Let the sun shine. A warm weekend offers the perfect opportunity to tidy up our gardens. Leaves to rake, lawn to mow, frosted garden to clean up, compost pile to turn, final bulbs to plant, finish dividing perennials. Soak in the Vitamin D.
Scavenger hunt. Take advantage of this weather to take a walk with an eye for your indoor decor. Acorns, seed pods, pine cones, sweet gum balls all are littering pathways, ready to be painted, shellacked and otherwise crafted into holiday ornaments and seasonal tablescapes.
Free mulch. That carpet of leaves on your lawn can become the ultimate winter cover for your plants. A mulching mower with a bagging attachment allows you to efficiently create your own mulch. Otherwise, collect your leaves in a pile and make several swipes with your mower to chop them up finely. No need for mulch? They’re the perfect addition to your compost pile.
Soil saver. If you don’t have a compost pile, now’s one of the best times of the year to start. Pile your leaves, add in your frost-blackened tomato vines, mushy jack-o’-lanterns, Brussels sprout stems, apple cores. Enclose it with wooden pallets, snow fence, cinderblocks or straw bales. Come spring, you’ll have a rich soil amendment with little effort.
Art or not? It’s in the eye of the beholder, as far as the dying foliage and lingering seed heads in your garden. Keep the interesting architecture that speaks to you and continues to feed the birds. Compost the rest to keep insects and diseases from overwintering.
Sheath the shears. Your pruning tasks are done until springtime. Pruning now can encourage new growth, which will then get damaged as we head into winter. An exception can be made for limited pruning on evergreens, as many people like to use evergreen clippings for free holiday decorating.
Mow low. As you rake, you’ll notice that your turf is probably due for a few more swipes. After you’ve removed most leaves, use your mulching blade to chop the rest right into the lawn for a free organic boost. You can set your blade down to 2 and a half inches for these last mowings to discourage diseases.
Sweet grass. It’s too late for any other lawn treatments this year, but if a soil test revealed that your lawn is too acid, apply lime now through early December.
Tool tips. Get your garden equipment to bed for the season. Drain and store your garden hoses. Shut off and drain outdoor water taps. Knock all the sand, soil and vegetation from your tools. Give the blades of your hand tools a light coating of oil to keep them from rusting over the winter. Inspect the handles of your rakes and shovels and apply linseed oil to them to preserve the wood.
Mower hibernation. After you’ve finished with your lawn mower for the year, clean any debris from under the carriage before storing it. If you have a gas-powered mower, be sure to drain the gas and change the oil. And it’s not a bad idea to get the blade sharpened now to avoid the spring rush.
Lancaster-based garden writer Daina Savage blogs at www.dainasavage.com. She can be reached at dainasavage@gmail.com.
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