Gardening Guru

E-18-2014 mccmc (Rothrock - Gardening Guru - NEW)By Ron Rothrock

(Oct. 2014) I love this time of year.

Your garden chores are not over, though; time for cleanup and changes. The leaves in your yard are a good thing … what? …wait, they’re work, you say? Well, yes, they are work; however, if you rake them up put them on a tarp and pull them to your garden, you will have a nutrient-rich garden in the spring.

Better yet, run your mower over the leaves; they will break down faster to enrich your garden soil. Do your neighbors have leaves? Ask them for their leaves. They’ll think you are crazy, most will gladly give them up, and it’s much better for your garden than they are for the landfill.

After cleaning out your garden, work the leaves into the soil. If you have a rototiller, just till the leaves in, and you will be ready to plant in the spring and not have to buy expensive fertilizer. If you don’t have leaves, mulching now will help your flowers. If you don’t have a vegetable garden, you can use the leaves as mulch on your flower beds.

If you are cheap, er, frugal like me, you can call the town maintenance crew and ask for woodchips; they may drop some off at your house, since many of them throw them away after chipping up trees and limbs. Mulch keeps soil temperatures stable and allows the soil to gradually change to help your plants survive our winters.

Label plants you want to divide in the spring with names painted on rocks, they’ll stay put when you are raking and cleaning up and easy to find in the spring.

Plant spring flowering bulbs before the ground freezes.

DO NOT prune your trees and shrubs this time of year; pruning will stimulate new growth that won’t harden off before winter.

Fill empty spots in your garden with new plants; however, check the tags/catalog or internet for cold-hardiness. The lower the zone hardiness, number the more cold-tolerant the plant is. Don’t forget to check the mature plant size prior to buying to ensure it will fit and not outgrow your selected site.

If you add trees or shrubs, dig wide holes and loosen the soil around the edges to give your plant elbow room to easily grow.

After you finish your garden cleanup, fill a bucket of sand and add a quart of oil, mix it up, and stick your garden tools in the sand to keep them rust free and sharp.

Today’s hint: If you have green tomatoes, put them in a paper bag on top of your refrigerator, and they’ll ripen in a few days.

Ron Rothrock is a USAF retired Master Sergeant who has many years of experience in landscaping and gardening, growing berries, vegetables and fruit trees. He loves tinkering in his greenhouse and specializing in perennials.

By martha

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