From Warmth to Frost

I had the opportunity to travel to South Carolina this past weekend to observe some southern lawns. The trip was part of a nationwide research project I'm conducting as background information for a book I'm writing on organic lawn care.

I'm happy to report that organic gardening techniques work every bit as well in the South as they do up here in the Northeast . . . and I must admit I enjoyed the warmer weather, a range of daytime temperatures from 64 to 88.

When I returned home Monday the change in my garden was startling. The season's first frost finally hit southern Maine on Oct. 20, making this the latest frost date in history for this area.

Annual flowers and vegetables that normally would have been pulled out of the ground a few weeks ago were able to persist, but now the yard is covered in blackened foliage. The compost pile will fill up in a hurry this week.

As I sit down to create my to-do list for the month ahead, I figured I'd share it with all of you.

1) I'll rake up the leaves of all my healthy roses and shrubs and add them to the compost pile — but if you have any diseased plants such as peonies with botrytis blight (black areas at the time of blossom), or roses with blackspot, or hollyhocks with rust, don't add these to the compost pile. Take them to a far corner of the property or dispose of them in the trash instead.

2) I'll mow the lawn lower, about two and a half inches, in preparation for the final mowing of the year at about two inches.

3) I'll rake leaves from the lawn as they fall and shread them with my mower before adding them to the compost pile. Shredded leaves also make good mulch.

4) I'll inspect all my trees and shrubs for fall tent caterpillars and remove any of the webs. You can often simply prune out affected areas without damaging the plant overall.

5) I'll harvest the remainder of the apples and pears. One note, though: Be sure not to store apples or pears with vegetables. The fruits give off ethylene gas, which will cause the vegetables to taste funny and quickly spoil.

6) I'll continue to harvest and eat my strawberries. Yes, the everbearing 'Tristar' berries that I planted last spring are still blossoming and providing a daily handful of berries even as we approach November.

7) I'll bring in hoses that can freeze and crack and I'll begin to winterize and clean summer gardening tools.

8) Plants are at their lowest prices of the year now at garden centers, especially trees and shrubs. I'll be looking for deals. My trees and shrubs went in the ground last year on Nov. 15 and they all made it through their first winter just fine.

9) I'll be spreading the bulk load of compost I had delivered from Winterwood Farm here in Maine. Since my gardens are new, I'm using compost as my primary mulch this winter. It will build up the soil for future seasons.

10) Birds are eating feverishly in preparation for winter. I'll stock up on seed and put out a few more feeders in my front windows.

Paul Tukey - October 25, 2005.

Vermont's Mr. Gardeningrom

For this week’s pointer, I have a name for you: Dr. Leonard Perry. Our November edition of the magazine just went to the printer last Friday with a full-length feature story about Vermont’s Mr. Gardening, so I wanted to take this week to give you a primer.

He’s a Cooperative Extension agent, a researcher, teacher, television and radio host, garden train aficionado and still finds time to put together one of the most useful web sites for Northeast gardeners. He’s also an incredibly nice guy who sincerely feels as if he has the best job on the planet.

Several members of our staff are heading off to a trade show in Providence this week and I’ll be in Connecticut after that to research the latest techniques on organic lawn care. I’ll report back next week with a far more in depth pointer, but until then spend some time with Perry’s Perennial Pages. I guarantee you’ll laugh and learn.

One other note: Our Massachusetts editor, Laura Eisener, will give a talk on perennial gardens this Tuesday, Oct. 18. Here are the details:

Location:
Unitarian Universalist Church
309 Washington Street (rear of bldg.)
Junction of Rts. 9 & 16
Wellesley Hills , MA

Sponsor: Gardeners and Florists Club of Boston
Time(s): 7:00 PM
Cost: Free admission
Phone: 508-881-8751

I will be giving a general talk about organic gardening and horticulture in general this Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 to the American Association of University Women. The talk will be on held in Brunswick, Maine. Email Marlise Swartz for directions if you’d like to attend.

Paul Tukey - October 18, 2005.

To Mulch or Not To Mulch...

What a fall. We’re more than a quarter of the way through October and we still have not had a frost in many areas of northern New England. Dr. Rick reported only one frost so far at his home at the base of Sunday River in the mountains of Newry, Maine. The warmth isn’t doing much for the intensity of foliage color this year, but it’s a rare treat to be able to enjoy the fresh vegetables and other annuals this long into autumn.

Winter is coming, though, and with it come the questions about fall cleanup and winter mulch. I’m from the school that a) it’s best to clean up and cut back everything in the fall (except your roses; see last week’s tip), and b) I’m not a big fan of running around and mulching everything. If you have a lot of first-year plantings like I do, however, it is necessary to mulch them in the late fall when the ground freezes solidly. Once plants are established for a full season, I prefer to let them fend for themselves in winter just like plants do in nature.

The biggest reason to clean up leaves, twigs, grass clippings etc. in the autumn is that every minute is precious in the spring and you won’t want to waste your time with a rake in your hands. Besides, all those materials will be great additions to the compost pile, which will have a head start on the breakdown process if you gather them now. Be wary of any diseased leaves, but otherwise you can add just about anything to the compost pile. The rule of thumb is: if it used to be living in plant or animal form, it is fair game as compost.

As for mulch materials, my favorite is that compost itself. Because I’m starting a new garden at my new home, I’m having a 45-yard bulk load of compost delivered this fall from Winterwood Farm. This follows the 30-yard load we brought in last fall. I’ll have another load delivered next fall, and the one after that.

The soil here is all marine clay. In areas where we amended with compost last fall, plants did fairly well this year. In other areas, plants simply languished. Adding all the compost we can afford will be part of our regimen for years to come.

If you have good soil already, any number of mulching materials will work, and you’ll find many of them around your home.

Grass clippings — These are ideal provided they don’t contain too many weed seeds and you haven’t applied any synthetic herbicides on your lawn. These toxic chemicals linger on the plants and in the soil and will negatively impact your plants if you use them as mulch.

Hay — In areas where weeds are a problem, or weeding is necessary, it’s best to avoid using hay as mulch. Hay generally contains millions of weed seeds of its own. Straw is a better material, but you might need a second mortgage to buy a few bales at your local garden center or farm store.

Corn stalks — If you have access to a spent cornfield, gather all the stalks you can. Use a few for decorations and chop up the remainder as mulch. Corn is full of nutrients and ideal to suppress weeds.

Leaves — Any foliage will work as mulch; leaves are, after all, nature’s own mulch. It’s best to shred leaves, however. Whole leaves can create a “shingling” effect when they’re wet and packed down. That means they’ll keep out air and moisture and smother the plants below.

Pine needles — For some reason, gardeners have been scared off from pine needles by the myth that they’ll make the soil acidic. It’s simply not true. Because they breathe naturally, allowing water and air down through, will protecting plants and soil, pine needles are ideal. Gather all you can.

Living mulches — Otherwise known as cover crops or green manures, living mulches work best on vegetable gardens that are replanted or tilled anew each spring. Clover is my favorite cover crop, but barley, annual rye and many others work well, too. These materials add nutrients back into the soil when they’re tilled in; as they grow, they keep weeds at bay and help stop any soil erosion. Here is a great web site that explains cover cropping in detail: www.attra.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html.

Paul Tukey - October 11, 2005.

Wait ’til Spring on Most Rose Pruning

Within the realm of all gardening chores, scarcely anything fosters more debate than the pruning of roses. To prune, or not to prune, that is the question.

In general, we advise gardeners in the Northeast to wait until spring before taking out the sharp shears to cut back your thorny climbing, shrub and ground-cover roses. The exceptions would be hybrid teas and grandifloras, which may not be hardy in your area. These should be pruned back this fall and then buried under your choice of mulch. Left unpruned and in the open air, they’ll likely die back during the winter.

Another exception would be diseased roses. Examine your roses for stems affected by blackspot, mildew or rust and be rid of these before winter. You’ll also want to rake up any affected rose foliage and be careful not to add these leaves to the compost pile. Either burn them or add them to the next load headed to the transfer station.

The worse offender of the three primary rose diseases is blackspot, Diplocarpon rosae, a fungus that literally develops as black spots on leaves. These progress to black spots fringed with yellow rings on both sides of the leaves. In worst cases, the leaves all go yellow and black and drop off to the ground.

Since is worst during wet, humid weather, this should not have been too bad a year in much of northern New England. Areas of southern New England, however, did have it worse. If you were affected, autumn cleanup is critical. The spores that cause blackspot can over winter in the garden and reappear next year.

If blackspot was a problem for you, plan on applying an organic fungicidal soap and a product known as wettable sulfur, which will keep spores from germinating. Act early next spring; the sulfur must be on plant before the spores arrive when the weather warms into the 70s. Sulfur is water soluble and must be reapplied after every heavy rain.

Other tips to help with blackspot, mildew and rust . . . Water in the morning rather than evening; drip irrigation is best. Make sure you have good air flow around your plants. And, most importantly, purchase roses that are known to be disease resistant. Planting hybrid teas, in most cases, is asking for trouble. Try compost or manure “teas” sprinkled over the foliage. This time-honored solution helps the plants’ own defenses against disease. Ask your garden center for Messenger, a remedy based on plant protein. Members of the American Rose Society have been raving about this new product from California that uses cutting-edge plant science. For years, organic gardeners have been using a solution of 1 teaspoon baking soda in a quart of water, with a few drops of mild dish detergent added into the mixture to act as a “wetting” agent — meaning the soap helps the baking soda stick to the foliage.

Paul Tukey - October 3, 2005.