The Green is Gone

November 2011

Pickaway to Garden

The Green is Gone

By Paul J. Hang

With apologies to B.B. King, it is not only the thrill that is gone but also the green. The green is gone away. The green is gone away baby. “Although I’ll still live on. But so lonely I will be.” Contrary to B.B.'s thrill, the green is not gone away for good. There is still the hope of spring. In just a matter of weeks our world has changed from one dominated by the color green to one of browns and grays. My yard looks like a den from the 60’s and 70’s with all those earth tones.

Where did all that green go? The green of course is chlorophyll. As the nights grew longer, the photoperiod shortened, the trees shut down. Chlorophyll was no longer replaced and what remained disintegrated with use. The underlying color of the leaves revealed themselves and eventually the leaves dropped to the ground. The green is gone.

Consequently, the dreary mood I fought off in October becomes harder to fend off this month .Adding to the lack of color is the lack of sunlight. The sun is approaching its nadir in December’s solstice so we have many more days of increasingly low light ahead of us.

The full moon comes early in the month on the 10th. Some Native Americans referred to it as the Beaver Moon, some the Hunters Moon. They trapped the beaver for its warm fur which fights off the winter’s cold. There, I said it, winter. I managed to write about November without mentioning it until the fourth paragraph. Even though the season doesn’t arrive until next month, winter is on our mind. November is a good month to complete our preparations for winter. We can still have a few nice days (Please!) to finish those chores we have been putting off.

Congratulations to the 16 people who recently completed our Master Gardener training. After 50 hours of classes and field trips they now embark on fulfilling 50 hours of volunteering before becoming certified Master Gardener Volunteers.

Things to do in the garden:

November is the time to put your gardens to bed if you haven’t already. Deal with any leaves still remaining that haven’t blown onto your neighbor’s property or your neighbor’s that have blown onto yours. If we haven’t experienced a killing frost by the time you read this it can’t be far off.

It’s not too late to plant spring flowering bulbs. I have been known to shovel snow off beds in order to plant tulips and daffodils. Have you forgotten to plant a tree or shrub? You can still plant with some confidence of success.

Have you been keeping a gardening journal? Me neither. I always think I will, I even bought one, but I never seem to get a round tuit. But all is not lost. Take notes and map your garden while you can still see the plants or remember where they were. This is particularly important for the vegetable garden. We do not want to plant tomato and its relatives, or cabbage and its relatives, or cucumber and its relatives in the same spot next year, or the year after that.

As the gardening season winds down look at your notes. Does it raise questions? For instance did your tomato vines begin browning from the bottom and result in fruit that had cracking around the stem end? Mine did and I learned it was from early blight. What to do? Look up your questions on ohioline@osu.edu

Clean your gardening tools and put them away. A coat of oil can prevent rust. A light coating of linseed oil on wooden handles prevents splitting from weathering and drying.

After the last mowing of the lawn (you can cut it a little shorter, 2.5”) empty the gas tank or run the mower until it runs out of gas. Either have your mower serviced or write on your calendar to have it serviced in late winter to avoid the spring rush.

If you haven’t lifted those tender dahlias, caladiums and cannas it’s probably not too late. By the same token, if you haven’t done a fall fertilization of your lawn, do it now. Also, fertilize your shrubs and trees lightly after leaf drop.Stop fertilizing your houseplants. Inspect them for insects and disease.

If you planted a fall garden, cover the plants you can reasonably expect to survive freezing temperatures, with protection, like spinach and lettuce. Use row covers and/or plastic.

After a cold November rain check your perennial beds for standing water. Cut a channel to drain it away. Wet feet can be as bad for your plants as cold, just like us. While you’re at it check gutters and drains above evergreens and perennial plantings to prevent ice formation.

Now is a good time to do a soil test. Labs aren't as busy and you can expect results back quickly with recommendations for soil amendments. Amending soil now is best, it gives time for the soil to absorb and incorporate the additives. Adding nitrogen is an exception, it doesn't stay around long. Wait til spring when the green will return.