and then place the root crop in the box and cover with the rest of the sand. This keeps the air off them so they do not dry up while in storage. Sandbox sand can be purchased in 50 pound bags at your local garden center and it keeps the vegetables much cleaner than using peat moss. When you're done eating the vegetables, use the sand on the snow and ice on your walkways as needed.
If you have not pulled your onions, shallots, sweet potatoes, or regular white potatoes, now is the time to do so. Shake off any soil, wash them with the garden hose, and let them air dry. Remove any dried foliage and place them in your garage or cold basement in open baskets or mesh bags to create good air circulation while in storage. . Check often for possible rotten vegetables and dispose of them as needed. (One rotten potato can and will destroy all your work.) When everything is removed, rake the garden clean of debris and spread limestone over the garden to keep the soil from getting too acid.
All your winter squash can also be kept in the same storage conditions in baskets and dry. Butternut, acorn, buttercup, Hubbard and more will keep well most of the winter. Many places are having specials on winter squash right now so take advantage of the price and stock up while it is available.
Brussels sprouts can stay outdoors in the garden until you are ready to eat them; along with kale. Many years I have picked both of them right up until Christmas; several years I had to dig them out of the snow and they tasted real good.
Let's not wait any longer--winterize your roses now. First, if you have potted rose bushes, potted tree roses, or miniature potted roses they must spend the winter in an unheated building like your garage or tool shed, NOT your house or basement. Roses must go dormant for the winter and rest. If you keep them alive they will grow themselves to death. Like you and me, they need downtime and winter is their time to rest. Once all the foliage has come off or turned brown, water the planter well and move it indoors. Do not feed them, do not prune them; just let them rest in the cold building until mid-March. When the weather changes, move the container outside, water well, and wait until April first before pruning the plant and feeding it to begin a new season in your garden.
Roses planted in your garden need extra protection for the long winter if you live in a cold climate like New England. Right now build a mound of soil, compost or bark mulch on top and around your plant 12 to 18 inches tall and just as wide. This will help protect the delicate graft on the plant. I also recommend that you spray the branches or canes of the rose bush with an anti-desiccant like Wilt-Stop or Wilt-Pruf to prevent the winter winds from drying out the delicate canes. Do not prune your rose bushes during the fall ever; wait until April to prune them and at that time start your monthly application of rose fertilizer. If you have climbing roses, make sure to tie them up to the structure they are climbing on so the branches are not damaged with the winter wind and snow. In April, spread the mound of protection material around the plant to help keep the roots cool during the heat of summer.
Hydrangeas should be cleaned of all dead flowers on the plant to prevent heavy snow or ice damage. Those large dried flowers will catch the heavy wet snow or ice and the weight will bend, possibly breaking the branch. Just remove the dead flowers; do not cut back the branches until spring. Your summer flowering blue hydrangeas are the least hardy, and if you live north or west of Boston, in northern New York State or in western Pennsylvania, they should be protected much the same way as the roses are. Follow the same steps with the mound of mulch and a spraying of an anti-desiccant to help protect the delicate flower buds on the plant for next year.
Newly planted trees over 6 feet tall should be staked to the ground to prevent the wind from moving the plant around during the winter months. If the tree moves around during the winter, the root ball in the ground will also move and the small newly developing roots will snap off, preventing the plant from establishing itself. If you have a flowering or fruit tree, it should also be wrapped with tree wrap to prevent the bark from cracking or splitting with the fluctuating temperatures.
If these trees are planted near open fields or near a wooded area, there is the possibility of rodents damaging the plant by eating the bark the first couple of years, until the bark toughens up. Please take the time to build a ring around the trunk of the tree with hardware cloth wire from the ground to the first branch. Make the wire collar so it has a 1 inch space from the trunk of the tree to the wire. If you don't, mice, moles, and rabbits will feed on this tasty bark when the snow gets deep; if they eat the bark off the plant, the tree will die.
If you have new arborvitaes, look at them closely and see that they are multi-stem plants; ice and heavy wet snow will split them, breaking them apart. Just take a piece of rope, like clothesline rope, and tie a piece at the base of the plant and wrap the branches together like a cork screw around the plant. Go 3/4 of the way up the plant to prevent damage and leave it on the plant from November to April. This will need to be done for the first 2 to 3 years until the plant has begun to mature and the branches harden.
If you have a new or established birch clump it might be a good idea to tie them together to prevent them from falling over with heavy wet snow. Tie one tree with the rope and wrap the rope around the others--like the arborvitae--in a corkscrew pattern. T,here is strength in numbers, so tie all the individual trunks together. Birches have weak stems and easily bend under heavy snow never to return to the same position in your yard.
Any newly-planted broadleaf evergreen like azalea, rhododendron, boxwood, holly or mountain laurel should be sprayed with an anti-desiccant like Wilt-Pruf or Wilt-Stop NOW and AGAIN in early February to keep them fromdrying out in a windy location. To me it's worth spending a dollar per plant to prevent damage on a plant worth $25.00 or more, now, isn't it?
Thanks to Paul Parent!
Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
November (early November) Garden Talks
Hello again,
Think No-vember is a month for No-Gardening? Well No-Way to that! Here are some gardening tips for this time of year:
*Cleanup is so important. Stay vigilant with your leaves. I grind quite a few of them with my lawn mower. I feed my lawn organically so I have a nice live soil that embraces the chopped up leaves and breaks them down nicely in short order to help make an even better soil for my lawn!
As the leaves really start to tumble I do bag quite a few of the leaves. Most towns will haul away those leaves and turn them into a nice compost that makes it back to many garden centers as compost for us to buy. Just another way of keeping it local!
*"November is a good time to remove spent canes from raspberries. Use sharp pruning shears to remove this year's fruiting canes, which will have done their job and will not live any longer. Cut them off all the way down to ground level. Removing these canes will help prevent diseases such as cane blight or spur blight from overwintering in the plants. Remove weak or broken canes, and thin remaining canes to about five or six per row foot. (Always leave the strongest ones even if the numbers per row foot aren't perfect.) Thinning reduces competition and results in larger berries next year. Click HERE to read a complete post on Pruning Raspberries.
*Great gardener Margaret of A Way to Garden has some terrific November gardening tips. Check out her web site for her whole list and so many more gardening articles. Here are some very timely tips that stood out to me:
**Clear turf or weeds from the area right around the trunks of fruit trees and ornamentals to reduce winter damage by rodents. Hardware cloth collars should be in place year-round as well.
**Be extra vigilant cleaning up under fruit trees, as fallen fruit and foliage allowed to overwinter invites added troubles next season. Technically mummies (fruit still hanging) should be removed, too, but I like to leave it for the birds.
**Start a pot of paperwhites in potting soil or pebbles and water, and stagger forcing of another batch every couple of weeks for a winterlong display.
**Continue resting AMARYLLIS BULBS in a dry, dark place where they will have no water at all for a couple of months total. I put mine in a little-used closet, and they will come out late this month, since they went in around mid- to late September. Pot up new ones now.
Thanks Margaret! And again I urge you to regularly follow her website, A Way to Garden!
*More on amaryllis: As a rule, amaryllis plants are in bloom by Christmas (or at least heavy bud) if the're potted up in November. Begin with a pot that is about 2" larger in diameter than the bulb itself which allows for a 1" margin all around between the bulb and the pot. The planted bulb should be about 2/3 of the way out of soil, so hold the bulb suspended over the pot, letting the roots hang down and fill in around the bulb with a good quality potting soil (I suggest Coast of Maine's Bar Harbor blend--sold right here at Skillin's!). Water the planted bulb thoroughly and let the excess water drain.
Amaryllis perform at their best with at least 4 hours of direct sunlight per day until they flower. They also like warm temps--60 degrees at night and in the 70s during the day. (Who doesn't like that?). Once they flower, move your amaryllis out of the direct sunlight to better preserve the bloom--blooms should last for about 3 weeks!
*Have you been good and active in your garden and done a good job cleaning out those vegetable plants and cut back your worn perennials? Well great job! But if the urge comes to you don't hesitate to spread some compost over these wide open spaces you have created! This is a great step to take now as this compost will break down and benefit your soil. And you SAVE so much time in the Spring by crossing off "Improve Soil in my Garden".
*Yes our fall bulbs are indeed on sale at 20% off. Too much snow at the end of October has left us with too many bulbs! One bulb I would definitely recommend you plant is the Snowdrops. (Galanthus). Plant them in a sunny spot and they will reward you with a surprise of nice white and green color when you want that color most--late March or early April. Our friends the Snowdrops are among the first bulbs to flower in the Spring.
*It is time to restock your feeders as our feathered friends will be looking for winter meals. Use good quality food that has mostly sunflower. If you can hang some suet--the extra fat and protein helps to keep our bird friends warm.
*Also consider using a bird bath de icer in a bird bath to keep water going all winter long for your friends. When the water is frozen everywhere birds can labor from being too thirsty. So help them out--we can show you how!
More November Gardening Tips to follow soon!
Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
November 8, 2011
Think No-vember is a month for No-Gardening? Well No-Way to that! Here are some gardening tips for this time of year:
*Cleanup is so important. Stay vigilant with your leaves. I grind quite a few of them with my lawn mower. I feed my lawn organically so I have a nice live soil that embraces the chopped up leaves and breaks them down nicely in short order to help make an even better soil for my lawn!
As the leaves really start to tumble I do bag quite a few of the leaves. Most towns will haul away those leaves and turn them into a nice compost that makes it back to many garden centers as compost for us to buy. Just another way of keeping it local!
*"November is a good time to remove spent canes from raspberries. Use sharp pruning shears to remove this year's fruiting canes, which will have done their job and will not live any longer. Cut them off all the way down to ground level. Removing these canes will help prevent diseases such as cane blight or spur blight from overwintering in the plants. Remove weak or broken canes, and thin remaining canes to about five or six per row foot. (Always leave the strongest ones even if the numbers per row foot aren't perfect.) Thinning reduces competition and results in larger berries next year. Click HERE to read a complete post on Pruning Raspberries.
*Great gardener Margaret of A Way to Garden has some terrific November gardening tips. Check out her web site for her whole list and so many more gardening articles. Here are some very timely tips that stood out to me:
**Clear turf or weeds from the area right around the trunks of fruit trees and ornamentals to reduce winter damage by rodents. Hardware cloth collars should be in place year-round as well.
**Be extra vigilant cleaning up under fruit trees, as fallen fruit and foliage allowed to overwinter invites added troubles next season. Technically mummies (fruit still hanging) should be removed, too, but I like to leave it for the birds.
**Start a pot of paperwhites in potting soil or pebbles and water, and stagger forcing of another batch every couple of weeks for a winterlong display.
**Continue resting AMARYLLIS BULBS in a dry, dark place where they will have no water at all for a couple of months total. I put mine in a little-used closet, and they will come out late this month, since they went in around mid- to late September. Pot up new ones now.
Thanks Margaret! And again I urge you to regularly follow her website, A Way to Garden!
*More on amaryllis: As a rule, amaryllis plants are in bloom by Christmas (or at least heavy bud) if the're potted up in November. Begin with a pot that is about 2" larger in diameter than the bulb itself which allows for a 1" margin all around between the bulb and the pot. The planted bulb should be about 2/3 of the way out of soil, so hold the bulb suspended over the pot, letting the roots hang down and fill in around the bulb with a good quality potting soil (I suggest Coast of Maine's Bar Harbor blend--sold right here at Skillin's!). Water the planted bulb thoroughly and let the excess water drain.
Amaryllis perform at their best with at least 4 hours of direct sunlight per day until they flower. They also like warm temps--60 degrees at night and in the 70s during the day. (Who doesn't like that?). Once they flower, move your amaryllis out of the direct sunlight to better preserve the bloom--blooms should last for about 3 weeks!
*Have you been good and active in your garden and done a good job cleaning out those vegetable plants and cut back your worn perennials? Well great job! But if the urge comes to you don't hesitate to spread some compost over these wide open spaces you have created! This is a great step to take now as this compost will break down and benefit your soil. And you SAVE so much time in the Spring by crossing off "Improve Soil in my Garden".
*Raking time is upon us! Now is the time to clean out the leaves from around your perennials and shrubs. Also it is a great time to do any weeding--the more weeds are pulled now the less weeding in the Spring. Later this month when your perennial beds are clean is an ideal time to mulch around the base of your perennials. The goal is to keep the ground frozen and to prevent too much freezing and thawing around roots of your plants. Read HERE for more timely tips about mulching around your perennials.
*We do recommend all natural Wilt Pruf as a spray for broad leafed evergreens such as rhododendrons and azaleas to help prevent leaf wilting and curling in the winter and early Spring. Wilt Pruf is best applied in November on a nice warm day. Wilt Pruf essentially clogs the open pores of a plant's leaves and this reduces transpiration or moisture loss through the plant's leaves. This coating also helps protect the cells of the leaf against burning wind (much like lip balm protects us). If we get a particularly warm day or two in late February or early March it may be smart to reapply Wilt Pruf then. It also often helps to wrap your tender plants such as hollies, roses as well as evergreens in high wind locations. We burlap for wrapping and also some easy to use Shrub Covers.
*Yes our fall bulbs are indeed on sale at 20% off. Too much snow at the end of October has left us with too many bulbs! One bulb I would definitely recommend you plant is the Snowdrops. (Galanthus). Plant them in a sunny spot and they will reward you with a surprise of nice white and green color when you want that color most--late March or early April. Our friends the Snowdrops are among the first bulbs to flower in the Spring.
*It is time to restock your feeders as our feathered friends will be looking for winter meals. Use good quality food that has mostly sunflower. If you can hang some suet--the extra fat and protein helps to keep our bird friends warm.
*Also consider using a bird bath de icer in a bird bath to keep water going all winter long for your friends. When the water is frozen everywhere birds can labor from being too thirsty. So help them out--we can show you how!
More November Gardening Tips to follow soon!
Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
November 8, 2011
Monday, November 2, 2009
November Garden Chores
Hello again,
I found these helpful garden tips at http://awaytogarden.com/my-november-garden-chores.
The advice given is based on a zone 5B situation in very northeastern NY state and western MA so the gardening info given is quite appropriate to our conditions in Skillin's Country which probably averages zone 5A. I like a lot of the information they present. So I am listing some of what they have to say (their advice is in quotes) and I comment "somewhat" briefly (in italics) as to how we hardy gardeners in Skillin's Country can follow this gardening advice to our benefit.
"THE WINDING DOWN is well under way in my cold zone, and a beautiful time of reflection and rest lies ahead…if only we can get the place cleaned up before really harsh weather says “stop.” Target extra-thorough cleanup first to areas where rodents and moles might do winter damage, not leaving any heavy buildup of fallen plants and wet leaves in place. I set out mousetraps under boxes, buckets or cans where I see any activity, to rid them from my beds and borders. The garlic is in; the spinach (true!) will be the last thing I sow. And that’s not all I try to get done this month: "
"If you had areas where something didn’t fare well—an unproductive vegetable or fruit crop, an unwillingness of some shrub to flower for no apparent reason—quickly gather a soil sample before the ground freezes and take it in for analysis to your local Cooperative Extension service. Some amendments can be spread or tilled in before heavy frost to start to mellow over the coming months." We have plenty of compost left for you to spread over your vacated vegetable and flower gardens or around your fruit trees. November is a great month to do this; one of the great jobs to get done and out of the way before the rushed and exciting Spring days. We also have soil test kits here at Skillin's for you to send to the local Cooperative Extension service.
"If it all seems too hectic, remember: Seed catalogs in the easy chair are just ahead. Position it to point out the window, where there are still riches: berries, or perhaps bark, and new birds. Did you join Project Feederwatch yet? Recording of data starts mid-month, through April. Other ways to help the birds are here. "
TREES & SHRUBS
"PRIME TRANSPLANTING TIME for deciduous trees and shrubs continues into this month, sometimes longer if weather permits and the ground show no signs of freezing. Make that work include some focus on the addition of fall and winter plants to the landscape." Most trees and shrubs can be planted for many weeks yet; until that ground freezes. And the cool weather is great to work in! We have trees and shrubs still ON SALE and we offer free planting advice and tips 7 days per week!
"SCOUTING FOR VIBURNUM BEETLE begins later this month, when leaves fall and their egg cases are easier to see. Remove egg cases by pruning off affected wood, between then and April-ish, to reduce larvae and beetle issues in the coming year. The bump-like cases are usually on the underside of youngest twigs. I also watch in May for larvae hatch and rub the twigs then to squash the emerging pests."
"CLEAR TURF OR WEEDS from the area right around the trunks of fruit trees and ornamentals to reduce winter damage by rodents. Hardware cloth collars should be in place year-round as well." In general much weeding can and should be done--not only around trees but also in the garden. We have had much rain and the ground is moist, moist which makes for easy weed pulling. More weed pulling now, MUCH less weeds this coming Spring and summer! Back to the rodents, the deep snows of the last two winters have meant much rodent damage around vulnerable tender fruit trees; so keeping those areas clean and protected is essential!
"BE EXTRA-VIGILANT cleaning up under fruit trees, as fallen fruit and foliage allowed to overwinter invites added troubles next season. Technically mummies (fruit still hanging) should be removed, too, but I like to leave it for the birds." Fallen fruit and foliage serves as a great harbor for disease. The hanging fruit also serves as food for deer at night; if you keep that fruit hanging you may well want to consult with us about how to protect some of your tasty evergreens from those deer!
"KEEP WATERING woody plants until frost is in the ground if conditions are dry, so that they enter dormancy in a well-hydrated state. Evergreens (needled ones and broadleaf types like rhododendron, too) are particularly vulnerable to desiccation and winterburn otherwise." Yes, yes, yes! Almost none of us water our plants enough in the fall. This is solid advice.
"ALWAYS BE on the lookout for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and prune them out as discovered. This is especially important before winter arrives with its harsher weather, where weaknesses left in place invite tearing and unnecessary extra damage. Remove suckers and water sprouts, too. " This is good everyday gardening advice but with probable wild winter weather approaching the timing of this point is right on!
VEGETABLE, FRUIT & HERBS
"MULCH STRAWBERRY PLANTS with a couple of inches of (guess what?) straw." I would not put the straw down yet. I would put it down much later this month or early next month when the ground gets cold and crunchy. If you put straw down too early the soft straw becomes too attractive for rodents as a nest. They will gnaw on the strawberries or whatever you mulch with the straw. Plus the purpose of the mulch is to KEEP THE GROUND COLD so the ground needs to be a lot colder and crunchier before you lay straw or any mulch down.
"PREPARE A SEEDBED NOW for peas and spinach for next spring, to get a headstart on such early crops. Spinach can even be sown this month, for super-early spring harvest; not the peas, of course." I am not sure whether I will get to it but I would like to get some spinach sown. Great advice here.
"PARSLEY AND CHIVES can be potted up and brought indoors for offseason use. A few garlic cloves in a pot will yield a supply of chive-like (but spicier) garlic greens all winter for garnish. Determined types with really sunny windowsills can sow seeds of bush basil in a pot, too. I rely on frozen pesto cubes instead, and you can store many green herbs over the winter like this." I LOVE the frozen pesto cube idea! We also keep fresh culinary herbs available all winter long here at Skillin's for your growing and seasoning pleasure.
FLOWER GARDEN
"PROTECT ROSES FROM WINTER damage by mounding up their crowns with a 6- to 12-inch layer of soil before the ground freezes. After all is frozen, add a layer of leaf mulch to further insulate." Great advice. In just a few weeks it will be time to pile that soil or compost right around the crowns of the roses. Don't get too caught up on pruning roses right now. In late March or early April when the soil or compost is pulled back from those crowns then you will have plenty of dead rose branches to prune away. Check out this link at the Skillin's Garden Log for more advice about putting Beds To Rest!
"PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION to areas around peonies, roses, irises and other flowers that are prone to fungal diseases. Cut down iris foliage and rake well under roses." This is the same concept as keeping the ground around your trees and shrubs clean at this time of year. We talked about this near the beginning of the post.
"CANNAS, DAHLIAS AND OTHER tender bulb-like things including elephant ears need to be dug carefully for indoor storage. There are many methods, but the basics: Once frost blackens the foliage, cut back the tops to 6 inches and dig carefully, then brush or wash off soil and let dry for two weeks or so to cure. Stash in a dry spot like unheated basement or crawl space around 40-50 degrees, in boxes or pots filled with bark chips or peat moss. " In many areas around Skillin's Country the time is now to do this.
"DON’T DEADHEAD FADED perennials, biennials and annuals if you want self-sowns, or make sure to shake pods around before removing plant carcasses. Nicotiana, poppies, larkspur, clary sage and many others fall into this leave-alone group. So do plants with showy or bird-friendly seedheads, like grasses and coneflowers." I did prune some coneflower the other day but the seed heads looked pretty empty so I don't think I was depriving my beloved feathered friends.
"PREPARE NEW beds for future planting by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top." The cardboard or newspaper method definitely works--and quickly! Check out More Discussion on Newspaper as Garden Mulch!
HOUSEPLANTS
"START A POT OF PAPERWHITES in potting soil or pebbles and water, and stagger forcing of another batch every couple of weeks for a winterlong display." We are all about paperwhites here at Skillin's. We also feature their close cousins, Chinese Sacred Lilies and Soleil D'Or indoor narcissus as well as bagged pebbles and neat containers to use for this purpose. Paperwhites are bright and cheery and make inexpensive and easy winter flowers! (And great holiday gifts!)
"CONTINUE RESTING AMARYLLIS BULBS in a dry, dark place where they will have no water at all for a couple of months total. I put mine in a little-used closet, and they will come out late this month, since they went in around mid- to late September. Pot up new ones now." New ones! We have gorgeous and huge new amaryllis bulbs available at Skillin's. The flowers will be striking and make long lasting winter companions!
LAWNS
"KEEP MOWING TILL THE GRASS stops growing, and make the last cut a short one. Let clippings lie on the lawn to return Nitrogen to the soil, and mow over fallen leaves to shred if not too thick, or rake them off before snow comes." Don't hesitate to grind those fallen leaves with your mower into the lawn. If you feed your lawn organically the healthy microbes in the soil will grab those ground up leaves and break them down fairly quickly over time so that the leaves will just become nice organic matter for your lawn. Lawn soil fed chemically do not have those plentiful microbe levels and so then too many ground up leaves turn to thatch and then layer or shut off the soil from air and sun. SO feed your lawn organically and grind those leaves and grass blades. For good organic feeding we recommend Espoma Lawn Food or the Organica lawn products (all sold right here at Skillin's).
COMPOST HEAP & MULCH
"START A LEAVES-ONLY PILE alongside your other heap as a future source of soil-improving leaf mold, or when partly rotted for use as mulch. To save space and speed decomposition, run it over with the mower to pre-shred. "See I told you so about grinding the leaves! Good advice about the separate pile as partly rotted leaves make great mulch. Oak and maple leaves take a long time to break down so we don't really recommend them for your own compost pile. I send most of my raked leaves to the town landfill where the leaves are then sold to various agricultural farms and returned to the soil that way.
Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
November 2, 2009
I found these helpful garden tips at http://awaytogarden.com/my-november-garden-chores.
The advice given is based on a zone 5B situation in very northeastern NY state and western MA so the gardening info given is quite appropriate to our conditions in Skillin's Country which probably averages zone 5A. I like a lot of the information they present. So I am listing some of what they have to say (their advice is in quotes) and I comment "somewhat" briefly (in italics) as to how we hardy gardeners in Skillin's Country can follow this gardening advice to our benefit.
"THE WINDING DOWN is well under way in my cold zone, and a beautiful time of reflection and rest lies ahead…if only we can get the place cleaned up before really harsh weather says “stop.” Target extra-thorough cleanup first to areas where rodents and moles might do winter damage, not leaving any heavy buildup of fallen plants and wet leaves in place. I set out mousetraps under boxes, buckets or cans where I see any activity, to rid them from my beds and borders. The garlic is in; the spinach (true!) will be the last thing I sow. And that’s not all I try to get done this month: "
"If you had areas where something didn’t fare well—an unproductive vegetable or fruit crop, an unwillingness of some shrub to flower for no apparent reason—quickly gather a soil sample before the ground freezes and take it in for analysis to your local Cooperative Extension service. Some amendments can be spread or tilled in before heavy frost to start to mellow over the coming months." We have plenty of compost left for you to spread over your vacated vegetable and flower gardens or around your fruit trees. November is a great month to do this; one of the great jobs to get done and out of the way before the rushed and exciting Spring days. We also have soil test kits here at Skillin's for you to send to the local Cooperative Extension service.
"If it all seems too hectic, remember: Seed catalogs in the easy chair are just ahead. Position it to point out the window, where there are still riches: berries, or perhaps bark, and new birds. Did you join Project Feederwatch yet? Recording of data starts mid-month, through April. Other ways to help the birds are here. "
TREES & SHRUBS
"PRIME TRANSPLANTING TIME for deciduous trees and shrubs continues into this month, sometimes longer if weather permits and the ground show no signs of freezing. Make that work include some focus on the addition of fall and winter plants to the landscape." Most trees and shrubs can be planted for many weeks yet; until that ground freezes. And the cool weather is great to work in! We have trees and shrubs still ON SALE and we offer free planting advice and tips 7 days per week!
"SCOUTING FOR VIBURNUM BEETLE begins later this month, when leaves fall and their egg cases are easier to see. Remove egg cases by pruning off affected wood, between then and April-ish, to reduce larvae and beetle issues in the coming year. The bump-like cases are usually on the underside of youngest twigs. I also watch in May for larvae hatch and rub the twigs then to squash the emerging pests."
"CLEAR TURF OR WEEDS from the area right around the trunks of fruit trees and ornamentals to reduce winter damage by rodents. Hardware cloth collars should be in place year-round as well." In general much weeding can and should be done--not only around trees but also in the garden. We have had much rain and the ground is moist, moist which makes for easy weed pulling. More weed pulling now, MUCH less weeds this coming Spring and summer! Back to the rodents, the deep snows of the last two winters have meant much rodent damage around vulnerable tender fruit trees; so keeping those areas clean and protected is essential!
"BE EXTRA-VIGILANT cleaning up under fruit trees, as fallen fruit and foliage allowed to overwinter invites added troubles next season. Technically mummies (fruit still hanging) should be removed, too, but I like to leave it for the birds." Fallen fruit and foliage serves as a great harbor for disease. The hanging fruit also serves as food for deer at night; if you keep that fruit hanging you may well want to consult with us about how to protect some of your tasty evergreens from those deer!
"KEEP WATERING woody plants until frost is in the ground if conditions are dry, so that they enter dormancy in a well-hydrated state. Evergreens (needled ones and broadleaf types like rhododendron, too) are particularly vulnerable to desiccation and winterburn otherwise." Yes, yes, yes! Almost none of us water our plants enough in the fall. This is solid advice.
"ALWAYS BE on the lookout for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and prune them out as discovered. This is especially important before winter arrives with its harsher weather, where weaknesses left in place invite tearing and unnecessary extra damage. Remove suckers and water sprouts, too. " This is good everyday gardening advice but with probable wild winter weather approaching the timing of this point is right on!
VEGETABLE, FRUIT & HERBS
"MULCH STRAWBERRY PLANTS with a couple of inches of (guess what?) straw." I would not put the straw down yet. I would put it down much later this month or early next month when the ground gets cold and crunchy. If you put straw down too early the soft straw becomes too attractive for rodents as a nest. They will gnaw on the strawberries or whatever you mulch with the straw. Plus the purpose of the mulch is to KEEP THE GROUND COLD so the ground needs to be a lot colder and crunchier before you lay straw or any mulch down.
"PREPARE A SEEDBED NOW for peas and spinach for next spring, to get a headstart on such early crops. Spinach can even be sown this month, for super-early spring harvest; not the peas, of course." I am not sure whether I will get to it but I would like to get some spinach sown. Great advice here.
"PARSLEY AND CHIVES can be potted up and brought indoors for offseason use. A few garlic cloves in a pot will yield a supply of chive-like (but spicier) garlic greens all winter for garnish. Determined types with really sunny windowsills can sow seeds of bush basil in a pot, too. I rely on frozen pesto cubes instead, and you can store many green herbs over the winter like this." I LOVE the frozen pesto cube idea! We also keep fresh culinary herbs available all winter long here at Skillin's for your growing and seasoning pleasure.
FLOWER GARDEN
"PROTECT ROSES FROM WINTER damage by mounding up their crowns with a 6- to 12-inch layer of soil before the ground freezes. After all is frozen, add a layer of leaf mulch to further insulate." Great advice. In just a few weeks it will be time to pile that soil or compost right around the crowns of the roses. Don't get too caught up on pruning roses right now. In late March or early April when the soil or compost is pulled back from those crowns then you will have plenty of dead rose branches to prune away. Check out this link at the Skillin's Garden Log for more advice about putting Beds To Rest!
"PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION to areas around peonies, roses, irises and other flowers that are prone to fungal diseases. Cut down iris foliage and rake well under roses." This is the same concept as keeping the ground around your trees and shrubs clean at this time of year. We talked about this near the beginning of the post.
"CANNAS, DAHLIAS AND OTHER tender bulb-like things including elephant ears need to be dug carefully for indoor storage. There are many methods, but the basics: Once frost blackens the foliage, cut back the tops to 6 inches and dig carefully, then brush or wash off soil and let dry for two weeks or so to cure. Stash in a dry spot like unheated basement or crawl space around 40-50 degrees, in boxes or pots filled with bark chips or peat moss. " In many areas around Skillin's Country the time is now to do this.
"DON’T DEADHEAD FADED perennials, biennials and annuals if you want self-sowns, or make sure to shake pods around before removing plant carcasses. Nicotiana, poppies, larkspur, clary sage and many others fall into this leave-alone group. So do plants with showy or bird-friendly seedheads, like grasses and coneflowers." I did prune some coneflower the other day but the seed heads looked pretty empty so I don't think I was depriving my beloved feathered friends.
"PREPARE NEW beds for future planting by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top." The cardboard or newspaper method definitely works--and quickly! Check out More Discussion on Newspaper as Garden Mulch!
HOUSEPLANTS
"START A POT OF PAPERWHITES in potting soil or pebbles and water, and stagger forcing of another batch every couple of weeks for a winterlong display." We are all about paperwhites here at Skillin's. We also feature their close cousins, Chinese Sacred Lilies and Soleil D'Or indoor narcissus as well as bagged pebbles and neat containers to use for this purpose. Paperwhites are bright and cheery and make inexpensive and easy winter flowers! (And great holiday gifts!)
"CONTINUE RESTING AMARYLLIS BULBS in a dry, dark place where they will have no water at all for a couple of months total. I put mine in a little-used closet, and they will come out late this month, since they went in around mid- to late September. Pot up new ones now." New ones! We have gorgeous and huge new amaryllis bulbs available at Skillin's. The flowers will be striking and make long lasting winter companions!
LAWNS
"KEEP MOWING TILL THE GRASS stops growing, and make the last cut a short one. Let clippings lie on the lawn to return Nitrogen to the soil, and mow over fallen leaves to shred if not too thick, or rake them off before snow comes." Don't hesitate to grind those fallen leaves with your mower into the lawn. If you feed your lawn organically the healthy microbes in the soil will grab those ground up leaves and break them down fairly quickly over time so that the leaves will just become nice organic matter for your lawn. Lawn soil fed chemically do not have those plentiful microbe levels and so then too many ground up leaves turn to thatch and then layer or shut off the soil from air and sun. SO feed your lawn organically and grind those leaves and grass blades. For good organic feeding we recommend Espoma Lawn Food or the Organica lawn products (all sold right here at Skillin's).
COMPOST HEAP & MULCH
"START A LEAVES-ONLY PILE alongside your other heap as a future source of soil-improving leaf mold, or when partly rotted for use as mulch. To save space and speed decomposition, run it over with the mower to pre-shred. "See I told you so about grinding the leaves! Good advice about the separate pile as partly rotted leaves make great mulch. Oak and maple leaves take a long time to break down so we don't really recommend them for your own compost pile. I send most of my raked leaves to the town landfill where the leaves are then sold to various agricultural farms and returned to the soil that way.
Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
November 2, 2009
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