October in the Garden--another print and save document from Greatgrandmother. org
For many of us in northern New England, or any other region where the winters get frigid and temps drop close to zero, we grew up with the adage of "putting our gardens to bed for the winter..." Nothing could be more detrimental.
As someone who is currently taking Master Gardener classes from the University of New Hampshire, I am keenly aware of the new research surrounding fall garden and farm chores. Many of my long-held ideas have been debunked, refuted, or otherwised dismissed in the face of new research.
Here is a list of suggestions, compiled from research-based sources such as the cooperative extension services (from each state), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and well-researched books from publishers like Storey Publishing, Mother Earth News, and Rodale Publishing. These all have research arms or institutes and can be trusted. As always, I strongly suggest that if you have any questions, you contact your county's cooperative extension service or visit their Web sites, which are replete with good counsel.
1. Strawberries. Go ahead and add extra mulch for the winter. It will protect the root system and reduce the chances that the soil will heave in late winter and early spring. If you get lots of snow, then you might want to put a layer of straw down to further protect the plants. Also, you may want to check your plants to ensure that the strawberry crowns are in their right location--not too low in the soil (potentially causing rot), or sitting too high out of the soil (exposed to the harsh winter), but just right. Check online for an illustration of how to plant a strawberry--that's how you want the crown to look before you add compost. And, do not cover the plants. They are hardy enough.
2. Garlic. Time to plant for spring harvest. Our area gets cold, so I like to plant a hard neck variety. Garlic is winter hardy and for great spring yields, you should plant them before October is over, in soil that is fertile with good drainage. The plants should have time for a little root growth so that they don't heave during the winter. You should not plant garlic in plots where you have previously grown them during the past three years to reduce the potential for white rot. Plant them according to the nursery's directions (it is not advised to plant grocery store garlic) and add a nice layer of straw to the top for a bit of extra protection. Hard neck garlic is also known as seed stem and bolts nicely in late spring, sending up those delicious shoots called scapes. They are wonderful early garden producers! They yield nice large cloves. Successful varieties in our area include: Chesnok Red (purple stripe hardneck that has a mellow taste and yet still remains fragrant after cooking), German White (a porcelain hardneck that has a distinctive, spicy flavor and plumo cloves), Siberian (another purple striped hardneck that is hot, spicy, and full flovored for those who really love the heat of garlic), German Porcelain (a hardneck that has easy-to-peel cloves and is also a good keeper, easy to grown in many areas). Also, you can research Mexican Purple, German Red, Russian Red, Music, and Bogatyr varieties. And if you want to dig a little deeper (pun intended), check out Georgian Fire, Metechi, Purple Glazer, Purple Italian, Romanian Red, and Spanish Roja varieties. Have fun, and do it in October!
3. Fertilizer??? No. Just don't do it in October. What we want in October is healthy root growth, but if we fertilize our plants, we get shoot and leaf growth, which is not what we want. In fact in some areas, like Long Island, it is against the law to apply fertilizers after October 30th. If you absolutely must fertilize, because you are stubborn, then add a slow release fertilizer. But, fair warning, it tends to leach and get into our ground water and aquifers, which is not good for our environment.
4. Cut back and do heavy pruning??? No. Wait until spring. First rule of pruning is to understand that when you cut something off a bush or tree or other plant, you are sending messages to that plant to begin spur growth. Pruning makes plants more sensitive and starts it growing or replacing what was lost. In fact, major U.S. rose growers are now suggesting that we protect the rose bush for winter, and wait to prune in early spring as well. Many folks still suggest that you cut away any badly diseased, injured, or infected plant areas so that the plants (including bushes and trees) don't spread that disease when spring comes along and dormancy stops.
5. Clear your garden??? The jury seems to be out on this one. Even some extension specialists could go either way. Of course, there is broad agreement that diseased, blighted (especially this year), and meldewed plants be removed and disposed of properly. Others suggest that we keep legumes, beans, peas, and other nitrogen-fixing plants in the ground over winter so as to not disturb the underground processes that take place even when the snow is piled high. Some raised beds or rows of strawberries, onions, potatoes, and other winter-hardy plants just need to be lightly covered, as noted above. Some beds and rows should be planted with green maures, as explored below. And if you want to plant a green manure or winter grass, then it is a good idea to pull your spent vegetables and fruits. Personally, I pull some and place them in my long-term compost pile, and keep others in the soil until spring.
6. Install plastic tree trunk wraps. Plastic spiral tree wraps have two purposes - protecting the trunk from animal damage, and protecting lighter bark from sunscald and frost cracking in late winter. The Web site www.northscaping.com has some good information on this topic. I know that I wrap my young cherry trees with these to keep little critters away from overwintering at the base. But I also found that just by clearing the base of the trunk and keeping it exposed and clear of grass, weeds, etc. that it becomes inhospitable for the little critters.
7. Compost piles and compost bins. This is a case-by-case decision. Some folks just close down shop, so to speak, during the winter and begin vermicomposting (worms) indoors. I have little information on that at this time, but there are several good local resources, like Joan the Worm Lady who lives a bit south of us. Let's face it. Six feet of snow piled high does not make you want to make nightly trips to your compost pile or compost bin during the winter months. If you have an exposed pile, then you probably just want to keep piling composting material on top of it, in between layers of snow. It'll all melt down nicely in the spring time. If you use a tumbler or other enclosed composting system and it is convenient, then by all means, keep using it all winter long. Just remember that during the winter it is harder to add the requisite carbon (dried leaves, sawdust, straw, dried paper, etc.) Carbon to nitrogen ratios, in order to avoid a "stuck compost pile" must remain at a desireable 30:1 ratio. Remember that not all organic materials are created equally and a biologically diverse compost pile (our big goal) that keeps pathogens at bay, maintains the right temperatures, and is active during the winter might be a bit challenging. That's probably why some folks turn to their inside worm projects when the snow flies.
8. Feed the birds! No, not yet. I know this is not a traditional part of October garden chores, but many folks begin to think about re-installing their bird feeders in the fall, as the days get shorter and the nights get colder. According to the NH Department of Fish and Game: Finish your bird feeding activities by April 1 each year. Don't begin feeding the birds again prior to December 1 or the onset of prolonged winter weather (the birds will do just fine). Bears are clever. This, coupled with their strength and agility, make it very difficult to establish bear-proof bird feeders. Purposeful feeding can result in bears getting accustomed to humans. This "habituation" of bears may cause a variety of conflicts with humans. The end result may be the removal (most often with lethal consequences) of the offending bear. Encourage your bird-feeding friends and neighbors to adhere to these guidelines. Be reminded that many people have an irrational fear of bears. A black bear's presence in a residential area may create fear among neighbors and lead to negative consequences for the bear. Regardless of the dates specified above, if a bear is active in your community, you should cease and desist all bird feeding activity. Bears that have access to winter feeders will sometimes remain active, visiting the feeder late into December, and periodically, beyond
9. Clean those garden tools. This year, it is recommended by the UNH Cooperative Extension to use a mild bleach solution on our garden tools to effectively kill overwintered diseases that came along with our super humid summer. Here's an exact quote from the UNH site: The fungus that causes late blight, Phytophthora infestans, needs living plant tissue in order to survive. The pathogen will be killed once we have had a good hard frost that kills all potato and tomato plants. So as far as late blight goes, it's not necessary to take any special precautions to disinfect tools or tomato stakes prior to next year's gardening season. The bad news, though, is that most tomato patches this season experienced other, more common, tomato diseases in addition to late blight, such as septoria leaf spot, early blight, and bacterial canker. Unfortunately, all these pathogens do overwinter on tools and stakes and on dead plant matter in the soil. Some are seed-transmitted. So, to prevent tomato diseases next year: Plant tomatoes and potatoes in a different spot in your garden next year. Disinfect tools, stakes, cages etc. Ten minutes in a 10 percent bleach solution (1 part chlorine bleach to 9 parts water) will do the trick; there are other products sold specifically for this purpose, such as Physan or Oxidate (follow labels to use properly). If you save seed from your tomatoes, a hot water treatment just before planting next spring is a good idea to minimize disease transmission. Maintain the water at a constant temperature during the treatment: 25 minutes at 122F or 20 minutes at 125F. One other cautionary note: If you put infected potatoes into your compost pile, the warmth can keep infected potato tubers from freezing. Also, if you missed any potatoes when you harvested, some may be able to survive the winter in the soil and emerge as infected plants next spring. It will be very important to watch for and destroy any "volunteer" potato plants that may be infected next spring to prevent late blight from coming in early next year.
10. Dividing perennials. If you don't want to wait until spring, then October may be a good time to divide your perennials. Or, you can pre-divide (my choice of words) by cutting down at the appropriate level, effectively severing the roots, and then mulch well and wait until spring time to finish the job. This allows the plant to "recover" by growing the small root hairs where most of the nutrition is taken in before you transplant next spring. But if you don't have the time or inclination to plan that far ahead, then select a nice warm fall day, follow the division instructions, and do the deed. Instructions, in basic terms, include: well water the plant ahead of time, cut back foliage 6" to 8", gently dig under all four sides of the root system, ensure that there are 3-5 vigorous shoots in each new division, and mulch well.
11. Plant your bulbs, corms, and rhyzomes. Follow manufacturer instructions.