eGarden © 2006 Ed Mues

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on October 4, 2006

Thinking about Spring in the Fall.

It is officially fall now, but I remind you that this year's gardening season is still happening and part of the work that remains to be done may insure that your spring is delightful and not overwhelming. In spring you want to focus on gardening and not on the previous seasons chores. It is invigorating to work outdoors in the cool of autumn. Here are some more reminders of things to work on.

If you haven't yet cut back your asparagus, after a hard frost is the time. The golden yellow color is the visual signal. Perennial foliage should die back naturally. Cut them back leaving a stalk of four or five inches. This helps catch snow or mulch and serves as a location clue in the spring.

Clean up under trees, especially fallen fruit (discard these), dead branches and twigs. Rakes leaves or double mow them and you won't need to collect them. They are a great addition, however, for the carbon component of the compost heap, just as green grass clippings are for the nitrogen component.

When your sunflower seeds have reached maturity, cut the flower head and leave a long stem attached. Hang the heads from the stem in a dry, well-ventilated spot. The seeds will ripen in a matter of a few weeks. Collect and store at room temperature away from sunlight in a tightly sealed container including a commercial desiccant.

Once frost has killed the tops of your tender corms, bulbs, tubers and rhizomes gently lift them from the soil in preparation for winter storage. Most store best resembling the way you purchase them. Wash off soil that clings to them, air dry them in a shaded area, then store in a cool, dry environment. Mesh bags and wood shaving make it easy.

Leave the soil that clings to Achimenes, Begonias, Cannas, Caladium and Dahlias and let these air dry for a few days and then store in clumps on barely moist peat moss or sawdust in a cool dry place. Since good air drainage away from direct sunlight is essential, screen-bottomed trays or boxes work great as long as the bulbs are not more than two layers deep. Leftover flats from bedding plants work fine, too.

Visit local garden centers for fall sales. It's a great time to plant.

Clean up the strawberry patch, but don't mulch until after the ground is frozen.

Harvest pine needles whenever you can. Store them in a dry place and use as mulch whenever needed. This is my favorite mulch.

Do you grow horseradish? If you do, dig it up just before the ground freezes. This gives you lots of time, and it will be at its peak.

Be on the lookout for house invaders, especially ladybird beetles, Western conifer seed bugs, and box elder bugs. Tighten up the house, calk, and replace worn weather stripping.

If you have a vacant garden plot or two, now is a great time to work in some compost or other clean and healthy organic matter. You might even put in a cover crop for enrichment. Winter rye is a first choice for most home gardeners.

Looking for more space to plant in? Consider creating a raised bed garden or dig a new plot or two while the soil is still easy to work (rocks not withstanding), and then put in a cover crop and let it do a lot of the work for you.

Prepare the lawn mower for spring after the last cut. Either add a fuel stabilizer to the gas in the tank, empty it, or let it run until the fuel is used up. Turn it upside down and remove all the built up clippings, scrape them off, hose it down, and when clean and dry, apply some WD-40. Sharpen the blade, too.

Clean and wire brush all your garden tools. Sharpen spades and forks, and give them a coat of WD-40, too. Paint handles with bright colors so they don't get lost in the yard work

Alternate freezing and thawing of the soil can thrust plants out of the ground. Protect your perennials from this frost heaving and potential death from exposure to root freezing. Make sure that if there is no snow cover, you plants are well mulched with straw, wood shavings, compost or loose organic material that will not mat down and will allow proper drainage. Evergreen boughs create little pockets that moderate temperatures and catch snow and other material.

Have you roses? Once frost has killed off the leaves and blossoms, cut the canes back enough so nothing is damaged by wind, and then mound soil around the base covering the graft union at least ten to twelve inches with garden soil. Once the soil freezes, you can add additional mulch to prevent frost heaving.

Sometimes broad-leaved and needled evergreens, exposed to damaging frigid winds and afternoon sun, are at risk of winter burn. Anti-desiccant sprays applied in late fall can provide very good protection. Shades and screens constructed with sturdy stakes and burlap surrounding the plants serve a similar purpose, as well as preventing deer from browsing.

Keep in mind that heavy rapid snowfalls accumulate so quickly that prompt removal from treasured evergreens can prevent major branch and limb breakage. Simple wooden structures anchored to the ground can also prevent injury from snow and ice buildup. You can plan and build these at your leisure before the onset of winter snows.

Well, I know the above is quite a to-do list, especially on top of the one I gave you a couple of weeks ago, but when spring comes you'll be gardening with a smile instead of playing catch-up or repairing damaged plants and tools. See it as the last hurrah of the gardening season. You'll have the comfort of enjoying the winter after the snows come. You can enjoy the seed and plant catalogs and dream about your coming spring plantings.

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on October 4, 2006

Page Up