October 31, 2001
Stillwater Gazette
Betsy Halden

Putting your garden to bed

Last night late fall arrived. Snow, winds, cold. As I look out at my fading, curled, frost-touched petunias, snapdragons, and roses, I know there are garden chores to finish. Here are some tips on putting our gardens to bed.

Bulbs
Plant spring-flowering bulbs in the garden before soil freezes (usually around Nov. 15.) You can’t store them to plant next spring or fall. Your only other option is to force them for winter bloom indoors.

Compost
Unless you are certain you compost pile will reach a high enough internal temperature to destroy potential carryover problems, some yard debris should be excluded: leaves that are badly infested with disease or insects and weeds that are loaded with seeds.

Deck and Patio Areas
Bring large containers into your garage or porch. If they are left outdoors, the containers can crack from the freezing and thawing of the soil. Dump the soil into the garden or compost pile. Start with fresh potting soil next spring.

Garden beds
If you haven’t done so already, trim iris leaves to 5 – 7 inches.

Remove leaves, debris. Remove annual plants which have turned dark and straggly.

Some gardeners like to rake their beds out clean. This makes winter covering easier, since there are no hard sticks to punch holes in the plastic bags used for winter cover.

Gardeners who leave their stems and leaves for spring are leaving disease problems in the garden. But, the leaves and stems do hold the snow cover.

Most importantly, refrain from installing winter cover of leaves, hay, or straw until the ground has had a good hard frost reaching at least 3 or 4 inches into the soil. We cover our gardens to keep in the frost and cold, not to keep them warm.

Lawns
If you haven’t fertilized your lawn this fall, do it NOW! The experts recommend two lawn fertilizations per growing season: One around the first of September and again about the last week in October. Soil temperatures stay warmer than air, so roots are active late into autumn, and will benefit from additional fertilizing.

If your grass is still growing continue to mow to a height of about 2 inches.

Rake leaves off the lawn. Matted grass is more prone to snow mold in the spring. You can compost the leaves or shred them for use as mulch.

Mulch
Wait until soil freezes before covering bulb and perennial beds with mulch. Mulching too early creates an inviting habitat for uninvited furry critters.

Weed-free straw is the ideal much. Its hollow stems trap a lot of insulating air.

Leaves work too. Oak leaves are best; they are NOT too acidic. Black walnut leaves may be a problem in gardens or around certain sensitive plants.

Shredded leaves work well for mulching perennials and bulbs. If you have no shredder, pile leaves on the lawn and run a power mower over them several time to shred them.

If you mulch with leaves apply them at least one foot deep. They pack down over time.

Mulch with woodchips or shredded bark around young trees and shrubs to help insulate their roots. Start an inch or two from the trunk or stems; apply it about 4 - 6 inches deep.

Mulch strawberry beds with 4” of weed-free straw when temperatures threaten to drop to the teens. You don’t have to mulch red raspberries, blueberries, or currants. But it never hurts to rake some leaves around them to protect their roots.

Mulch perennials and bulbs with several inches of straw or a foot or more of leaves.

Trees
Protect young, thin-barked trees such as honey locusts, basswoods, maples, by using twine to tie a 2 by 4 pie e of lumber vertically to the south/southwest side of the tree. Arborists suggest that thin wrapping materials are ineffective and actually may cause damage because they keep the trunk too moist, and people are too slow in removing them each spring.

Keep rabbits, mice, deer from gnawing the trunks of young fruit trees. Enclose each trunk with a hardware cloth cylinder several inches wider than the trunk diameter so it can remain in place for several years. Extend it a couple inches below the soil surface to avoid burrowing creatures.

Water newly planted trees and shrubs every two or three weeks until the ground freezes and no longer accepts water. Mulch with several inches of woodchips.

Betsy Halden is a Master Gardener with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. University of Minnesota Extension Service materials were consulted in the preparation of this column. You can reach Betsy Halden at eahalden@comcast.net