Leave it Be

October 2011
PICKAWAY TO GARDEN
Leave it be
By Paul Hang
October is one of my favorite months. Of course I also like the months of winter, spring and summer too. We might as well like them. They will come anyway, if we are lucky. October seems contradictory. It conjures up moods of sadness and happiness. One poet said, “Autumn is in the air Alas!” Alas? Why be sad? OK, the daylight is decreasing. It reminds us of growing older as the year winds down. The green is fading, the land is browning, the wind is growing and the leaves are falling.
On the other hand there is apple cider, crisp and sunny days, blazing color in the trees, holidays are coming. And then there are those warm Indian summer days and harvesting the bounty of nature. Autumn isn’t coming on suddenly and surprising us this year. It has been creeping up on us with cool days and chilly nights in September.
We can expect frost this month. The first average frost date is around October 15th. That and the lessening light will trigger the absisic acid in the trees and then the wind will do the rest and the leaves will drift to earth. They drift to earth and drift into piles driven by the wind. What to do with all those leaves? Leave them be? We could do as the Beatles advised us in “let it be.” Rake the leaves into a circle around the trees. This would mimic their natural home in the woods. It would conserve moisture, add nutrients as well as improve the texture of the soils around their roots.
Seriously, consider expanding the area of mulch around your trees. In addition to the benefits above, it reduces the amount of grass to be mowed. Less grass around trees eliminates competition for water and nutrients. It also reduces the chances of “mower blight” the girdling of trees from collisions with mowers and the cuts and bruises from string trimmers. You may want to do this with commercial mulch or use the leaves. Don’t apply mulch more than two and a half inches deep.
If you don’t want to take the easy way out by raking your leaves into mulch circles, rake those gifts from the trees into a compost pile. Or, put them on your garden beds. Till them into the garden beds, this is called sheet composting. Think of falling leaves as nature’s way of pulling up the covers in anticipation of the coming cold. The trees are shedding them because they have done their job of producing food for the trees. Without enough sun in the decreasing days of fall the leaves can’t do their job efficiently so the trees drop them.
The trees and other perennial plants can continue to grow roots because the temperature of the earth below the surface remains warm and they can draw on the food the plants have stored up from the summer growth. The growth rings in wood show the slower growth in winter by the narrower and darker rings. Each year trees put on a layer of growth. Think of it as putting on a suit of long johns every year without removing last year’s suit. The suits build up. Maybe that analogy limps a little too much. However, limping along with the same analogy, some wood does smell like last year’s underwear. I’ll let that be.
Things to do in the garden:
Plant trees and shrubs. This is the best time to plant most trees. Working on a budget, a small budget? Plant small trees. Plant seedlings. Start trees from seeds. Start shrubs from cuttings. Those small plants will catch up to their larger planted neighbors. The old saying “The first year they sleep, the second year they creep and the third year they leap,” is true.
Plant bulbs for spring flowering plants. They look best planted in groups not in single file like a row of soldiers. Place bulb food in the holes.
Mulch small and newly planted plants after the freeze to prevent them from heaving out of the ground. You are not trying to keep them warm but trying to keep the soil cold. Heaving is caused by the freeze and thaw cycles that also destroy our streets and roads. In New England you can see roadside signs warning “Frost Heaves!” They are not for gardeners but for drivers who could hit those humps in the road.
If you still have vegetables to harvest, be prepared to either harvest or cover them should frost threaten, this includes tomatoes. Plants that can stand some frost are cabbage and its relatives, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Also kale and collards as well as root crops can take the cold. The same protection should be afforded to tender flowers. Protecting them could allow a couple more weeks of enjoying them.
This probably doesn’t apply to many anymore, but now is the time to divide and reset rhubarb roots. Mature plants can provide three or four new plants.
Before you compost your leaves grind them or run the mower over them a couple times to shred them. The smaller particles will break down much faster.
Dig dahlias, cannas, tuberous begonias and caladiums and store in a cool dry place. Gladioli are dug by some but others tell me they leave them in the ground without harm. Research and decide for yourself. Rose bushes should not be fertilized anymore this season. Cut them back halfway and keep watering until the rains are abundant. Cut back Iris to four inches.
Pull back the mulch six to eight inches from your fruit trees and grapevines. Place wire screen or plastic trunk wrapping around the trunks to keep the rodents from gnawing on the tender bark.
Get those bird feeders out, clean and fill with black oil sunflower seeds, Niger seed for the goldfinches