Lights Out!

December 2011

Pickaway to Garden

By Paul J. Hang

Lights Out!

December reminds me of evenings in basic training, in my bedroom or at summer camp when the drill sergeant, parent or the counselor, barges in and shouts "Lights Out!" Mother Nature, if not turning them out, is dimming the light. Our astronomical year is nearing its lowest light in the Northern Hemisphere. The angle of the sun will be at its lowest point on the horizon on the day of the Winter Solstice. December 22 will be the first day of winter. Our shortest day and longest night ushers in the coming cold  freezing dreary and bleak days of winter. December will bring the least amount of sunlight of any of our months.

With this decrease of energy plants have shut down or died. Unlike me, perennials and biennials have been preparing for winter for months. They prepared by storing food in their roots, bulbs and tubers and sloughing off plant tissue that can't survive the freezing temperatures. Soft tissues which contain cells full of water will die when the water freezes into jagged ice crystals that destroy the cells' walls. Woody cells are an exception. There are a few plants that stay green in winter and their cells produce forms of glycol which acts as anti-freeze. Annuals can't make it through our winters and have gone to seed and died. All other plants are taking a well-deserved rest.

December finds every major, and some minor, religion celebrating some kind of holiday.  Often these celebrations involve candles and other lights. It's as if we are providing our own light to stave off the darkness of nature. For a lot of us December brings Christmas or Hanukkah celebrations both of which entail lights. We miss the light and we miss the green and we supply both as a way of celebrating.

Gardeners can also take a rest. Garden chores are either done or it's too cold to get out and do what we should have done during those Indian summer days. It won't be long though and we will be itching to get outside and get some dirt under our nails. In mid-November I received my first garden seed catalog! Can spring be far behind? Before we go there let's enjoy the time off.

This holiday season think about gardening gifts. Your favorite gardener will appreciate a gift they can use and one that will remind them that the growing season hasn't disappeared forever. How about a really good pair of hand pruners? They will cost at least $50 or else they won't perform well or for long. Gloves, boots, hats, trowels or even a package of seeds can stuff those stockings or hide a surprise under the tree. A gardening book will bring many winter hours of daydreaming (planning?) while enjoying the warmth of a good armchair.

Things to do in the garden:

Thankfully, there are not too many things to do IN the garden as much as there are things to do ABOUT the garden.

Wrap young tree trunks with hardware cloth or the plastic wrap made for that purpose. Protect them from ground level to about 18 inches.  This also goes for newly planted shrubs. Place fencing around them. This prevents mice, voles and rabbits from using the bark as lunch. If they girdle the plants, no matter how woody they are, the plants will die. Don't forget to remove it come spring.

If you haven’t already, clean up crop debris and crop residue. Shred it and put in the compost heap or till and turn it over to bury in the soil. Get the garden ready for spring planting as much as possible.

Once the ground has frozen hard and deep mulch the perennials. This freezing may not happen this month. If the ground remains open it’s still not too late to plant lilies, tulips and daffodils. You may find some bargains. Avoid the soft and shriveled ones.

Witch Hazel, the native variety, blooms in late fall, sometimes as late as December. When you are out and about look for it. The small ribbon- like petals are yellow. It is a treat for plant lovers to see something blooming in the low light of near winter. While you are at it look for other signs of how plants have prepared for winter. You may also see how some plants are "thinking" of spring.

Check houseplants for insects. Move clay pots inside to prevent breaking.

I can't forget my monthly reminder to write down your thoughts about your garden. I am not talking about following your muse as you compose lyrical poetic lines of written ecstasy, although that's fine if you're inclined that way. I mean practical lines like "make an appointment to have mower serviced." These notes can be in a notebook reserved for that purpose or even on next year's calendar.

Be of good cheer and find ways to enjoy the bleak winter days. Curl up with a new seed catalog. Lights out!