Gardening in November

Just because the earth is going to sleep, doesn't mean the avid gardener needs to twiddle their green thumbs until spring. In addition to planning next year's garden, you can also focus on planting bulbs, composting leaves, mulching beds, tidying up, protecting plants, and best of all, bringing the garden inside.

While planning next year's garden, don't forget to continue watering your shrubs and trees until the ground freezes. If you haven't already, get out there and plant those bulbs before the ground freezes solid. Unless your memory is significantly better than mine, mark them with stakes so you can find them again in the spring.

The fall leaves are more than just a colorful blanket for the sleeping earth; gather them for composting! With your kitchen scraps and an insulated compost bin, you can keep composting year round.

Mulch your plants with manure, compost, bark, sawdust, or straw to create a warm protective blanket for the root systems over the cold winter. Be sure to remove any old mulch before applying a new, and protect your plants from voles by not mounding the mulch too close to the plant.

Tidy up for next year by cleaning up gardening debris or any infested foliage. While you're at it, drain and store your garden hoses, inspect your tools and replace any that need it (prices are great this time of year!), and oil and clean the rest before tucking them in for their winter hibernation.

Help your evergreens and trees survive the winter wildlife; they'll thank you for it! You can protect your baby trees from the hungry mice by wrapping wire around the bottom section of the trunk, and keep your evergreens from the deer by circling them with burlap and stakes.

If you plan to buy a live holiday tree this year and want to plant it outside this winter, don't forget to dig the hole before the ground freezes as hard as we all know it does here. Remember to keep the extra soil covered up so you don't have to get out the ice chipper and your ski poles to loosen it up enough to fill in the hole.