Getting Your Yard Ready For Winter
by Bob Chapman
The shorter days and cooler nights tell us that winter is just around the corner. There are several things the wise gardener living in mild-winter climes should do to prepare the yard for the coming colder season.
1 Those hyacinth and tulip bulbs that you placed in the crisper section of the refrigerator a few weeks ago to initiate bud setting in the bulbs should be planted and let grow through the winter. If not chilled, these bulbs will produce leaves and no flowers next season.
1 Flower beds should be tilled and prepared for transplanting perennials and winter-blooming annuals. A word of caution: Do not till soils that are too wet. How do you know if the soil is too wet? Insert a shovel into the soil and withdraw it. If there are soil particles clinging to the shovel, chances are that it is too wet. Wait a few days and try again. Working soils that are too wet can cause compaction, thus preventing air from reaching the roots.
1 Rake up and place leaves and small twigs in your compost pile. They will decompose throughout the winter and you can add the compost to the soil before spading your flower beds next spring.
1 Thinking about sowing seeds of our fabulous California natives? The timing is just right. Purchase your seeds and sow them, following directions on the package. You'll have a riot of color next spring.
1 Remove dead and dying plants. Do not compost any diseased plant materials. There is no point in possibly spreading any disease from your compost pile.
1 Remove any hiding places that slugs and snails might have. These slimy pests will hibernate when the temperatures average below 40 degrees F. When the temperatures warm up a little these creatures will come out of hiding and start nibbling on your favorite plants and flowers. Thus, in mild winter climates you'll have to keep after these pests. Consider spreading Easy Gone Slug and Snail bait as an aid in controlling these tenacious pests. Seeking out and removing possible hiding places is very important.
1 Even in mild winter areas you may need to protect frost-sensitive plants. To give these plants protection from getting nipped by Jack Frost, drive four stakes into the ground. Place the stakes far enough away from the foliage of the plant needing protection. Tack clear plastic sheeting (not black) to the stakes, making sure that no leaves are touching the plastic as the cold can go through and damage the parts that are touching. Some tender plants will appreciate a covering over the top. Simply cover them with the plastic and staple it to the top of the stakes but do leave a gap for air circulation. You don't want the covering to be airtight.
1 Spread a thick layer of mulch (up to 4-5 inches deep) over the soil around trees and shrubs. This will help protect the soil, keeping moisture in the soil and help in preserving any warmth. Next spring you can till it in making your soil loose and friable.
1 Spread Superfine Lawn Fertilizer over the entire yard, including lawns, shrubs and trees to give them a last feeding of the year. The special formula will give all your plants the necessary nutrients and in the right amounts for optimum growth.
1 In mild winter areas you can plant seedlings of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. They will grow nicely, look great all winter and provide many a tasty meal for the family.
1 Looking for colorful perennials for your garden? Purchase and plant the following perennials to get them well established for the brightest, most colorful display of flowers next season: Campanula, Lupine, Penstemon, Armeria (Thrift), foxgloves, candytuft, coral bells, delphinium, Nierembergia, yarrow, primrose, carnations, Gazania, Basket-of-Gold and Dusty Miller. Remember, that once planted, perennials will produce those delightful and colorful flowers every year for you!
1 Prune your cane berries this month. Cut to the ground all canes that bore fruit this year, except fall-bearing raspberries. Train the canes that grew this season along supports and fasten them. Prune the long ones to six or eight feet.
1 Sow seeds of beets, carrots, leaf greens (spinach, chard and lettuce), peas, radishes, turnips, Chinese cabbage and rutabagas. Plant them in the little "pockets" that somehow seem to appear in front of shrubs and perennial beds. Enjoy the eating as well as the pleasure of growing them.
1 Clean up and keep clean all debris that tends to collect under your fruit trees. Doing this will help control diseases and eliminates hiding places for over-wintering insects and any eggs they might have laid.
1 Keep the soil moist for your rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. This is the time of the year that these wonderful shrubs set their flower buds. You don't want them to be under stress at this time.
1 Plant, plant, plant annuals for a winter-time, ongoing display of fabulous colorful flowers. Look at what's available in nurseries right now: Calendulas, pansies, violas, snapdragons, stock, cinerarias, sweet alyssum, larkspur, Iceland poppies, African daisies, Lobelia, fairy primrose and California poppies.
Now that you have done all, or most of the things listed above you can relax and rest assured that your yard is ready for the winter weather ahead. It will look nice and colorful from inside the house while storms rage around you.