November 2015
Pickaway to Garden
Knowvember
By Paul J. Hang
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member-
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds.
November!
Thomas Hood’s poem “No!” is one view of November, albeit a
negative one and one I can identify with. But his view is not the whole story. What
else do we know about November? November is a unique month, not the fall of
September and October and not the winter of January and February. We know
November‘s steel gray blustery days are punctuated by rare sunny blue sky days.
We know Veterans’ Day and Thanksgiving holidays will be welcome interruptions
to the relentless November march towards winter which is not official until
late next month.
We know the growing season is over. We know that there isn’t
much time left to finish our chores before the weather drives us indoors. We
know that daylight saving time ends and we will be getting home from work in
the dark. We know that our trees are now naked and starkly beautiful. We know
that the holidays will arrive before we know it. We know our sense of warm
anticipation will be tempered by the anxiety of all the preparations. We know a
warm fire can compensate for just about anything. I know this; there is no
month quite like November.
November is the month for elections and campaign signs will
be popping up on lawns like so many mushrooms. Once the voting is over harvest
those signs which use plastic stretched over heavy metal wire shaped like giant
staples. Save the staples for use in the garden. They can be used to keep row
covers off plants, to hold up flopping plants, hold up wire mesh to keep
varmints from chewing on plants, and any number of other chores.
Putting the Garden to
Bed, Things to do:
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. To obtain soil
sampling instructions and kits along with specific recommendations contact the
local Cooperative Extension Office.
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, if not diseased, compost
them. 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. Apply an anti-desiccant to broadleaf
evergreens. 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.
Stop or reduce fertilizing indoor plants.
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.
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