Garden Clean Up

Snake Gourd - Photo Credit: Hannah Todd

By: Hannah Todd, Extension Home Horticulture Coordinator

You may have noticed there were not any "gardening" topics in the upcoming events section of the newsletter, but that does not mean it's time to hang up your gardening gloves and stow your tools away.  There are plenty of beneficial gardening activities to perform this month. 

Harvest and store all the produce that you can before the first frost.  

Decrease insect and disease populations. Remove dead plant material that insects and diseases can use as over wintering sites.  Do not compost plants that were heavily infected with a disease

Pull weeds.  Winter annuals will be germinating and growing vegetatively so plucking them now will reduce weeds and give you more of a window in the spring/summer before it is critical to pull weeds.

Protect garden soils.  If you did not plant a cover crop by September 15^th it is too late to do so, but don't sweat it because there are other ways to protect the soil during the winter.  Covering the garden spot with leaves, straw, newspaper, etc. will reduce erosion due to water and wind pressures it will also add organic matter to the garden.  It will not hold nutrients in place, but you still have time to do a soil test so you can add the appropriate amendments' in the spring.

Clean and store tools.  Please see: Caring for Your Tools  (Cornell University)

Keep any final notes on this year's garden season.

Bring house plants back indoors (check for disease and insects before you bring them in)

We learned in our soils classes that dry soils warm up faster in the spring time.  Why is this important?  Most seeds need warm temperatures to germinate quickly.  The spring of 2010 was unusually early and many gardeners got a jump on the season with tales of three to four weeks ahead of the normal year. We can't predict how early our spring will be in 2011.  We know  that the first gardens to go in will be the gardens on sandy well drained soils.    

Many soils in Piscataquis County have a high amount of clay particles that will retain moisture in the spring and result in very late dates that vegetables can be planted.  But there are some things you can do to extend your garden season earlier in the spring by improving soil drainage and hastening soil warm up in the spring so you can have peas by the forth of July.

Organic matter will improve the drainage of heavy clay soils.  Fall is a good time to add organic matter.  That compost pile you have been tending to all summer is a great candidate for source of organic matter for your vegetable garden.  Also, those leaves that you rake from your yard can be immediately tilled into the garden. You can add up to 15 bushel of organic material per 1,000 square feet and till into your garden.  Small size pickups with a six foot bed can easily carry one cubic yard that is about 22 Bushels.

Next if you make raised beds that are crowned on the top, they will drain the spring moisture quicker and warm up first.  The lower walk way between the raised beds will be wet late into the spring since this is the low spot of the garden. The raised beds can be formed with a rake, shovel or rototiller attachment. The top of the bed should be 6 to 8 inches higher than the walk way in between the beds.  And the width of the bed should be four feet or less.

Some folks make raised ridges to prepare their sweet corn area.  Raised ridges work in the same way as raised beds. The ridges are 6 to 8 inches higher but they aren't very wide.    The top of the ridges dry out first and warm up first. Some gardeners will anchor clear plastic on top of the area they plan to plant first.  The plastic keeps the soil from getting too wet during the winter and once the snow melts the clear plastic will heat up the soil like a greenhouse.  This can lead to cold frames, hot beds, greenhouses, etc. But that will be another newsletter.

• Finial picking the last of the apples that are ripening now.  Generally our later maturing apples will keep longer in cool, moist conditions.
• Plant spring flowering bulbs this fall to enjoy early color next spring.  
• Great time to do a soil sample to get results back by fall so you can amend the garden with needed nutrients.
• Fall will be the best time to apply manure to your garden, try to line up a source now.
• To make poinsettias "bloom" keep them in complete darkness for 15 hours a day, for example 5 pm to 8 am, for eight to ten weeks until the red bracts begin to show. 
• Strawberry plants need protection from winter's extremes, but applying winter mulch too early may cause crowns to rot.  Apply winter protection when plants are dormant but before temperatures drop below 20 degrees F, usually late October to early November.
• After mowing your lawn for the last time this fall be sure to winterize the mower.  This includes: cleaning the underside of the mower to remove all the caked on grass clippings, sharpening or replacing the blades, adding stabilizer to the gas tank and running the engine to be sure the stabilizer goes through the whole engine. Also, don't forget to use stabilizer in any other garden equipment engine that you won't be using this winter including your tiller.


• Why Leaves Change Color
  Item #7078, Publisher: UMaine Extension
  Many people suppose that frost causes fall colors, but it does not. This 2-page fact sheet explains the chemical processes behind fall foliage colors; includes leaf project ideas for home or classroom. 2001. Download it for free: PDF (for printing) / HTML, (for browsing) or buy a printout $0.50.
• The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas around Your Home
  Item #7170, Publisher: NRAES
  J. Kays, J. Drohan, A Downing, and J. Finley. Promotes the stewardship of small parcels of forest or unmowed areas (1-10 acres) for personal enjoyment and improved environmental quality. Explains ecological principles and how to inventory your property. Color photos throughout. 138 pages, 2006. $18.00

Upcoming Events   

SURFACE MAIL RECIPIENTS CAN CONTACT THEIR COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION WHEN WEB LINKS ARE INCLUDED IN AN ARTICLE.

Piscataquis County Office 207-564-3301 or 800-287-1491

165 East Main Street Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426