Preparing Plants And Garden For Winter

It is very important to get the garden ready for winter. The garden is still alive during the winter though most of the activity is below ground. 

I usually use a 4 step process for the following selected plants.

• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Sedum
• Hops
• Peony Sorbet
• Iris
• Daylily
• Coneflower
• Lily

4 step process:

• Cut down plant to ground level and dispose of the cuttings in the compost bin(s)
• Remove dead material or weeds around base of plant
• Apply rotted cow manure in an area roughly equal to the extent of growth
• Add a layer of shredded mulch about 1" thick above manure 

One of the peony sorbet locations prepared for Winter.

The following plants get a 3 step process.

• Tree Peony
• Gooseberries
• Black Currants
• Red Currants
• Gooseberries
• Blueberries (add acid treatment to soil)

Steps:

• Remove dead material or weeds around base of plant
• Apply rotted cow manure in an area roughly equal to the extent of growth
• Add a layer of shredded mulch about 1" thick above manure 

Fall is also the time to plant lilies. I planted 2 groups of fragrant lilies this Fall. 

One of the new locations of the lilies is shown below.

A snapshot of one section of the front garden shows preparation for the winter. 

I don't cut all of the other plants down for the winter because insects overwinter in the roots, stems, and growth. 

I also leave coneflower seeds. They provide a winter food source for the birds.

Proper preparation in the Fall for your garden to grow in the Winter will enable the plants to have a great start in the Spring!

Supplemental Feeding To Help Bees Prepare For Winter - Wasps And Hornets Get Some Too

The news always mentions bees disappearing. I try to grow heirloom flowers that attract pollinators. I do not use pesticides in my garden or lawn.

So as the leaves change, bees scramble for last minute food to store for the winter.

The garden is in Hardiness Zone 4B. Temperatures can each -29F. The frost line is 4 1/2 feet deep.

I leave some maple syrup or honey out in a sunny spot to give the bees some extra food when there are no flowers left.

I put paper towels down and spread honey in globs or lines. The paper towel keeps it from running off the surface. The lines and globs minimizes territorial protection. The big European hornets keep anyone except nest mates away from them. The yellow jackets and honey bees tend to develop their own areas.

This is what happens when the honeybees defend a big blob of honey. They shield it from everyone not related to them.

And as a bonus, other insects show up; hornets, bald-face hornets, flies

To learn more about these insects and how then help your garden grow, click on the links provided

Wasps information link: Cornell Agriculture Paper: Wasps Of New York State And Some Relatives

European hornets and yellow jackets feeding on honey

European hornet link: Penn State Department Of Entomology European Hornet Link

Yellow jacket link: Penn State Department Of Entomology Yellowjackets Link

Bald-face hornets show up. Look at the size difference between the hornets and the yellow jacket !!

Bald-face hornet link: Penn State Department Of Entomology Bald Face Hornet link

Yellow jackets tend to be the first insects at the spot in the early morning. Then a couple of honey bees arrive as the sun acscends into the sky. By early afternoon the hornets arrive. Then the place is full of honey bees. Rain keeps them away. At night some yellow jackets spend the night due to the chilly air. The sun warms them up and they start their foraging all over again.

I loved to watch insects as a child. The garden enables me to continue my interest and watch these amazing creatures !!

When Do I Plant?

When i first moved to upstate New York, I asked the simple question: When do I plant?  In a previous post I talked about getting information from traditional resources. I'll list all of the bits of information I received and then what I, years later, do.

When can I put plants out?

• Plants can go out after May 15th
• You can put them out on Memorial day
• The first week of June

When is the last snow?

• May 1st
• May 15th

And then I met a little old lady that told me she saw snow, as a child, on June 12th.

Strawberries - Picture Of The Day 01-14-2013

I usually have 100 ever bearing strawberry plants. I used to grow golf ball size annual strawberries but I found that slugs loved them more that I did.  I got tired of getting excited about seeing a golf ball size strawberry grow only o see a slug on it when i went o pick it. The ever bearing are nice because they are constant source of supply of little flavor bombs. If I'm having a bad day, I just pop a couple in my mouth and things seem better. 

I have deep beds so the strawberry roots can get plenty of water.

Tonight the Forecast is 25F

Transplanting Nasturtium Seedlings In Peat Pods To Peat Pots

Transplanting nasturtium from peat pods to peat pots is simple. Follow the steps below:

Soak some potting soil.

Get your peat pots ready. I use 4".

Get a seedling in a peat pod ready.

Put moist potting soil in the peat pots. Not too compact.

Create a hole in the soil slightly larger than the peat pod.

Now for the trick !!!! As you put the peat pod into the hole, spin the peat pod slightly to get all of the root into the hole. The spin will prevent the tender roots from snapping off as you place it in the hole.

Repeat

And 2 weeks later they will look something like this.

Enjoy !!!!!!!

After The Coldest February And March In Recorded History - The Tree Peony Starts To Bud

The tree peony was given a healthy dose of rotted cow manure. The manure can work its way into the soil as the ground thaws and the spring rains begin. I'll mulch after the weather gets a little warmer. It can snow anytime until early June here. If the weather gets bad again, I'll cover the plant with a heavy duty 55 gallon industrial plastic garbage bag and some clothes pins.

A couple of sunny days and temps above freezing. Voila ! Buds !!!