Change

November 2016

 

Pickaway to Garden

Change

By Paul J. Hang

 

This is not meant as a campaign slogan, although either party could claim it. It is also not a warning on the apocalypse. I have not yet begun to line my hat with tinfoil. It is a reminder that fall is ending and winter beginning. December is also the end of the year by the way our calendar measures it. Rather a comment on the month

As the sun abandons us, fleeing south like a gray headed snowbird, November helps us to adapt to the coming dark days. Daylight savings time ends in November. Some trees are still partially adorned with leaves helping us to adjust to the day when they will be bare and reveal what has been hidden, neighbors’  homes, birds’ nests, views that we have forgotten.

 

We know that there isn’t much time left to finish our chores before the weather drives us indoors. I have good news for all of us procrastinators. There are many reasons to leave dead native plant stems and seed heads and litter on our beds during the winter. Nature is messy, not at all concerned with our need for tidiness. The exception is the vegetable garden. Don’t believe it? Go to nativeplantherald.prairienursery.com. Bees, butterflies and predatory insects hibernate either as adults, eggs or pupae in the plant litter. Birds, toads and salamanders will eat these in the spring. Birds will also eat the seeds. The litter helps insulate the soil. The plants may re-seed as a source of free plants (you can pull them if unwanted). Finally, standing stems can be beautiful whether bare or adorned with frost or snow. In the spring cut to 12-15 inches of stubble for pollinator nesting sites.

 

Campaign signs have been popping up on lawns like so many mushrooms. Once the voting is over harvest those signs with heavy metal wire shaped like giant staples. Save them 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.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

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.) if you want them to bloom.

 

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. Make sure underground irrigation lines are drained or blown dry with a compressor.

 

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.