HeraldNet: Do you need to put the garden to bed?



RECENT POSTS:
• Give the gift of garden inspiration December 4 • Find true holiday-shopping Zen December 2 • To prune or not to prune? November 28 • Do you prune in October? November 26 • Take a pruning quiz; win a prize! November 25

Archives:



LINKS:
Green Thumbs Unite • Evergreen Arboretum & Garden • Northwest Horticultural Society • Northwest Perennial Alliance • Plant Amnesty • Seattle Tilth • Seattle Tree Fruit Society • Snohomish County Master Gardeners • Washington Native Plant Society Know & Grow • Compost • Great Plant Picks • House plants • Master Gardener Magazine • Natural Lawn Care • Oregon State University Extension • Plant Search Tools • Soil • WSU Extension Online Grapevine • Dave's Garden • Garden Rant • Veggie Recipes

RELATED ARTICLES:
• Plant pick: variegated false holly December 4 • Biweekly dusting best approach for lampshades December 4 • Nuts and bolts: Eliminate paper, dump phone book December 4 • Plant pick: evergreen redwood sorrel November 27 • Fluff feather pillows daily, wash covers monthly November 27 • Nuts and bolts: Camano Island Holiday Home Tour November 27 • Harvesting farms' future November 21 • Plant pick: Well-behaved bamboo November 20 • Kristi's Notebook: Sourdough seduces Whidbey Islanders November 19 • Amazing amaryllis: So easy to grow they don't have to be 'forced' November 18


ADVERTISEMENT <script language=JavaScript src="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/169233/0/vj?z=heraldnet&ct=122081&dim=169231&abr=$scriptiniframe"></script><noscript><a href="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/169233/0/cc?z=heraldnet"><img src="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/169233/0/vc?z=heraldnet&ct=122081&dim=169231&abr=$imginiframe" width="160" height="600" border="0"></a></noscript>

Mudrakers

October 13, 2008

Do you need to put the garden to bed?

Posted at 1:52 pm by Debra Smith

Some things need to be done in the fall. Tender plants need to come in or be thrown in the compost. The lawn should be fertilized and over-seeded. You need to get rid of diseased plant matter such as rose leaves, finished tomato plants and whatever is left after the vegetables are harvested. Diseased material can linger in the soil and cause problems next year.

However, a lot can wait for early spring. In fact, it might be better for wildlife and for the garden to leave some things alone. Many of us spend hours clipping back spent foliage and raking falling leaves. Sure it looks tidy – until the next windstorm blows the neighbor’s leaves into your yard.

Why not leave some of it alone and let the birds feast on it. I pile up the spent foliage of my rhubarb and gunnera over the crown of the plant to give it a little over-winter protection. Consider running the lawn mower over the dry leaves and either leave them on the grass or spread them over the flower and vegetable beds.

Plenty of people add a layer of compost this time of year. I’ll admit I always put this task off until February.

Your philosophy on fall tasks?

Return to Mudrakers

TODAY'S TOP JOBS

View All Top Jobs

>> view all top homes

>> view all homes

<script language=JavaScript src="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/105699/0/vj?z=heraldnet&dim=100749&abr=$scriptiniframe"></script><noscript><a href="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/105699/0/cc?z=heraldnet"><img src="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/105699/0/vc?z=heraldnet&dim=100749&abr=$imginiframe" width="728" height="90" border="0"></a></noscript>
\|Contact Us \|Advertiser Services \|Home Delivery \|Newsstand Locations \|Classifieds \|Feedback \|About the Company \|Work@the Herald \|Site Map	© 2008 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA.