November
8, 2000
I Voted
For The One With The Nice Garden...
It is hard for me to concentrate on writing today because all
I seem to think about is who the next President of the United
States is going to be. What an election! Not only am
I distracted that there has not been a winner declared but I am
also a little fatigued. I was up a couple of times during
the night flipping on CNN waiting for the big news.
Nothing; no winner. I returned to bed still searching for
some much needed sleep. I guess this is one of those times
when we all have to be a little patient, including me. Once
the winner is announced I will be relieved. It will allow
me to return to my everyday life with my everyday thoughts - like
gardening!
Officially
winter is still 43 days away but by the looks of the icicles
hanging outside my window fall has taken on a wintery
appearance. It is going to be quite chilly for the rest of
this week so make sure to cover and care for those plants that
you are still trying to keep alive. Good luck and stay
warm!
AN
IMPORTANT REMINDER - Don't forget about the Garden Party for
Savvygardeners, November 10th from 7-9 PM at The
Sweet Onion! It's not too late to RSVP!
~
Shelly
Pip,
Pip, Hooray...
When we think about bulb-forcing all too often we limit
ourselves to the old standards - narcissus, tulips, daffodils,
etc... For a real winter treat try forcing
lily-of-the-valley pips. You may be able to buy
commercially prepared lily-of-the-valley pips from your florist
or garden center. If you want to to dig your own pips be
sure to dig deep enough to keep the roots intact. Store the
pips in a plastic bag full of peat moss where they will be cold,
but not frozen. When you are ready to force them, fill a
shallow bulb pot with potting soil to the half-way mark.
Place as many pips as possible on top of the potting soil with
their tips pointed upright. Cover with additional soil
until only the tips show. Water well and place the pot in a
bright location at room temperature. In three to four weeks
flowers should appear.
Secret
To Strawberry Success...
According to research done at the University of New Hampshire
strawberries covered in the fall with a spun-bonded polyester
material and uncovered in the spring just before bloom produced
up to 60 percent more fruit than plants given the conventional
straw or hay mulch cover. For best results allow the strawberry plants to harden or
acclimate to the cool fall temperatures before mulching the bed.
November is a good month to apply mulch on strawberries. The mulch
should remain on the strawberry plants until about mid-April.
Care For
Cutters...
Late season clean-up around the garden may have your shears
and loppers working overtime. Keep them in good working
order by wiping them with a rag dipped in paint thinner.
This will help remove sticky resins that would otherwise gum up
the works. Wipe them with oil before storage to prevent
rust.
Much Ado
About Mulch...
All this talk about mulch leaves some gardeners
confused. Remember that mulch used in spring and summer to
control weed growth is different from the mulch used in
winter. Winter mulch is meant to protect perennial plants
and should not be dense and heavy. Use shredded leaves,
tree branches, pine needles, or other loose organic
material. Come spring, rake it all away and add it to your
compost pile.
Vanquish
Those Voles...
A common spring-time lawn problem is the damage caused by
voles or field mice. These critters leave a series
of winding trails in the grass as they burrow under snow cover.
To help prevent damage try cleaning up leaves and mowing until the end of the season.
This removes some of the cover they seek and may force them to go
elsewhere.
What's
Hot On the Hotline...
As the Hotline winds down it's telephone service for another
year we are receiving calls asking us to identify those flowers
that are still blooming. Late season bloomers in this
week's Hotline...
Chemical
Container Caution...
If tidying up includes cleaning plastic sprayer bottles and
other chemical containers please note that rinsing will not
effectively remove herbicides from sprayers. This could
prove disastrous if you try to re-use a herbicide container for
the application of a fertilizer or pesticide next year.
Your plants will die! Always use separate
well-labeled sprayers for herbicides. Period.
Finally... "The
morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on." ~
Emily Dickinson - Poet 1830-1886 |