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Sow seeds of change for next season now

Nancy , Times Union
Published 2:25 pm, Friday, November 1, 2013
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There's just something about looking out the window at the quietness of the yard once all the leaves have fallen. It's as if this is our moment to slow down, glance back over our shoulder at the season that just ended and make some crib notes for next spring.

Before it slips your mind, sketch your vegetable garden out, so you know what was planted where. Your goal is to annually rotate your crops to deter any insect or disease that may have over-wintered from re-establishing itself and infesting the crop next season. Additionally, different plants use minerals from the soil in differing amounts; by rotating, no one particular mineral gets depleted, the rotation allows time for the mineral that was used to be restored.

Finally, be sure you have tilled your vegetable garden in completely, so the plant debris has ample time to decompose and add to the organic levels of the soil. Always completely remove and destroy any infested or diseased plants; do not place in the compost heap, as the compost temperature will not get hot enough to destroy eggs or spores.

For all you perennial gardeners, was there a time in the season your garden lacked color? If so, make a note and utilize the winter to research a few plants whose bloom time could fill the void. Don't overlook some of the incredible colored foliage plants; these make great additions to the garden's color all season long, so you are actually getting more bang for your buck.

Take a walk around the yard, now that the leaves are gone. Often the barrenness of our trees and shrubs opens our eyes to overcrowding, shaping or resizing issues that may not be as noticeable when everything is in leaf. Don't rush out and prune. Remember our rules of pruning: If it flowers late summer to fall; prune in midwinter to encourage flower bud formation on side branches. If it flowers spring to midsummer, hold off pruning until it finishes flowering, then prune immediately; to do so midwinter would remove existing flower buds.

As with perennials, was there a time when your shrubs lacked color? If so, jot the month down and do some investigating,. Don't limit your imagination to just flowers for color: Think stem color, berries and foliage. Remember, we just finished one of the most amazing seasons for color, autumn ... so look at a plant's fall leaf color, too!

Again, look around your landscape for bare spots. When viewing a planting, break it down into low, medium and tall height. Is there one level that seems to be missing, for instance low height? If so, possibly a groundcover or low growing juniper could be incorporated to fill the space. Are there spots where your lawn refuses to grow, like a low spot or under a tree? Ground covers work well and often your friends have patches they don't mind you digging some clumps from. Or maybe just mulching the area to reduce weeds will give it that finished looked.

Are there plants that refuse to grow? Jot them down and take a snowy day to look them up. I have a few that simply need to swap places come spring, and with that new location I'm pretty sure they will outperform wildest expectations.

Finally, before the ground freezes and especially if you pay for snow removal, get those stakes and reflectors in the ground to protect all your hard work and ideas.



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