Any time after September 15, we can start to see serious signs of fall. In the last 5-7 years, we have had a later and later entrance for fall weather. The harder frosts that permanently end the growth cycle for many plants now occur closer to the end of November. Once that hard frost occurs, we are forced to take seriously the task of winter preparedness.
As long as our plants are still green and growing, it is best to leave them to continue to store food in their roots for the next growing season. Dahlias can definitely still be blooming. While many prefer a tidier garden with everything deadheaded, it is best to leave the greater portion of those seed heads standing to provide food for birds.
Leaves are something we both love and hate. If you can leave them on the ground, it is much better for the environment. Fallen leaves provide insects, butterflies and pollinators with places to lay their eggs. I recommend that if you have landscaped areas on your property, keep the leaves piled around the base of your plants. The leaves will insulate plant roots and decay over the winter into a lovely leaf mulch that will help feed your plants in the spring.
It is important not to forget about your leaves on your lawn. Intact leaves become matted, which will kill your lawn as the sunshine cannot get to the grass. If you don’t have many leaves, you can run the mower over them to chop them up enough so they don’t cover the surface.
Otherwise, you will need to rake and remove leaves. As much as possible, try to relocate them in your yard. If you can’t think of a way to use them, ask a neighbor if they can use them. As a last resort, you can post them on Craigslist or Nextdoor and folks will pick up your bags of leaves.
I add leaves to my blueberry patch, filling up the area up to 20-24 inches deep. This is important for blueberries as they have shallow roots and don’t appreciate being weeded. The leaves virtually eliminate the need for that chore and conserve water for the dry summer months.
Let’s move on to vegetables. Now is when you should be planting your garlic. Garlic needs a chilling period to develop cloves so planting now encourages that to happen and they can develop a strong root system.
If you want to plant bulbs for spring flowers, you can still do that until the ground freezes solid. Luckily, in our neighborhood in Blaine, that really doesn’t happen. It is important to note that the longer you wait to plant spring flower bulbs, the later they will bloom. They will still get plenty of chilling, as most bulbs need 8-10 weeks. Now is a great time to find really good deals for purchasing spring bulbs, but just make sure you plant them immediately.
That hard frost will also trigger the process of digging your dahlias. For those of you who haven’t been bitten by the dahlia bug, please bear with me. Dahlias are the most amazing flowering plant. With tens of thousands of styles, shapes, sizes and colors, you will surely find something that will brighten a corner of your garden.
If you don’t have good drainage or if you want to make sure that your dahlia survives, you will need to dig the tuber clump up and store it for the winter. These plants are native to Mexico and Central America, though they thrive here with moderate care. You can pick up a dahlia care sheet with detailed instructions on storing tubers at the Friends of the Blaine Library Book Sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, November 29 at the library. There will also be checklists for getting your yard ready for winter.
Are you still in the mood to dig holes and plant things? Now is still a great time to plant new trees and bushes. This is because we have very mild winters and the ground never entirely freezes. What freezing we do see rarely reaches two inches below the surface. New planting shouldn’t occur if a cold event is expected (we can experience five to 10 days of 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit during such an event). Simply leave them in a protected area, like your garage or shed. Once the cold has passed, you can plant outside.
In closing, mulching your garden and flower beds will help protect the soil and roots of your plants from freeze-thaw cycles as well as provide a weed barrier (but don’t put down landscape fabric). If you want a more robust weed barrier (maybe you already have weeds and you want to reduce them), put down two to four layers of cardboard, making sure you remove all the tape, both cellophane and reinforced. Then top dress it with bark, mulch, sawdust or hog fuel. Your beds will be tidy and protected from the ravages of winter.
Kelle Rankin-Sunter is founder of Blaine CORE, which holds free home and gardening classes at Blaine Public Library. Rankin-Sunter can be reached at fruit@Blaine-CORE.com.
