Zone 7 gardening: October 2009

Saturday, October 24, 2009

October Gardening Notes

October is a good time to plant bulbs, both in your garden and in pots. If planting bulbs in clay soil you should work bone meal, top soil and hardwood mulch into the soil. Use bulb-tone if you have animals which will be attracted to the bone meal and dig up your newly planted bulbs. Do not plant your daffodil bulbs until after the first hard frost. After the second hard frost, plant tulip bulbs. Follow with muscari and crocus bulbs.

For indoor pleasure, force daffodil, tulip, crocus, and hyacinth bulbs. Place your potted bulbs in a dark and cool location until green life appears. Then move to a sunny location where you can enjoy the blooms during the winter gloom. After blooming, let the bulbs dry; then store in a cool dark place. Plant these bulbs in your garden the following spring. Forced paperwhites usually do not bloom after being planted in your garden. However, I still plant them each year. So far with no luck, however, a friend has one batch of paperwhite bulbs which bloom every spring. We think one reason may be that the bulbs are planted close to a black top driveway, which keeps the soil warm in the winter. Do you know how to get paper whites to re-bloom?

October is the time to winterize your roses by applying potassium. Stop deadheading your roses so rose hips can form. The rose hips signal the roses that this is the time to go dormant. Give the roses a final deep water then mulch to protect their soil from freezing.

When the tree leaves start to show color begin to transplant and plant roses, shrubs and trees.

Mid-Oct should be your last fertilizing of shrubs and trees. Only fertilize English box every two or three years.

During the winter your garden mulch will continue to break down, improving the soil’s nutrient value and structure. However, as the shredded bark mulch decomposes it will deplete the nitrogen in your soil. If you used shredded bark as your mulch; you will need to add cottonseed meal or blood meal to your soil. Another way to add nitrogen to your garden is to plant a winter cover crop of clover or rye.

Before the first frost, dig up your sweet potatoes. Also pick your green tomatoes. Put up wind protectors if you have planned a winter veggie garden. Winter veggie gardens are my favorite. No insects. No foraging animals – except deer. Weed less. No sweating.

Enjoy the color of the dying leaves which was brought to us by last weekend’s cold weather.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Climate Change

There are actions we can to do to improve the environment for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. Recycling, green gardening, and a decrease in consumerism will improve the water we enjoy, the air we breathe and the stress we experience. It is not necessary to believe in climate change to want to improve life on earth.
Recycle newspaper by using as mulch for garden and by adding to our compost pile.

Add more flowers and vegetables to your lawn to decrease the amount of grass area which demands more work and fertilizer. Use beneficial insects and nematodes rather than toxic insecticides.

Drive less; carpool, bike, and walk more. Support alternative energy: wind mills, solar, and hybrid cars. Support thrift stores, yard sales, and farmers markets.

Today I’m participating in Blog Action Day (Oct. 15th) as one of the numerous ways to help.

Feb. gardening notes cont.

February is the month to prune! The tree and shrub branches which you pruned can be forced to display lovely blooms and foliage, a reminder of approaching spring. Prune fruit trees and other deciduous trees. Old lilacs can be cut back to one foot, but they should be mulched, fertilized and water for 3 years to develop a compact flowering shrub. Also hollies can be heavily pruned down to a foot. Prune summer blooming shrubs, such as beauty bush, butterfly bush, Hydrangea, Nandina, crepe myrtle, and Rose of Sharon. Prune vines. Grape vine cuttings may be saved for making wreaths. Deciduous bare-root trees can be planted about a month before the last freeze. Mulch your tree to a depth of 3 or 4 inches at a distance of 3 inches from the trunk. Don’t neglect your vegetable garden. I read that one can replant the roots from leeks. In 60 to 90 days you’ll have a new tasty plant. The next time I buy an organic leek I will be sure to plant the roots in my garden. Will let you know the results. Last year I planted a few store bought organic cocktail tomatoes which had rotten and they grew into a healthy plant. Also cut one of the eyes off your potatoes and plant. You can have a wonderful vegetable garden with out buying seeds or young plants. Bluebirds are already checking out homes. So clean birdhouses and put out new houses in open fields on post about 5 ft. high. If you place a nearby feeder stocked with mealy worms; you will have a better chance of the bluebirds to taking up residence. Don’t forget to feed all the wild birds, which will soon be nesting.

January Gardening Notes cont.

Also indoors start germinating seeds of Petunia, Portulaca, Salvia, Snapdragon and Verbena. All take 8 to 10 weeks before their seedlings are ready to be planted in your garden. Sprinkle poppies seed in snow.

Even in the winter you should weed. If the weather is too miserable; then study your garden catalogues and plan for the arriving warm weather. For a fun and informative read, Susan Orlean’s “The Orchid Thief” will entertain you with her experiences with orchids and obsessions in Florida.

October Notes cont.

This is the month for a fall cleaning of your yard. The foliage of tall bearded and Dutch irises should be cut down to 2 inches and added to your compost pile. Also add your raked leaves to your compost pile. Diseased plants should be burned or put in the garbage. Compost will reward you with rich soil to add to your garden. If your vegetable garden suffered heavy insect or disease invasion then (after discarding the plants) turn the soil. The fresh air will help prevent the insects and diseases from returning next summer. Otherwise let the dead plants and vegetables remain in your garden until spring, because beneficial insect have laid their eggs on these plants. You do not want to discard the dead plants until after the insects have emerged in the spring.

If the soil dries out; then keep watering your container plants, camellias and azaleas. Shrubs can suffer winter damage if they are allowed to dry out. Also water your new seedlings and pansies. Mid-Oct should be your last fertilizing of shrubs and trees. Only fertilize English box every two or three years.

Due to our drought, even with this recent rain pounding on the ground, trees have dropped their leaves early. So the colorful fall leaf display is diminished. We may not receive our first frost until next month. Before the first frost, dig up your sweet potatoes. Also pick your green tomatoes.

Now is the time to cut wood for your fireplace. Gather the dried seed pods which have fallen from magnolia trees. Place these pods in a basket next to the fireplace to use as kindling.