Does a combination of avoidance and loss of interest describe how you feel about fall gardening? Or is that a reasonable description of the American psyche? Eventually most people avoid or just lose interest in demanding situations. Well, in life — and in a garden — that is simply not acceptable.
As citizens we have an obligation to soldier on, id be damned, stand tall, live our principles especially in the face of opposition, and vote — a duty to ensure survival of our republic. Participate. The same rings true in our gardens.
Avoidance and loss of interest will only ensure failure. Unacceptable. America, it is time to lift ourselves up by the bootstraps to make our gardens great again. Ouch. I cannot believe I just wrote that. Nevertheless, you have what it takes to succeed. So, instead of lounging about staring at a screen large or small, get up, out, and do something.
There is plenty to do. Once done you will be filled with a sense of accomplishment. Yes, as one of Newton’s three laws of physics states, a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Thus, it is assured that one accomplishment will lead to others. Here are a few tasks to accomplish on your way to making your gardens greater:
Cease and Desist: Stop turbocharged leaf blowing your gardens and lawns. That ground covering organic matter is home to many important overwintering creatures and protects your plants from winter cold and desiccation, while enriching the soil.
Gutters: Come on, clean them already!
Hoses: Why are the garden hoses still out? Disconnect them from faucets, drain and coil them neatly, secure them with bungee cords, and store them for the season.
Once again, did you buy an expandable, lightweight hose that comes neatly packed in a small container? You know the ones that are guaranteed to fail within a year? If so, then I say retroactively, always retain the receipts. Take that faulty slithery snake of a hose back for a refund. Yes, come spring you will buy one again, believing this time they made it better. Remember to keep that receipt.
Tomato plants: Why are they still languishing in the garden? Carefully remove all tomato and other nightshade plants with any fallen leaves. They are highly susceptible to infecting your soil, leading to a poor crop next year.
Garlic: Plant cloves now provide spring ramps followed by plump bulbs. Yum, you can almost smell your very own homegrown garlic simmering in olive oil. One of life’s great fragrances.
Write it down: NOW! Before you forget, write it down. Whatever you learned from your garden this season, especially the don’t. This is the making of a garden road map. As an old marine officer said to me…Son, without a road map you don’t know where you are going. And right now, it looks like you are going nowhere fast.
Leaves: Get more. They are waiting for you all over town, packed and good to go, waiting at the curb. Dump a few bags of leaves with an inch of soil on top, then wet the pile. Repeat a few times. In a week, that pile will have dropped in height. This is a good thing for your garden, the earth, and reducing the waste stream.
Seed heads: Leave some faded plants with their seedheads for the birds.
Halloween pumpkins: Whether carved or not, these should be repurposed. Place them in gardens and crack them in half providing a feast for birds and small mammals.
Christmas, I: The holiday is coming soon. Time to tidy up the front walk to impress your family and friends before they enter your home. Replant pots with mums, ornamental cabbage, kale, and baby gourds. They manage the wintry weather and look great.
Christmas, II: Once the hungry horde enters your abode and offers you obligatory compliments, like “everything looks great, how do you do it every year?” you smile. Then before you can say to yourself, duh, it is because you never offer to manage the holiday gathering, they’re off to the bar. Drink in hand, they plop themselves down on a coach to watch whatever, or prattle on about a brilliant stock market move or how their kids are, well, simply brilliant. Yes, it is time to head to the bar yourself.
