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November brings crisp air, turkey and lots of leaves. Tons of leaves, in fact. It wouldn't be so bad if all trees were like ginkgoes and dropped their leaves all at once. They don't. So you rake and rake and rake and rake. Or just let the winter winds carry them down the road.
November also brings the end of the garden season, or more likely a wrap-up. Gardening can continue throughout the winter - forcing bulbs and flowering branches, starting seeds, and preparing for next year. Anything you do now will help the yard and garden for next year. Lawns need to be mowed as long as growth continues. Keep the height at 2 to 3 inches until the final mowing. Then lower the mower to about 1-inch so overly long blades don't fall over and mat down. Tall grass can lead to some winter fungal diseases. Don't scalp the grass, though. Keep those mower blades sharp. If you use your mower to shred leaves before you bag them (a good idea if you use the mower as a bagger), the blades dull quickly. Pile raked leaves and clippings on your garden beds and, if soils remain dry, turn the soil over and leave the ground rough. Winter will work the soil and debris so it will be in good condition for spring. In fact, the best thing to improve the garden and yard soil is freezing and thawing. However, that's also the worst thing for plants. Make sure plants receive at least an inch of water per week until the ground freezes. While it looks weird, you need to keep the sprinkler and garden hoses available even in November. Broadleaf evergreens, such as holly, rhododendron and boxwood, need the moisture around their roots going into the winter. Pines, spruces and other needled evergreens also need the moist soil. Ideally, water the week before the ground freezes. Evergreens can be protected with windbreaks, which seems odd, as windbreaks are usually evergreens. This, though, goes back to our broadleaf ones listed above. The goal is to keep the winter winds and sun from drying out the leaves. Lay some evergreen boughs on the plants after the December holidays. Another choice is to use snow fence or tack some burlap on a frame set up around the sensitive plants. Rodents can do serious damage to plants when snow cover makes food scarce. Rabbits clip back shrubs and can girdle stems of thin-barked trees. Mice often girdle fruit trees and pines. Install rabbit guards on new trees and remove all debris from around the trunks of fruit trees and pines so mice don't take up residence there close to a convenient food supply (your tree). Consider the use of predators such as cats and dogs. Make sure the dog is bigger than the rabbit or mouse.
After you finish with your garden tools, wash the mud from them, wipe them with an oily rag, and hang them out of the weather. Repair any broken ones, and sharpen hoes and shovels. Clean and service your mower. Remove the spark plugs. Pour in some oil and turn the engine over to oil rings, cylinder walls and valves. Then install a new spark plug. Drain and coil your garden hoses so they don't freeze and crack. If you have outside taps that can be turned off and drained, do so now.
David Robson is an Extension Educator,
Horticulture, at the Springfield Extension
Center, University of Illinois Extension.
You can write to Robson in care of
Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 3787,
Springfield, IL 62708. Telephone: 16 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING NOVEMBER 2000 |
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