Taking Stock

November 2014

 

Pickaway to Garden

 

Taking Stock

 

By Paul J. Hang

 

November, what can we say about November? Veterans’ Day and Thanksgiving stand out, but little else. Steel gray blustery days are punctuated by rare sunny blue sky days and maybe Indian Summer? The growing season is pretty much over for most of us. Since April the vegetative world has been on a tear to produce seed, root and tuber using flowers and fruit as a means. Now it’s over. Leaves lay where they fell. Those of us who put things by have put them by. Those of us who put things off don’t have much time left. Has the vegetable garden been cleaned up? Have the flower beds been tidied up? Did you leave those plants we like to see during the winter or the ones that can provide seeds for the birds and food for critters?

 

November is a time for taking stock, to look back and plan forward. To paraphrase the nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, how did your garden grow? If your garden did not perform to your expectations perhaps a little analysis is in order, soil analysis that is. Good soil is the basic requirement for good plants.

 

One of the key elements of good soil is its pH. Soil pH is the measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions present in it. Soil pH is an indication of the acidity or alkalinity of soil and is measured in pH units. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with pH 7 as the neutral point. From pH 7 to 0 the soil is increasingly more acidic and from pH 7 to 14 the soil is increasingly more alkaline. The pH of soil is the key to its fertility. Most soil nutrients are readily available when the soil pH is at 6.5. Assuming that your soil has all the nutrients required for good growth, if the pH isn’t right the plants can’t access those nutrients.

 

Soils with high acidity (pH 4.0-5.0) have concentrations of soluble minerals which may be toxic to some plants. On the other hand some plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries, white potatoes and conifer trees do well in high acid soils. So how do you tell if your soil has the right amount of nutrients and the optimum pH? You do a soil test. To obtain soil sampling instructions and kits along with specific recommendations contact the local Cooperative Extension Office.

 

Now is a good time to do soil tests. You will have time to amend your soil if required (3 to 6 months). And, you will avoid the spring rush when more people are sending their samples to the lab.

 

Putting the Garden to Bed, Things to do:

 

It’s not too late to plant spring flowering bulbs. Spring bulbs look best in a cluster. Try excavating an area rather than planting them in a single small hole, one bulb per hole. Cut back perennials and biennials and clean up dead materials. Pull out dead annuals and compost if not diseased. Lift tender bulbs (caladiums, dahlias, glads etc.). Sow seeds of hardy annuals (calendula, bachelor’s buttons). Mums can be “tidied up” but don’t trim back until spring.

 

Tender roses should be “hilled up,” mound the soil a foot deep around the base to protect the crowns. Also a wire cage filled with leaves surrounding them as mulch can add protection. Final pruning should be done in the spring but long spindly branches can be trimmed off. Climbing roses or ramblers should be tied to prevent injury from being whipped around by harsh winter winds. Do not feed. Clean up all dead and diseased materials and put in the trash.

 

If you haven’t done a fall fertilization of your lawn, do it now. Do not allow leaves to form a matted layer. Rake and compost heavy layers of leaves, otherwise chop them up with passes of the mower to return to the soil as nutrients. Running the mower over the rows at right angles a couple times will reduce them to half inch pieces which earth worms will pull into the soil. The latest recommendation is to continue to cut your lawn at 2.5-3 inches as long as it continues to grow.  This seems to work better than cutting it short for the last time of the season.

 

Make sure leaves and mulch are not heaped against the trunks of trees. Bring the mulch a foot away from the trunks of all trees. You may also want to stake newly planted trees from the winds of winter and early spring storms. Generally new trees more than 2” diameter don’t need staking. Consult ohioline.osu.edu for staking and other gardening information. Evergreens and shrubs should be watered deeply. Wait until late winter to do any normal pruning. Do not prune spring flowering shrubs (lilac, forsythia, spirea etc.).

 

Take stock by taking 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. 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 due to weathering and drying. Drain garden hoses and store. At the very least disconnect from the outdoor spigots.

 

Remove the dead plants from containers and, if not diseased, compost. Unglazed terracotta pots must be stored indoors or they will be destroyed. No procrastinating here. Synthetic containers can be left outdoors.

 

Weed the vegetable garden and compost all debris. Remove stakes and cages, clean and store. Place diseased materials in the trash. Plant a cover crop. Now your beds are tucked in and settled down for a long winter’s nap.