November, Really?

It seems to be a continuous theme:  Where did October go?  To add to that, I still need to clean out my garden, plant garlic and mulch my strawberries!  All these fall activities seem to be crying out to me, "Do it!"  Due to a myriad of reasons and excuses, I still have much yard work to do!

In my education as an extension master gardener and gathering of information over the years, I know that these (and other) things need to be done.  The garden should be cleaned out to remove any potential diseases.  My tomatoes were relatively healthy this year, so I'm not really worried about diseases.  However, the garden looks better if I clean it out.  If I had disease in my garden this year, it would be important to remove dead plants and fruit and dispose of it at the brush dump or by burning. 

And the removal of leftover fruit is important, too.  Tomato seeds will germinate after chilling in the garden all winter.  Hybrids will probably revert to a parent plant or other ancestor.  Open-pollinated tomato seeds will come back as they were the year before.  Volunteer tomatoes are fun and I have heard of people keeping a "wild" tomato patch that grows every year from seed.  While this is tempting, the truth is that we (including me) should rotate crops in our gardens.  It is rather difficult to do minimum three-year rotation when I love tomatoes so much!

Now, there is the planting of the garlic.  I don't think I've ever been on time with planting my garlic or other fall bulbs.  These should be planted toward early or mid-October so that they have time to grow some roots before freezing.  Ideally.  If there is a break in the weather, I will plant garlic as long as the ground is not frozen.  That way, in the spring, it can start growing as soon as conditions warrant.  Getting it in the ground now is better than waiting until spring. 

And finally, it's important to mulch my strawberries and the garlic that I WILL get planted.  These things may do okay if temperatures are mild or we have a good amount of snow cover.  Since we cannot predict the winter, our insurance in this case is mulch.  Just about anything can be used for mulch.  I am still hoping for one more cutting of grass to use as mulch or general cover for my bare garden.  Cut grass will develop layers and a harder cover.  This is not always so good, but I've made it work by being careful when I remove it.  If it's left on too long, the plants will die soon after they start their spring growth.  Leaves are a good mulch, as long as they do not blow away.  I am hoping to find some good, cheap straw this fall.  Unfortunately, I've heard that straw and other bedding might be expensive this year. 

Happy Gardening and I hope you're ahead of me!

Tool Cleanup

In the course of bringing the growing season to a close, it's important to take a look at our tools.  I was reminded of this through the Florida Master Gardener Program Facebook page.  They had a post recently about cleaning and performing maintenance on garden tools.  And this makes a lot of sense.

At the close of the season, it is a good idea to clean the tools.  Just as I have a hard time getting to my  blog during the growing season, I tend to put off maintenance on tools.  As long as I can manage with them as they are, then it's good...right?  Okay, when I say, "...right?" like that, the answer usually is, "no."  While this is a good time to work on tools if necessary, we really should be cleaning them as we go.

I'm guilty!  And I know better.  It's common knowledge that some diseases can be transmitted fairly easily through dirty tools.  The 'mum research I did just a week or so ago suggested as much.  Houseplant tools are an easy carrier of the nasties, too.  But it's so EASY to trim, prune and dig without cleaning tools in between.  Sometimes we can transmit the diseases without even knowing, as well.

So, in the course of cleaning any dirt from our garden tools, we also want to think about cleaning pruners from the garden and house, as well.

For the end-of-season cleaning of garden tools, use a wire brush for any dried-on soil.  Use WD-40 a little extra cleaning and conditioning of the tool.  I have a friend who uses a five-gallon bucket filled with sand that has been mixed with a little motor oil.  She aspires to clean her tools after every use with this set-up.  By having a system set up, she can achieve this goal a bit more easily than those of us who are not ready.  And if successful, she would not need to go through this annual catch-up.

Now, in order to prevent transmission of disease on tools, the general rule is to use a 10 percent bleach solution.  This concentration is also good for disinfecting used pots prior to using.  To achieve this solution, mix one part bleach per nine parts water.  Use a larger bucket for disinfecting larger tools and pots and decrease the amount mixed for smaller uses.  Contact by this solution on the tools should last for at least 15 seconds.

By cleaning and disinfecting tools, we can benefit by keeping the tools in good shape, as well as our plants, gardens and yards by preventing the spread of infection.

To Blog or To Garden

I wonder how many blogs start with, "It's been a long time since my last entry..."  Okay, well it has.  I've struggled all year with time.  But I still managed to garden and have a relatively good harvest, despite some weather issues.  And now, it's time to put it all to bed.

Since our freeze and the death of my summer's labors, the garden space is black with decay.  It is tempting, in this trend of busy schedules, to simply leave the garden remains to decay in the garden.  After all, it would simply make good compost, right?  Or would it?

By leaving old garden remains where they fall, we could also be leaving a host of issues that will continue for another season or longer.  First off, any plant matter that is left on the garden may be host to diseases that will winter over and return in the following growing season.  For many plants, whether vegetables or flowers, it's best to remove plant debris from the bed.  This is good practice during the growing season, as well as at the year-end clean-up.

Second, any fruit left on the garden may germinate the next year.  If you're like me, however, when a stray tomato plant comes up, it's fun to let it grow and see which heirloom variety it is or what the hybrid seed will come back as.  I hate killing plants!  But now, I have a large section of my garden that grew tomatoes this past season and may also have more volunteers in the spring.  This will reduce my options when it comes to rotating my garden crops (another good way to reduce garden diseases.) 

And lastly, the aesthetic reason for cleaning up the garden:  it simply looks better!  When I look at my clean garden area, I am pleased with the conclusion of the garden season.  If I were still looking at the carcasses of my beloved tomato plants, I might just become a little teary!

So, for these reasons, I advise all gardeners to clean up gardens by removing all plant and fruit debris.  This clean-up may seem like a lot of work, but I find that it's the considerations and thinking that end up taking more time!

Happy Fall!

What To Do...

As this weather continues to defy the averages, it's difficult to understand what to do about the garden!  I went on last fall about mulching, especially as the temperatures dropped and we had no insulating snow cover.  And now, every time I walk by my garlic and strawberry beds, I wonder if I should uncover them.  I always told myself it was too early.  "What happens when we get that late-season snow or the temps drop back to zero" I would ask myself.

However, I've learned from other master gardeners that with these warm temps, the strawberry plants can mildew.  I also know that garlic in Iowa is growing.  Mine can't be too far behind, can it?

With that said, I'd better go take a peek and see what's going on

New USDA Hardiness Zones and Interactive Map

Yesterday, the USDA released a revised "Plant Hardiness Zone Map."  It is GIS based and considered more accurate because of increased reliability of data and a longer time frame of data used.  Other factors were also considered in determining the appropriate zone layout.

Here is a link to the interactive map.  You can enter your zip code and get a quick return on your zone.  Although I was hoping for a warmer zone 5 (only so I could plant a Granny Smith applie tree), my zip now shows as zone 4b. 

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

Enjoy!

Butterfly Garden?

As I was planning to plan my 2012 garden, I was really only thinking of vegetables.  But I came across this post on the University of Minnesota Extension website regarding butterfly gardening.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/DG6711e.html

And non-vegetable gardens deserve as much planning as vegetable gardens.  Although I feel that by producing vegetables, I am providing for my family.  However, there is an aesthetic property to having a beautiful yard that will provide season-long enjoyment for me and my family.  I bet the neighbors will be thankful for a nice plot of flowers, too.

My past leanings have been for perennials.  I think that was mostly driven my my frugal nature.  But in the Extension's publication, I learned that butterflies mostly want nectar and that since annuals tend to bloom for long stretches of the summer, they can provide well for them.  There is also a need for perennials, as they can provide variation over many seasons.  Additionally, a divers planting can provide a flower bed that is more resistant to any single environmental problem.

As I continue on my planning journey, I will be considering placement of a butterfly garden.

Planning to Plan

Okay, so it's only January 1st.  But based on my past procrastination, I think it's not too early to get planning for the upcoming growing season.  Yes, it is upcoming and time to plant seeds indoors will be here before I know it!

So, before I plant seeds, I need to reflect on past growing seasons - what worked and did not work - as well as what I want to try.  Without this reflection and planning, my gardening probably will revert back to the haphazard nature of times past.  I'd like to avoid as much of that as possible!  Also, by planning, I feel better equipped to purchase seeds and plants.  If I can start seeds for something I want in my garden, I can be sure of getting the variety I want, while hopefully saving a few pennies.

Since my planning is a process, I will be posting more information as I go through it!  For now, I will be perusing the seed catalogs I have already received in the mail! 

Happy gardening, already!