November 2023 Gardening Advice

Kale

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill

Isn’t Michigan weather fun?! Last Friday, had you come by the store, you might have seen me out back, painting our new back door. I was lamenting the fact that I was wearing jeans — I would have been more comfortable in shorts! Saturday morning found me putting on a light jacket and turning the heat back on in the store. And let’s not even talk about last week’s “precipitation” or low temperatures, shall we? Fortunately, we saw a slight warm-up this weekend. That’s a good thing for those of us who still have work to do outside. It’s far more pleasant to do that work when the temperatures aren’t too low, the wind isn’t blowing too hard, and it’s not snowing. Of course, you never know from one day to the next what you’ll see here in Michigan.

If you’re like me, you haven’t gotten everything done that you need to do outdoors just yet. That’s OK — there’s still some time, and apparently some decent weather. The season is really drawing to an end, though, so take advantage of the good weather while you can to get those last-minute chores done.

Vegetable Garden:

• If you’ve been waiting to get the very last from your garden crops, it’s pretty much past that time now. With only a few exceptions, our vegetable plants are done for the season. The exceptions to that rule include things like kale, cabbage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. In general, those crops can tolerate temperatures down to about 20°F (and some as low as 10°F) without cover. Other than those, pull plants and compost what isn’t diseased — toss in the trash any diseased plants so that you aren’t re-introducing the diseases to your garden next year.
• If you haven’t planted garlic yet, there is still time for that. You can plant garlic bulbs all the way up to just before the ground is frozen, and still get a good crop next summer. Be sure that you are buying garlic that is meant to be grown in cold climates — don’t just take what you buy in the grocery store, as you don’t have any way of knowing what variety it is or whether it can overwinter. Unfortunately, we have sold out of our garlic already this year, but there are probably still a couple of semi-local places you can find it, if you haven’t bought yours yet.
• Once you have pulled out everything that needs to come out of the garden, consider planting a cover crop, such as annual rye or vetch. These plants can help prevent erosion over the winter and also help to feed the soil for next year’s crops. Come spring, you only need to till the winter cover crop into the soil and get started planting your crops for the new season. Be sure not to let your cover crop go to seed, and till it in at least three to six weeks before planting to give the foliage time to break down.

Flower Beds:

• Get spring-blooming bulbs planted this month. The timing is perfect for planting tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, etc. These plants need the cold weather of winter in order to bloom in the spring and, like garlic, can be planted all the way up until the ground is frozen.
• Add mulch around your perennials once the ground has frozen to help protect their roots over the winter.
• If you haven’t yet, trim back any diseased perennials now, and dispose of the foliage. Don’t put diseased foliage in your compost pile or leave it in your garden over the winter. You’ll just be guaranteeing that those same diseases show up again next spring. Do leave other perennial foliage up over the winter to provide winter habitat for beneficial insects as well as shelter and food sources for birds.
• Speaking of compost, if you haven’t turned your pile lately, that’s another thing to do now. While we’re still having some warm-ish temperatures, getting the stuff that’s on top down into the center and bottom of the pile will give it the chance to heat up and start decomposing before the real cold sets in and all the heat is lost.

Trees and shrubs:

• While the ground is still soft, put up stakes to use to attach burlap to for wind barriers around evergreen shrubs. You can wait a little bit to put the burlap up, but having the stakes in place now means you aren’t trying to pound them into the frozen ground. Barriers help to protect evergreens from the drying winds of winter, which are harder on evergreens than deciduous trees and shrubs. Using barriers is much better for your shrubs than wrapping them. Anything you use to wrap a shrub in can accumulate snow and ice, weighing down the branches of your shrubs and causing more damage than good.
• As with your flowerbeds, add a layer of fresh mulch to trees and shrubs once the soil is frozen to help them get through the winter. Mulch over the winter helps to keep the soil frozen, which protects the roots from the cycles of freezing and thawing that we frequently get throughout winter.

Tools:

• We have been getting a good amount of rain this fall, and that looks like it’s going to continue for a bit, at least. So it’s probably safe to put hoses away now. Be sure to empty hoses as much as possible to prevent water from freezing in them and causing them to crack. When storing them, it’s a good idea to connect the ends of hoses to keep spiders from nesting in them over the winter.
• Before you put away your lawn mower, empty the gas tank or add a stabilizer to keep the gas from breaking down over the winter and potentially damaging the engine. Depending on the type of mower you have, changing the oil now is also not a bad idea. Check your mower’s manual for instructions or have it serviced by a professional. You’ll be happy you did when spring comes along and it starts right up!

Birds:

• If you don’t feed the birds year-round, from now to next spring is the best time to do so. During the warmer months, the biggest source of food for most birds is insects. As it gets cold, and insects aren’t available, birds turn to vegetation for their food. But they need to eat a lot more to get the same amount of protein, and they need at least as much protein to help them get through the cold days and nights. This is where you come in! When you provide food for the birds, you help them keep from using up precious energy trying to find food. Just remember to clean the feeders regularly to help prevent the spread of disease.
• It’s time to put away the hummingbird feeders, if you haven’t yet. The hummers have departed for warmer climates, and the freezing overnight temps we’re seeing will damage plastic and glass feeders. Clean them out thoroughly with soap and water, dry, and store in a dry, warm place for the winter.
• Leave birdbaths out as long as possible to provide a source of drinking water for the birds. Many birdbaths can’t take being out in freezing temperatures, but you can still fill them up during the day and dump them out in the evening until daytime temps start going below freezing. Then it’s time for a de-icer. De-icers allow you to provide a vital source of water for your birds all through the winter without risking damaging your birdbath. Just keep in mind that you do need to make sure that the de-icer is always covered with water to keep it from burning out. Another option is our heated birdbath that shuts off automatically if the temperature goes up and isn’t bothered by low water levels.

Happy Gardening!

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.