Chill In The
Air...
Well I guess Mother Nature showed us. The bite and
sting of winter is certainly in the air. Yesterday's
winds and snowflakes were a reminder that we live in the Midwest
and colder temperatures are never too far away
- especially in November. I must admit that seeing those
snowflakes was pretty exciting. The holidays are fast approaching
and my gardening time needs to be spent on planning Thanksgiving
dinner and bustling around crossing things off my Christmas
"to do" list.
The first snow (if yesterday's counts) brings so much excitement
to our house. The kids can't wait to see enough on the ground to
go sledding, Sam Parker (our beagle)
romps around as if he has been transformed into a snow rabbit.
Then there's me, who will admit
to liking it as long as I am appropriately dressed. I guess we
all have our own way of dealing with snow and colder
temperatures. My first preference would to be living in a place
where it is cool in the evenings and warm in the days. Hmmm...
maybe San Diego?
If you have
ventured out today to look at the garden you will notice that
last night's freezing temperatures
zapped most of those perennials and annuals still hanging around.
It is time to get in the garden, cut things back and put it to
bed. If you have plenty of mulch on your beds,
great. If not, now would be a good time
to add some additional insulation. Kevin and I typically use
mulched leaves. We always seem to have plenty of those this time
of year so instead of filling trash bags and clogging landfills
we mulch them up and put them back into the ground. Saves time
for us and benefits the gardens as well. I love a good win-win
situation.
~
Shelly
Bunny Love...
During the winter months, rabbits often gnaw on the bark of
many woody plants. Heavy browsing can result in the complete
girdling of small trees and small branches clipped off at snow
level. Apple, pear, crabapple and serviceberry are frequent
targets of rabbits. Small trees with smooth, thin bark are the
most vulnerable. Other frequently damaged plants include the
winged euonymus or burning bush, Japanese barberry, dogwood,
roses and raspberries.
The best
way to prevent rabbit damage to young trees is to place a
cylinder of hardware cloth (1/4 inch mesh wire fencing) around
the tree trunk. The hardware cloth cylinder should stand about 1
to 2 inches from the tree trunk and 20 inches above the ground.
The bottom 2 to 3 inches should be buried beneath the soil. Small
shrubs, roses and raspberries can be protected with chicken wire
fencing.
Cold Cuts...
Now that we've got a couple of killing frosts under our belts
it's time to do some cutting back of dormant perennials. Cut
them back to about 3 inches above the soil surface. Once the
ground is frozen, they can be mulched to guard against
displacement due to soil heaving. These simple steps will help
ensure a successful show of foliage and color next season.
Well Watered For Winter...
For maximum winter protection,
Savvygardeners need to water landscape evergreens thoroughly once
every week or so until the ground freezes. Evergreens continue
to lose moisture from their foliage all winter, but once the
ground is frozen, they'll be unable to take up enough water to
replace it. Sending them into winter well watered reduces the
potential for damaged foliage. There's more... broadleaved and
tender evergreens exposed to drying winds and sun may need to be
shaded on the south and southwest sides to reduce moisture loss
and foliage injury.
Cold Storage At Your
Feet...
Looking for a good place to store root crops? Just look
down! Carrots, radishes, turnips and Jerusalem artichokes store
well outdoors in the ground. Just before the ground freezes,
bury them under a deep layer of leaves or straw to protect the
ground from freezing. Simply harvest them as needed during
winter by pulling back this protective mulch and digging them
up. Just make sure you replace the mulch after each visit!
When Fruits
And Vegetables Don't Get Along...
If you decide to store your vegetables indoors (instead of in
the ground like we mentioned above) make sure you don't place
them with any apples or pears. As they sit these fruits give off
ethylene gas which speeds up the breakdown of vegetables and
causes them to develop off-flavors. Yuck!
Preparing for Winter...
Each year we are asked for a reminder of what to do to
prepare for winter. While recent temperatures
have been up and down, there is no doubt that permanent cold
weather is around the corner. Take
advantage of the current mild weather and prepare for winter
now, while you can still work in relative comfort outdoors!
You'll find a handy checklist in our feature article,
Preparing for Winter in the Garden...
Wild Things In
Lawns...
Wild onion and wild garlic are difficult-to-control weeds.
These weeds look very similar to the garden variety onion except
the stems of the wild type are much thinner and do not grow as
tall as the garden variety. The most effective method for
controlling onion and garlic is to create a dense turf through
proper fertilization and regular mowing, thereby making these
weeds less noticeable and less problematic. Wild onion and garlic
die back to underground bulbs during early summer, but bulbs will
germinate during the fall and winter. Selective chemical control
is difficult and normally ineffective, so co-existing with these
plants is often the best choice. One method is to apply 2,4-D
immediately after mowing so the herbicide can enter through the
cut leaves. This will usually burn back the leaves but may not
kill the underground bulb, thus multiple years of applications
will be needed.
Source
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 |