The Rural Voice, 2001-10, Page 42Gardening
Are you ready for winter?
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
I think October can be as busy as
May when it comes to our garden.
After the flurry of planting and
weeding during the spring and early
summer. activity practically comes to
a halt. This year it was especially so
with the drought. The plants just
seemed to hang there. Yes the weeds
grew and even their stubborn lushness
was a welcome sight in the garden.
September came with a sweet
breath of cooler air and increased
moisture although I was still stomping
around looking for rain clouds. My
children have reported that I am never
happy when it finally rains. It is never
enough for me, they lament. But it is
not for me I worry, but for our trees. I
look out and see our 15 -year-old pine
struggling with needles aimed
downward and I know this will be its
last year.
But what moisture we got was
enough to green up the garden
somewhat in time for me to march in
and start cutting and cleaning for
winter. I have always been in a bit of
dilemma about cleaning up the garden
in the fall. My readers will know I
advocate leaving a lot of plants
standing in order to catch that
wonderful snow to help insulate the
garden. But in recent years I have
noticed an increase in some diseases
in my garden and have taken another
course of action.
As I go through the garden I look
for any plants that have struggled
through the summer months with
blackened leaves, well -chewed leaves
or other disfiguring appearances. Any
signs of disease or insect damage is an
indication that the plant material
should be carefully cut away and then
burned.
Not everything has had problems
and I will let that plant material stand
for the winter to catch the wind. After
only two years of selective cleaning, I
have noticed a drop in a measles
blight on my peonies.
Gardeners must be forever
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and we plant new and wonderful
additions, we learn about new
approaches to our gardens and solve
old .mysteries that have had us
stumped for a season or two. I read in
a wonderful new book The Woodland
Garden by Roy Forster and Alex
Downie and published by Raincoast
Books in Vancouver, that fall applied
fertilizer should have twice as much
potassium as nitrogen and phosphorus.
Potassium helps cell walls become
more permeable which in tum allows
easier movement of dissolved
nutrients into the cel!. It creates an
antifreeze effect that reduces the
plant's susceptibility to cell rupture by
freezing.
And then there is the mulch. I must
confess I know I am' inviting trouble
in my garden by picking up leaves
from town and hauling them home.
There could be diseases or bugs I am
bringing in, but it is a risk I am willing
to take for rich mulch for our garden.
The leaves that were unbagged later in
the summer were wet and already in
various stages of decomposition
which was fine. I still have a few bags
I will distribute around the garden
after a few frosts have hardened the
plant tissues. With the leaves a bit
rotted it deters rodents from nesting in
the mess. I put drier leaves on top and
hope for the best.
If you are fortunate enough to have.
large leafy trees but cannot bear to let
the leaves lie where they fall, make
sure to leave a few leaves in some
corner to harbour ladybugs and
praying mantis. This bit of protection
enables them to make it through the
winter to eat their fair share of non-
beneficial insects next year.
One last dash around the garden in
November to check stakes on new
trees, cover and protect new and less
sheltered shrubs, tie up evergreens to
prevent the wind from whistling
through and drying out those precious
needles, and one last look around
before the snow hits. Are you ready? I
know I never am. There is always that
.last dozen bulbs I picked up on sale,
sitting at the back door.0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger and her
husband raise two children at their
home near Auburn. She is a skilled
cook and gardener.