Gardening with Job's Nursery

November is here and so is fall with the cooler temperatures, lots of wind and a smidgen of rain. Here at the nursery we are getting the place packed away for winter and cleaning up but it's still an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs, so if time allows a planting project or two it can be taken care of. Otherwise I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! Our November Hours are Monday thru Saturday 9 to 4. We will be closed for Thanksgiving, November 28th and November 29th.

Here is a link for a list of plants that need a drink throughout the winter.

What to do for November in Gardening
November is time to mulch plants, cut back perennials and do a quick clean up in the yard before the cold weather and holiday season come. It's great to be receiving the rain this fall to keep the plants moist, but do remember to check your newly planted evergreens for moisture monthly to keep them happy with you. Below are tips to mulching and cleaning up perennials and ornamental grasses. Don't forget: to drain your hoses and disconnect them from the faucets, blow out the sprinkler system and put those foam blocks in your crawl space vents to keep the house warmer.

Fried Turkeys, a Job Family Tradition

Since 2010, I have been using turkey fryers. The turkey is delicious and the Job family celebrates Thanksgiving now with two birds; one oven roasted and one fried . It all began when my birthday fell on Thanksgiving and I bought a fryer as a birthday present to myself. I have watched the videos and have read many stories of the dangers, and respect the risks involved; however I still wanted to try for a tasty fried bird. When I first talked about doing it, my family was not sure of this. My uncle said "You will burn your house down using those fire hazards!" The family changed their tune after tasting a spicy, moist, non oily bird that was delicious. Even after tasting the turkey, for the first two years there were adamant turkey fryer bans at several of my families' houses. So in 2011, I began hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my home, so I didn't have to transport a hot turkey to one of of possibly several houses in the Tri-Cities. My uncle now has me fry a separate bird for himself, to take home for left overs. It's that good.

Here are a few steps to remember about frying a bird.
-Place the fryer outside, away from your house on a level surface
-Follow the directions of your turkey fryer
-Use the fill line for your oil on your turkey pot or use the water displacement test (it's easier to buy a good kit with instructions and an oil line).
-Make sure the bird is patted dry and fully thawed, otherwise it can explode into not that tasty flames
-Season the bird with a good seasoning rub and use a flavor injector to marinade
-Use protective clothing, the oil can splash up when you put the bird in
-Watch you oil temperature closely
-Never, ever, leave it unattended; in fact most fryers have an auto shut off valve after 10 minutes if you don't push a button to keep the gas flowing.

Here are some videos to watch for guidance.

Deep Fried Turkey-Food Network

Eat, Fry Love by Bill Shatner and State Farm Insurance

The Dangers of Fried Turkey

Mulch for Winter

Mulching is a process where you build material up around the crown of a plant to insulate it from cold and drying winds. This is practiced where winters storms are hard, fast, and cold (into the low teens or colder). I do this on my roses annually to prevent them from freezing out. Generally you mulch in November when you are preparing the yard for winter. It's easy to do and when using compost makes the plant grow better the next because they are protected and receiving a slow feed over the winter. A 1.5 cuft bag of compost will cover about 6 plants mulch 3 inches thick and a 1 square foot area. A 2 cuft bag will do 8 plants. Not only will roses benefit from a good mulch for winter protection (cold or dryness) but so will the following plants: Mimosa, Figs, Bigleaf Hydrangeas, Blackberries (including Marion or Boysenberries), Rosemary, Crape Myrtle, and Pampass Grass. You can use homemade compost or bagged, like these Garden and Bloome products Rose and Flower Planting Mix or the Farmyard Blend. Acid loving plants like Blueberries, Rhododendrons, and Azaleas would be better with the Acid Planting Mix or a compost blended with Sulfur or Cottonseed Meal to insulate cold temperatures, keep their roots moist but help acidify the soil to help those plant absorb nutrients better. Mulching with compost can also be done to trees, shrubs or perennials that are showing nutrient deficiencies, like yellow leaves when they should be green, to help improve their future growth.

Not sure how to mulch? I filmed the Preparing Roses for Winter Video to help out.

Pruning perennials and grasses back for winter
Daylily Read to be Cut Back

Now that we have had some frost, it time to cut back those perennials and clean them up for the winter. We cut back deciduous perennials when they begin to die back or turn that yellow/brown color in Late October or Early November (depending when the frosts hit). Deciduous ornamental grasses can be left up most of the winter as a focal point until the winds blow them down. Last winter 2011/2012, I left my Heavy Metal Grass up all winter and then cut it down, while my day lilies were cleaned up in November.

For perennials and grasses that are deciduous, when they die back for winter, we cut them back to the ground. Evergreen or woodier stemmed perennials and evergreen grasses we just even them up and clean out the dead foliage. Some woodier perennials like Lavender can be cut back by about two thirds their size to get them back into shape wh Daylily Cut to the Ground

ile others like the Tree Peony are not to be touched otherwise you cut off the next years flowers.

The best way to trim down perennials and grasses is a pair of good hedge shears, for smaller plants you can use a pair of scissors. Then either get rid of the trimmings by either composting them or sending them to the dump. Remember if the plant had some fungal or disease issues during the growing season, do not compost those leaves. It spreads the spores and keeps them around to infect next years foliage.

Here are lists of what to cut back or leave alone
Perennials and Ornamental Grasses to be Cut down for Winter
Perennials and Ornamental Grasses to be just trimmed or Left alone

Well that's all for now, remember to Like Us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter to see Foliage for Friday, How-To Photo Albums and Care Notes as I work on them.

Thank you for your interest

Alex Job
Job's Nursery

November Hours Monday-Saturday 9 to 4 closed Thanksgiving and the following Friday
December Hours Wednesday-Saturday 9 to 4
4072 Columbia River Road
Pasco, Washington 99301
509-547-4843