(Chelsea Update would like to thank Jennifer Fairfield for the information in this column.)
The Farmer’s Almanac says we should expect some snow and cold conditions by mid-November. It’s hard to believe, with the kind of weather we’ve been having the last few days.
However, if they’re right, then I had better get a move on in getting my gardens cleaned up and my flower bulbs and garlic planted. It’s so much nicer to do these things when the weather is cool and clear than when it’s cold and snowy.
While the weather holds out, there are a number of things to do outside this month:
Vegetable Garden:
If you haven’t already cleaned out the leftover plant material from your garden, it’s a good idea to do it now. Toss anything that isn’t showing signs of disease onto the compost pile. Anything that does show signs of disease should go in the trash.
Pull weeds and throw them in the compost pile, too.
Speaking of compost, if you haven’t turned your pile lately, that’s another thing to do now. While we’re still having some warmer temperatures, getting the stuff that’s on top down into the center and bottom of the pile will give it the chance to heat up and start decomposing before the cold sets in and all the heat is lost.
Tilling
If you have compost that’s ready, add it to your garden once you’ve cleaned the garden up. Till it in lightly to get it mixed with the soil, and to expose weed seed and insects. The birds will thank you.
I’m still not sure that it’s quite time to plant garlic yet. I’ve only seen one significant frost at my house so far, and that was a week ago. Since then, it’s mostly been in the 40’s at night, and the days have been pretty mild – 70’s in November. I’ll take it.
But, these temperatures mean that the soil still hasn’t cooled down much, and planting garlic now could encourage it to get growing just about the time that the real cold stuff shows up, which wouldn’t be good for it. So, I’m going to wait a little bit longer to plant my garlic, keeping an eye on the forecasts so I don’t get stuck out in the snow trying to get it in.
About the time you plant garlic, you can also try sowing some peas and spinach. Both of these seeds can generally overwinter well, and by planting them now, they might come up a little earlier, giving you a head-start on your garden in the spring. Be sure to put a light layer of mulch over the seeds you plant to keep the soil evenly moist.
Flowers:
Pull spent annuals this month. Compost them, as long as they are not showing any signs of disease.
Remove weeds from your flower beds to give you a head-start on next spring.
Once the soil has cooled down, add a layer of fresh mulch to your flower beds to help protect the plants’ roots from frost heave this winter.
I know I said to plant your spring-blooming bulbs last month, but it never really cooled down sufficiently to do it. This month will definitely cool down enough – I think that’s pretty much guaranteed. The question is, when?
Bulbs can be planted all the way up until the ground is frozen, but I prefer to do it as soon as it feels like we have really started to cool down, and have had a few frosts. Waiting too long means you’re risking being out in the bitter cold, or missing your opportunity altogether because we get surprised by cold and snow – which happens all too often in November.
If you’d like some flowers in your house over the winter, consider forcing bulbs inside. Amaryllis, paperwhites, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus can all be grown inside. Amaryllis and paperwhites can be ready to bloom during the holidays, the others can give a lovely show to brighten up a dark winter day.
If you have been waiting to clean out your containers, because the plants just keep looking too nice to pull out, that’s probably not going to be the case a whole lot longer.
Plan on cleaning them out by mid-month, or at least moving them to a sheltered location so they last a little longer. Once you’ve cleaned them out, store them somewhere where they will be out of the weather for the winter. You can leave them outside over the winter, if you take some precautions to keep them from filling up with water, freezing and cracking. You can move them to under a covered porch, or cover them with tarps, if they’re too big to move.
(Part 2 of this column will publish tomorrow.)
