Articles

I'm enjoying Indian summer. I've had my killing frost. Several days ago I saw my wife stripping the garden of frozen tomato plants and their ilk. All I can see left are a few remaining plants from the cole crop family and a well-grazed row of spinach.

Removing or incorporating vegetable garden residue at the end of the season is a good start for disease and insect control next year. Planting a cover crop using a few handfuls of one of the cereal grains would also improve weed control and soil texture. It's late but it still might work.

The cabbage that remains is headed toward the sauerkraut crock. My wife and daughter took an extension class, which suggested that cabbage needs a good frost if you want to make really good sauerkraut.

It is also fun to look around the flower garden to see what remains happy. On the annual front, I suspect that if you planted African daisies, gazania rigens. snapdragons, Cape daisies, osteospurmum, dianthus, or venedium last spring, they are still going strong after the first frosts. They should make it happily from spring to now and beyond.

With the exception of snapdragons and dianthus all the above are daisy like flowers. They should persist until at least Thanksgiving, if not Christmas.

Last spring's pansies have failed but it is getting easier to find fall plants to extend the season. Pansies planted in early September will thrive in the fall temperatures and generally over winter successfully. A light mulch and a site out of the wind would also help.

You are also beginning to see the availability of fall snapdragons and dianthus.

They will behave about as well as the pansies, especially if mulched with straw, evergreen bows or dry, unpacked leaves. With the exception of maple leaves most large leaves will not pack tightly enough to smother grass or ornamental plants.

Another dependable plant for fall and early winter enjoyment is the ornamental cabbages and kale. There are a lot of different leaf styles and several colors that can be found. They could last all winter without severe conditions. They are biennial, so get rid of them in the spring since the flower and seed stage is not ornamental.

With the exception of the cabbage and kale I would file all the above as possibilities for next year. Larger plants of the cabbage or kale could still be planted successfully.

Now is also a good time to access the perennials, shrubs and trees in your landscape. At my place the ornamental grasses are stealing the show. Viewed against the early morning or late afternoon sun they are spectacular. Again I strongly suggest you look but wait until late next spring to add them to your garden.

I also am impressed with a fine leafed perennial called blue star or amsonia. I have an eight or ten year old section that is now waist high and is beginning to turn a brilliant yellow. It is a great plant for texture and will grow anywhere.

On the shrub scene the fall and early winter is a good time to see foliage colors, berries, bark and structural character of the branching. All of these add to the enjoyment of the landscape. You can create four seasons of interest.

Now is the time to look and plan for next year. I confess that I planted nine shrubs yesterday and still will plant a few more. I know I'm late but the mulch bag is close by and I will use it to protect the roots and prevent heaving from the freezing and thawing of the soil in the frosty mornings ahead.

I fear we are running out of daylight with this growing season and I still have a long list of planned projects, many of which will now have to wait for next year. The lesson and one of the joys to me is that the garden is a never finished project.

As the colder weather sets in, I suggest we dwell on our progress and successes rather than lament the un-dones. Today I'll share some of my successes with a few comments that hopefully will help you on this endless journey.

If you are a regular reader you know that fourteen years ago I promised my wife a patio and a first class walk to our house. One more rental of the block saw, a couple dabs of liquid nail and less than an hour of my time and I will declare total victory.

This year's big part of the project started in mid winter during a thaw. I dug out the footers for the walk and loaded a good six or eight inches of stone dust for the base. Fortunately the weather turned against me so I rolled a few of my old walk slabs back and abandoned the project until August.

My experience suggests that no matter how well you tamp the base there is nothing like time and rain to compact a base. When I returned in August I added about one half inch of sand as a leveling agent and set to work using a rubber mallet where necessary to keep everything close to level.

Since I wanted to connect the parking area to the front door, the kitchen door and the deck I created a circle and then branched off with the four sections of walk I wanted. The circle came on a separate skid and was quite simple to construct. The directions caused only mild puzzlement. I built the walks toward the circle and used the brick saw on the joining cobbles.

The rest of the 120 feet of walk curves gently on its way to its destinations. It's not perfect but I'm a lot better with gentle curves than super straight runs. In addition I decided that separating the parking lot from the lawn would be a good move. To do this I built an L-shaped wall totaling 85 feet in length.

On the wall I used blocks faced on both sides. I glad I started two years ago with a retaining wall. My feeling is that the two-sided (they are just split narrower) wall was more of a challenge than the retaining wall. But then I already admitted that I am a bit straight line challenged. Regardless I'm real pleased with the project and did it for a fraction of the cost if I had hired someone.

I put 11 lights along the walk. They came in rather self-contained packages and proved quite easy to install with the directions included.

The area needed a few scoops of fill dirt. At this point I have the soil leveled to provide appropriate drainage and am in the process of covering it lightly with mulch. I think I'll take my advice and argue with the weeds for a while and put off planting until next year.

Other progress was recorded in two large beds that were planted three or four years ago. After a lot of weed pulling, and occasional squirt of round-up and several light coatings of mulch I am ready to claim victory over the weeds. Weed control is a make or break factor in all gardens. Reread the previous paragraph and remember that each time you cultivate you are bringing fresh weed seeds to the surface.

I finally got around to making a permanent planting along the steps leading down to the patio. I used dwarf crape myrtles and dwarf bird nests spruce along the walk. Deeper in the bed I planted a group of hostas. Right now they kinda look lonely but I read the tags this time. Last time I got them way too close.

With the hostas I tried to pick varieties that the literature suggested would handle more light. The literature was right for 10 of the 11 varieties I planted.

Finally I corrected a water problem. My house sits below my parking area downhill from my drive. Re-sloping the parking area and cutting a slight swale into the yard seems to have solved the problem.

Two inches of rain later I have yet to see much water running in the swale. With another warm day or two the grass seed will be up too. It's been a good year. Hope you and your gardens had one too.

Several days ago, one of my favorite comic strips depicted the rather well rounded mother explaining to the petite daughter that as we age we add pounds. I'd like to agree, but the way my doctor pounces on each new pound, tells me that I shouldn't use the words fat and happy in the same sentence. Maybe fat and happy might work in the garden. In the plant world there are two schools of thought. One suggests that a well-fed plant has the strength to fight off insects and diseases. The other suggests that well-fed plants with lush growth are just a magnet for insects and diseases.

When examining a fertilizer label you will see three numbers. A common example might be 20 10 10. In order, they define the percentages of nitrogen (20%), phosphorus (10%) and potassium (10%) in that fertilizer.

Briefly, and at the risk of over simplification, nitrogen promotes growth, phosphorus produces flowers and fruits and potassium feeds the roots.

Now let's step back several paragraphs and tackle the relationship between fertilizer and insects. The University of Illinois recently released a detailed study involving varying rates of nitrogen and the presence of mealy bugs on green and red coleus.

First, I must note that a very low level of nitrogen showed slightly less insects than the no fertilizer control. That rate was about one eighth of what is commonly used in large commercial greenhouse production and one fourth what I use.

The trial tested double, four times, eight times and 16 times the low rate. In each case as the fertilizer rate increased, the number of insects as well as the number of insect eggs increased. Even more alarming was that the time for an insect to grow and reproduce shortened as the rates of nitrogen increased.

Other, less detailed research suggests that other sucking insects like aphids and white flies would follow the same pattern.

One interesting side note was that the insect population in each case was higher on the green coleus than it was on the red one. I can easily believe that. From my experience there are often differences between cultivars of a given plant.

At this stage of the season the fertilizer should be all used up or in the garage. The only exception might be a root building application to the lawn. That one would have a large third number and two very small numbers in front.

I know our urges. Fat and happy is so much easier. A little restraint would help both our plants and us.

Last week, despite the forecast of rain, I wrote about the problems of fall drought. Given my success and a long look at the forecast, I will try to return sunshine before you read this. I have no power on the weather, but with well over ten inches of rain I am hoping for a few days to dry things out.

With an eye on the calendar, not the thermometer, I realize that the fall planting season is slowly leaving us. I will offer the following very general rule of thumb. The larger the plant, the later in the season you can work. In other words, trees and shrubs can be planted later. We are also at the prime-planting season for spring bulbs.

What I really want to do today is to get back to that group of evergreen plants that I was concerned about last week. With late planting, if the roots do not become somewhat established you can have moisture problems. The leaves or needles of these plants continue to respirate and use moisture which the roots have difficulty supplying. In severe cases this can be deadly.

If you are working with this group, you have several options. First, they make a product called an anti-desiccant, which reduces transpiration (breathing) and moisture loss. The ones I have used come as a molasses-like liquid that is diluted with water and then used as a spray. They are a pain to use but are quite effective.

Second, anything you can do to prevent the plant from wind or direct sunshine will also reduce water loss. I get nervous about wrapping plants because it is an invitation to rodents, but it works.

Third, and what I am about to practice, is wait for next spring. It also should be noted that most broadleaf evergreens and conifers like a soil that is a bit lower in pH than is normally found in our area.

Azaleas, rhododendron and hollies start a list of plants that can be rather unhappy with the pH over 5.5. One that low doesn't occur in many places here. The easiest way to lower pH is to apply sulfur. With a soil test you need three pounds of sulfur to drop the pH from 6.6 to 5.5 for every 100 square feet of area. It takes nine pounds per 100 square feet to get from 7.0 to 5.5.

If you don't test I would suggest several pounds per 100 square feet before you plant and about a pound each year thereafter to keep the plants happy. If you know where you are planting any of the acid loving plants in the spring, now is a great time to apply sulfur so the soil will be ready in the spring.

You can get the same benefit from some of the sulfate forms that are in fertilizers. The action will be slower. Stay away from aluminum sulfate since the aluminum is quite toxic to plants. The sulfur I use comes in 30-pound bags and is rather inexpensive. I don't know if smaller sizes are available.

If you are in new construction, be aware that buried debris from cement or drywall will raise the pH rapidly. New cement walls or walks will do the same. A dozen years ago I planted a patch of azaleas on a protected north face of my house. One died. I replaced it. It died. I found some shards of drywall there. I'm now growing an empty spot there. It's doing well.

A final suggestion for fall planted container plants. Wait until he ground starts to freeze and then mulch lightly. This will provide a more uniform temperature in the root zone.

After one of the driest Septembers in memory, I am so anxious for rain that I decided to write about drought again. Given the forecast, and since I write at least four days before you read this, hopefully a bit of relief will have already arrived.

Still I fear there is a risk that we should take some action to help our plants successfully navigate the weather from now to next spring. Of course I'm talking about water, and fall is normally the time when supplemental water should be withheld to discourage growth and prepare the plant for winter dormancy.

I am concerned when I see obvious wilt. My targets here are new transplants, shallow rooted plants, and a few surprises. I'm watching one of those large shrub-small tree type hydrangeas that have been in the ground at least three years. It is showing a lot of wilt. In other words, watch the large leafed plants in your garden.

Many trees seem to be losing leaves prematurely. If you have trees planted within the last five years I might aim some extra water in their direction. This is especially necessary if you transplanted larger specimens.

The real purpose of this article is to point out that broadleaf evergreens, like azaleas and rhododendrons and their friends, as well as the conifers (needled evergreens) will continue to respirate and lose moisture during the winter. Cold temperatures, wind and lack of moisture can combine to produce ugly or worse with these plants.

Since the broadleaf evergreens are also shallow rooted I would definitely water these to prevent them going into the period of frozen ground with moisture distress. The normal perennials that die to the ground and the trees and shrubs that lose their leaves will be less susceptible to this weather induced injury.

Another mitigating factor is the use of mulch to hold the moisture. I try to get and keep a light coat on all my landscape plantings. To me light is the key word. A common practice is to really pile it on in an effort to smother the weeds. That also smothers plants if we fail to keep the mulch away from the base of the plants.

Recently I did some September volunteer planting in a public garden. I dug and I dug to get through the mulch. Expecting to find nice friable soil I was shocked to bring up clods of wet soil. That's too much mulch. Think about the quality of that root zone in a normal or wet year.

Also piling mulch around the base of plants is a sure invitation to diseases. Rodents are also happy to join the negative action if they have safe hiding places.

A second example came from a friend, who, in despair had decided that they were gardening failures and were ready to turn the job over to professionals. After discussion I discovered that they were using at least four inches of mulch on perennials, were not too discerning about their light availability and were stuffing plants into their garden at a pace that would make me look like a slacker.

Although I have no problem seeking professional help I suggested that they slow down, decrease the mulch and be a little more experimental in their plantings. Try one or two of plant x before writing a big check for fifty of them.

I quit with another example that is totally unrelated to the above. I was sitting in a hospital room with my mother when I over heard a woman complaining about the disaster that her lawn was. After repeated unsuccessful seedings, repeated applications of fertilizer and repeated doses of weed killer, she had given up and called a professional to reseed her yard. My guess is that given the toxic brew she has created, the professional will fail too.

I guess that's why I sit down each week and offer advice, admit my failures and share my successes.