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GARDENER'S
READING ROOM
The Art of Gardening
Winterizing
Your Garden
All
you have to do is think back about 8 months to see the type
of damage winter can do here. You can’t prevent all
this damage, but a little work in the fall will really help
your garden withstand most of what winter throws at us. Nothing
is sadder than a garden of wilted, frost-burned foliage and
flowers. Clipping back dead foliage, stems, and flowers accomplishes
two things. One, disease and insect problems will probably
be lessened for the spring; simple removal works wonders.
Two, a garden void of dead foliage and stems just looks better
and makes next spring’s garden tasks less daunting.
Around
Labor Day, stop feeding plants and encourage them to go dormant
by letting them go to seed. This is especially important in
our maritime climate for roses, which in a mild winter just
keep going. That often just carries this year’s disease
over into next year. As plant material begins to fade, prune
back tender perennials and plants such as cannas
or dahlias for
winter storage. Mulch with an organic material such as Cedar
Grove Compost or Fertile
Mulch. A layer of mulch helps insulate plant
material from extreme cold and provides a small amount of
nutrition for the plants. After a hard frost, cut back the
more hardy annuals and perennials - Shasta
daisies, coreopsis,
hostas, and
a myriad of others. Around mid-November, cut off about the
top third of your roses, remove all prunings and fallen leaves,
and mulch lightly to reduce overwintering diseases.
Vegetable
gardens
get much the same treatment: cut and compost what you can.
Neatness counts in the garden clean-up venture; less garden
debris means fewer slugs in the spring! Then sow a cover crop
to put good things back in the soil. Cover crops include annual
rye, clover,
field peas
and faba beans.
Rye adds bulk to the soil when tilled in next spring, while
peas, beans, and clover add nitrogen.
Hopefully these few tips should help you get your garden ready
to withstand winter and get a good head start on spring!
By Charlie Shull, WCN
Skylights Autumn 2004 Vol. 18, No. 3
Other
articles on the art of gardening
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