November Gardening Tips

November is the time to finish your yard and garden clean-up and start your holiday decorating.  Both tasks are more pleasant when the weather is a little warmer so try to complete them before the middle of the month.

Weekly Tips

1. Keep mowing your lawn as long as the grass is growing.  Meadow voles and field mice will damage turf and nearby trees and shrubs if they have long grass for food and cover.
2. Drain your hoses and sprinklers and shut off hose faucets before low temperatures arrive.
3. Remove frozen plants from containers and hanging baskets and replace them with evergreen boughs, branches with colorful berries and interesting seed heads from perennials and ornamental grasses.
4. Spread clean straw, marsh hay or oak leaves over tender perennials, newly planted bulbs and strawberries before temperatures drop into the teens but after the soil surface has frozen.

 Garden Maintenance Tips

1.    Rake and compost large leaves from oak and maple trees.  Smaller leaves from ash, honey locust, and birch trees may be chopped with a mulching mower when dry and left on your lawn.

2.    Change the oil, sharpen blades, clean air filters and replace spark plugs on all of your gas powered equipment.  You will have a head start on many spring projects if all of your equipment is ready to go.

3.    Clean bird feeders, install squirrel guards and stock up on seed and suet.  Birds add color and activity to your yard all winter and often stay in the spring to nest and raise their babies.  If birds don’t appear even though you provide a good selection of food it may because your yard lacks shelter from cold winds and predators.  Consider planting some pine, spruce or fir trees next spring.

What to Plant

1. Many garden centers and florists will have Amaryllis bulbs for sale and often they are already planted in a pot and all you need to do is add water.  Amaryllis are long lived plants that can be grown as blooming house plants during the winter and as foliage plant outdoors during the summer with a 8 week rest period in your basement during  the fall.
2. Force tulip bulbs by planting them so they are barely covered with the “noses” poking out in shallow pots. Water well, cover with plastic and move to your refrigerator or an unheated, insulated garage that stays cool but does not drop below 35 degrees F. After about 12 weeks the pots may be moved into a cool area indoors and flowers will appear in 2 -3 weeks.