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Tuesday, October 8, 2019

October 8, 2019 salvaging summer


Hi Gardeners
Tropical hibiscus 'The Path'
 It got down to 38 degrees last night, but we escaped frost once again. Some of you may have had frost already but for most of us, frost is just around the corner.  If you have plants you want to bring inside for the winter now is the time to get it done, at least in planting zones 6 and lower, maybe 7 too.
Before my second eye surgery I hustled to bring my tender plants inside, working in the rain on some days.  I moved over 100 pots inside.  About 10 of these are huge floor pots with 5-6 feet tall plants.  It’s getting harder and harder to move these in and out and I am seriously thinking that they will not be moved outside next year. 
Once inside I have to weave the plants into the available space while leaving space to water them. I have to find saucers for each pot.  Grow lights must be hung and timers adjusted. It’s a week or so of hard work.  But when I am done it makes me happy to be inside such a nice green spot, add my birds singing and it’s my personal jungle.
Every year I say I will salvage fewer plants and end up doing the opposite. Every window is packed and there are grow lights all over. I am a sucker for things that bloom all winter inside, and I hate letting perfectly good plants die when I know I could save them for next year. I was sitting outside yesterday and admiring some of the gorgeous cane type begonias I have on the deck and thinking “I could bring that one or this one inside.”  And put where?
Back in September I wrote about tender perennials you can save for next year. Many people don’t realize they can save some of these plants so they won’t have to buy them again next season.  Here’s the link to the September blog;

I still have just a few pots of bulbs that need bringing inside. This year I am going to dump the pots after frost kills the foliage and separate the bulbs, since the pots are so packed, and they didn’t bloom well this year. These are bulbs like crocosemia, peacock glads, rain lilies, eucomis, and so on, which aren’t winter hardy here.
Some things multiplied over the summer.  The violet stemmed taro put runners out into the pond it was sitting in and now there are 4 plants. I left two in water filled containers and potted two in soil, I’ll see which over winter the best. The burgundy leaved canna produced a new plant too, I have 3 of these now. Did you know cannas in bright light will stay nice looking through the winter inside? Little spider plants fell off big plants and rooted that had to be potted and brought inside too.
Although I have disrupted the garden by digging out this and that and moving pots inside, a lot of things are still blooming. The dahlias got a late start this spring and are just now at their best. Roses are in bloom again and anemone and toad lilies. The sweet autumn clematis and asters are spreading drifts of white. Mums are blooming and of course the annuals are still going. The verbena bonariensis is blooming again. Some snapdragons, violas and cleome are reblooming too. The verbena bonariensis isn’t reliably hardy in zone 5-6.  I’m wondering if I can overwinter it some way.  There I go again.
The leaves seem slow to color up this year. The oak is starting to shed some leaves, the maples are beginning to turn but most of the trees seem to be carrying on with summer.  That’s ok, a slow, long fall is always welcome.
I am slowly adjusting to my new eyes.  I no longer need glasses for distance but still need them for close work. That means instead of wearing glasses all the time I carry a pair of reading glasses in my pocket. It’s interesting since I didn’t realize how often one switches between close vision and distance vision. Try weeding without being able to see up close. And medium range vision like working on the computer, is especially challenging.  So is looking through the viewfinder on the camera and getting it focused.  And since the cataracts were removed everything seems so much brighter.  But I will adjust.


The month ahead-October gardening

For gardeners in many parts of the country October brings a new period of activity in the garden.  It’s time to plant bulbs and start the garden clean up. There is always a debate among gardeners whether or not to clean up the garden in the fall or spring. It’s a personal decision but there are some things to consider before making the decision.
The vegetable garden should be cleaned in fall if possible.  It’s time to put away the tomato cages, stakes, sprinklers and other equipment. Remove plant debris to the compost pile. This helps prevent insects and disease over wintering in the garden. Add manure and compost to beds. I would suggest waiting until a hard freeze or two before adding amendments.  That’s because the freeze may kill insect eggs and disease spores on the soil surface.  Adding manure or compost before a freeze may protect them.
If you need to harvest anything like carrots or potatoes, it’s time to get it done. Yes, you can cover the carrots with straw bales and then go out and shovel a path to the garden, move the heavy soaked bales and dig up some carrots in winter and then move the heavy bales back over the patch.  But that’s not a really practical solution is it? Carrots can be stored in a more accessible space indoors for a long time.
Flower bed cleanup in fall can be done, especially if you like a neat look going into winter. Many gardeners do fall clean up. But leaving the cleanup- or at least most of it until spring does have some advantages. Birds and beneficial insects can use the seeds and plant parts left behind over winter. Seed heads, stalks and stems, and grass clumps can provide winter interest in a bland environment.
But the most compelling reason to leave cleanup until spring is that it is the way nature does it. The dying foliage protects the crowns and roots of plants and traps snow, which also protects plant parts. The decomposing foliage returns nutrients to the soil. One plant to leave alone until spring is the chrysanthemum. Removing stems in fall often removes buds for next years foliage at their base. You can carefully cut dead stems back to about 6 inches but don’t remove stems.
If you want to collect seeds of various plants get it done soon. Some seeds of various flowers can be sown in fall for spring germination.  To read more about seed storage and fall sowing you can go to this page; 

Before a freeze you need to dig up summer bulbs such as glads, dahlias, canna, and so on if you want them for next year. Pick a stretch of sunny days so that after you dig them you can let them cure in the sun for a day or two.  Make sure they won’t freeze outside at night; you may have to bring them in at night.
Shake off the soil after it dries but don’t wash the bulbs/tubers.  After a day or two of curing you can cut off any foliage and pack the bulbs/tubers in slightly dampened wood shavings and store them in a cool, (above freezing) dry, dark spot.  

Dahlia tubers curing
It’s time to get bulbs for spring blooming plants planted. They can be planted from the time the soil starts to cool down until it freezes but don’t leave this until the last minute. I’ve been writing about bulbs in the last few blogs and there’s an article below on the actual planting process.
Don’t prune roses, shrubs and trees until they have gone dormant.  Pruning some plants before dormancy will cause them to put out new growth, which takes energy best conserved for spring growth. The new growth will probably be winter killed also.  After a few hard freezes and the loss of their leaves, roses, shrubs and trees can be pruned.  Spring flowering shrubs like forsythia and lilac, may not bloom in the spring if you prune them now, however.
You may still need to mow through October. Grass should not be too long when it gets covered with snow. Grass naturally starts growing slower as the day length gets shorter, but it will grow until the ground freezes.  In most of the country, zones 7 and below, it’s too late now to seed and fertilize the lawn.
Get those bird feeders filled.  You can use just black oil sunflower seed and suet cakes and attract most birds without a lot of waste. Add thistle seed and a very small amount of cracked corn, maybe some chopped peanuts and you will have pleased just about every bird species that visits feeders.  Most wild bird feed is filled with things like milo, red millet, oats and other seeds most birds really aren’t fond of.  It gets wasted below the feeder.
There is concern among conservationists that bird species are vanishing, and bird populations are down in numbers.  Feeding birds in winter does help them and it is a pleasant thing to sit and watch the birds in the winter. Put your feeder just outside a window so you can sit and watch the birds.
Don’t waste time raking leaves unless you are collecting them for composting or covering plants. Mow over leaves and let the small pieces fertilize the lawn. A thick layer of dead leaves could harm the grass but a light layer or chopped leaves won’t.  Putting leaves in plastic bags or any bags and sending them to a landfill is blasphemy for a gardener.  You are wasting a valuable resource. Leaves are natures fertilizer and mulch.
Don’t get me started on leaf blowers.  Gardeners do not need a leaf blower, which uses fossil fuels, pollutes the atmosphere and causes noise pollution. There might be some limited value in leaf blowers for those who need to clear off lots of paved areas in commercial settings, but a home gardener does not need a leaf blower. To use such an environmentally unfriendly machine to blow around a valuable garden resource is just nuts.
One thing to make sure you do this October is to get some time outside.  It’s a beautiful time of year but it’s fleeting.  Enjoy it while you can.


Almanac
October’s full moon occurs on the 13th. This full moon is called the Hunters moon, Dying Grass moon or Traveling moon as Native Americans often moved to winter grounds during this time. The Hunters moon is named such because at this time of year the moon rises early in the evening and stays bright until almost dawn, letting hunters easily track animals in the night. (It’s now illegal to hunt most game animals after the sun goes down.) The grass isn’t dying (Dying grass moon) around here- I am still mowing, but it will die soon I suppose. The moon’s perigee occurs on the 26th.  Apogee is the 10th. 
If you like sky gazing, you may want to look for the Draconid meteors which will be at their peak Oct 9th.  This meteor shower isn’t as frequent or showy as others but who knows what you might see.  Look for the meteors in the northwest sky just after dark.  Peak is near the full moon so viewing may not be at its best.  Later in the month the Orionid meteor shower peaks around October 20-21st. Good viewing times for this meteor shower are around midnight.  These meteors can be seen in all parts of the sky.  The meteors are debris from the tail of Halley’s Comet.
October’s birthstones are the Tourmaline and Opal.  October’s birth flower was the calendula originally, but now is listed as marigold.  Calendulas were the “marigold” before the African plant we now call marigold was discovered. So now either calendula or marigolds is considered correct.  The meaning in flower language is warm, undying and contented love.
October is National popcorn popping month, vegetarian month, seafood month, cookie month, pizza month, and applejack month.  If you are not into food it’s also National Diabetes month, National Adopt a Shelter Dog month, National Domestic Violence Awareness month and of course the most used and abused “cause” of all, Breast Cancer awareness month. I’m not against breast cancer awareness just the commercialization of it.
Holidays of note in October include the 10th –World Egg Day – National Dessert day, 21st –Sweetest Day, 20th, National Pumpkin Cheesecake day, 22nd – National Nut Day, 24th –and then there’s two of the world’s favorite holidays, 30th -Devils night and 31st - Halloween.

Tips for planting bulbs

I wrote about buying spring blooming bulbs last month.  Hopefully every gardener did buy some bulbs this fall and is waiting for them to arrive. Once you get them try to plant them promptly. If you need to hold them a few days store them in a cool, dark place.
Most bulbs should be planted about three times as deep as their height, but there are exceptions to this rule.  Read package directions or look up the plant requirements if you are uncertain. In general plants with rhizomes or tubers instead of bulbs will be planted less deeply. (Rhizomes look like stems with buds and have roots attached.) If you aren’t good at estimating depth in inches use a trowel that’s marked with inches, use a ruler or mark a small piece of wood with inch measurements and use that to guide you.
Plant the bulbs with the pointed end of the bulb up.  If you can’t find a pointed end, look for a round scar on the bulb.  This is where roots were last year, and it goes down in the hole.  Rhizomes should have budded areas on top if you look closely.  If you absolutely have no idea what is top or bottom plant the bulb on its side.  Most bulbs will then be able to adjust themselves as they grow.  I notice many sellers send directions with those “tricky” bulbs that now say plant sideways.
Package directions will tell you how far apart to space bulbs.  Generally large bulbs should be about 6 inches apart, small bulbs 2-3 inches.  Arrange your bulbs in a staggered way, not in straight lines for a more natural look. Small groups of the same color or type of bulb look better than single bulbs.  Bulbs can be layered- plant larger bulbs deep and smaller bulbs less deeply, but don’t place small bulbs directly over the large, just close by.
Try not to remove any papery covering some bulbs have, but don’t worry if some of it falls off. Don’t separate the scales- or sections – which lily bulbs have and don’t try to divide daffodils with double or triple “noses”.  Yes, experts propagate bulbs that way, but it isn’t as easy as it seems, and your best bet is to plant the bulbs as they came.  You’ll get larger flowers this way.
Do not separate the scales ( sections) of a lily bulb before planting.
You can plant any bulb sections or tiny bulbs that fall off bulb clumps and hope some of them also bloom.  It can take another year or two in some cases.
A little mold on bulbs that still feel firm will not harm them. Just plant them as normal. Mushy or rotted looking bulbs should be discarded. If the bulbs arrived that way, I would contact the company you bought them from and ask for a refund.
Don't add bone meal to the hole when planting bulbs
Don’t use bone meal in the bottom of your hole. Bone meal should not be used at all.  Old books suggest it and some new references just copy that but in our times bone meal is steamed and processed for safety and little is left in the way of nutrients. It can attract some animals, which dig up your bulbs looking for it. Blood meal will also attract, rather than repel some pests.
You can use a general-purpose garden fertilizer or fertilizer formulated for bulbs but mix it with the soil you are back filling with or sprinkle it on the soil surface, don’t dump it in the hole.  That may burn roots.
Never add peat or compost to holes for bulbs. These can retain water, especially if the native soil is clay, and bulbs do not like that. They may rot before they root.
 A word of warning:  make sure pets can’t dig up and chew on or eat bulbs.  Some bulbs are quite poisonous to pets.  I almost lost a dog when it chewed on some daffodil bulbs.
After planting
You probably won’t need to water bulbs after planting.  If it’s very dry all fall a good soaking before the ground freezes might be indicated. Don’t add thick mulch after planting as this may impede the bulbs emergence.  A light mulch of 2 inches or less is ok and helps disguise the planting area from animals. If thick layers of leaves blow over planted bulbs remove some of the matted leaves in spring so that bulbs don’t struggle to emerge.
Mark the spots where you planted bulbs, so you know where they are.  Some fall planted bulbs and rhizomes are slow to emerge in the spring and you don’t want to damage them or plant over them.
When bulbs just begin to emerge in the spring a small amount of slow release granular fertilizer sprinkled on the soil around them, especially if you can do it just before a spring rain, will improve their vigor and size.  This practice may help bubs that aren’t reliably perennial return the next year too.  And if spring is dry make sure to water your bulbs.
What do I do about animals eating or digging up bulbs?
Narcissus, daffodil, and allium bulbs are not eaten by animals, although they can be dug out of the ground and left to die. If you have problems with animals like deer eating the flowers in the spring these bulbs are also good choices.
If you have trouble with animals digging up bulbs to eat you can lay a piece of wire fencing over the planted area until the ground is frozen. Make sure you remove it early in the spring if you don’t remove it in the fall after the ground freezes.  A piece of lattice, with 2-inch holes can be placed on the ground and the bulbs planted through the holes. This discourages widespread digging, such as from pets, which really aren’t after the bulb to eat. You can leave it and disguise it with mulch or remove it before the plants get very large.
I cover my bulb planting areas with leaves, evergreen branches, rose trimmings or straw to disguise the freshly dug area and discourage animals from digging there. Mulch can be used too, if it’s not over 2-3 inches deep.  Planting bulbs under the remaining foliage of things like hosta is also a good disguise.
Moles do not eat bulbs, but their tunnels attract other animals which do and their tunneling can sink bulbs too deep to emerge. If you have lots of moles you can plant bulbs in pots, which you sink in the ground to their rim. The pots should be deep enough for the type of bulb planted in them. Several bulbs can be planted in each pot if there is enough space. Pots sunk in clay soil may hold more moisture, even with good drainage holes.
You can also build a cage of hardwire cloth, (woven wire mesh) – with ½ inch or smaller openings.  Dig a hole and place the cage in it.  Place the bulbs inside and add the soil you removed from the hole.  The roots of the bulbs easily grow through the mesh and drainage isn’t impeded.
Folk remedies like sprinkling red pepper or mothballs on the ground do not keep bulbs from being dug up. Some birds and other animals actually like red pepper and it’s quickly washed away in fall rains. Mothballs are very poisonous to children and pets and add harmful chemicals to your soil when they dissolve.  They should never be used outside.
Did you forget to plant bulbs and the ground is frozen?
 If you look outside one morning and snow is on the ground don’t despair.  Plant the bulbs in a good potting soil mix in containers and keep the containers cool, in the refrigerator or on an unheated porch or garage. The ideal temperature is between 30 and 40 degrees. Water lightly every couple weeks.  After 8-10 weeks of cold the pots can be brought into a warmer, sunny place and they will probably bloom for you.  Or you can transplant the bulbs outside in the early spring. They may or may not bloom the next season but at least you had them this spring.
Don’t try to keep bulbs in a dormant state until the next fall or until spring.  While peonies and lilies can be spring planted, holding over plants or bulbs you bought in the fall isn’t a good idea. 
There’s still time to buy bulbs online for most gardeners.  See the list of garden catalogs to the right of the blog if you need links to online sources.
 
Plant crocus now for spring blooms
Kale chips

Do you have kale growing in your fall garden?  Here’s a quick and delicious way to use up some of it.
 Wash and dry some kale leaves.  Remove the heavy center rib and tear the kale into good sized pieces.
Spray a cookie sheet with pan spray.  I like to use an olive oil spray.
Arrange your kale pieces on the sheet so they don’t overlap.  Spray them with your cooking spray lightly.  Sprinkle with salt, I like fine sea salt.
Bake the kale in an oven set at 250 degrees F. for about 5 minutes or until crispy.  Watch the kale carefully so it doesn’t burn.
For variation try sprinkling on other spices such as red pepper, or adding some powdered cheese as you take the chips out of the oven.

“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!”
 Rainbow Rowell , Attachments

Kim Willis
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And So On….

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