Take this month to focus on putting your vegetable garden to sleep for the winter. Cover the soil with manure/Loam builder, and plant a green cover crop such as Fava bean (also edible), buckwheat or vetch.

Frost & Freeze Protection:

When preparing perennials, vines and shrubs to go through the winter, the primary concern is protection from frost or freezing temperatures.  All plants, even deciduous shrubs and trees, will benefit from a fall feeding of 0-10-10 or other fertilizer high in Potassium (which is the last number).  Potassium improves a plant's immunity to cold and disease.

Mulches are used to protect the crowns of more frost sensitive deciduous perennials such as Hosta, as well as insulate soil from temperature extremes. Mulching roses, hydrangeas, perennial beds is beneficial.  It is important that mulches do not encroach on the trunks of trees and larger shrubs. Watering plants, especially container plants, reduces damage from desiccation.  In addition to watering, spraying with an anti-transpirant such as Bonide Wilt-Proof or Cloudcover, adds 2 to 3 degrees of extra protection. 

Lastly, there is wrapping the plants.  This can be done with In-sulate, Harvest Guard, or a burlap tote.  Even old bed sheets and newspaper can be called into service.  It is important to remove these wraps in the morning. Never use plastic to insulate a plant if it must come in contact with the foliage.  Plastic hyper cools and could make frost damage much worse.