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margaret roach, head gardener

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my garden chores for december 2014

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Margaret's garden clogs and trowelONE LAST-MINUTE FIRE DRILL of outdoor chores, before it’s time to settle down with the seed catalogs: That’s December in my Northeast garden life, the month with the shortest to-do list of all.

I typically close out November and begin December by quickly re-checking myself around Thanksgiving for anything forgotten, before it’s really too late. A hose bib not drained for winter; a partial row of potatoes still in the ground; another skimming of the water gardens for leaves that scuttled in since my last pass. Oh, and that last bag of bulbs I seem to have misplaced—till now.

An early dump of 10 or so inches of heavy, wet snow the Wednesday before the holiday interrupted the final 2014 countdown, but now that it’s melting I am back on the punchlist:

Are any non-weatherproof pots still sitting, shivering, out in the open? Are bird-feeder poles feeders anchored well into the ground before it freezes deep (and are they either closer than 2 feet to windows, or farther than 30, to minimize bird strikes on glass)? And what about those flexible fiberglass poles or other devices meant to indicate where the driveway ends and lawn begins—key markers for a successful, safe snow-plowing season?

Quick, in case you missed it: The water garden needs immediate attention and winterizing, to avoid burst plumbing and suffocated frogs and fish; here’s how.

Windy weather can make a mess, too, so out come the saw and loppers again, and off came torn or hanging branches that probably were weakened but not broken all the way through. And will the leaves ever stop showing up, as if from nowhere? To the heap with them if they’re not snow-covered yet.

And then there’s list-making–the stuff of next year’s garden resolutions, like the list I made one recent year. Don’t wait much longer to start making notes on what you’ll do differently; easier while the garden’s still fresh in memory. The area-by-area details follow:

seed shopping

I’M MAD ABOUT SEED.  So mad that I have to have “rules” for seed shopping, like restraining myself before binging in the new catalogs until I do a careful inventory of leftovers. My most important rules: I buy organic seed when available, and seek out regionally appropriate varieties, too, in the hopes of best garden success, since seed is alive and I want to make it feel at home. Here’s the whole story, plus links to great sources.

LAST WINTER’S radio seed series (each available as a podcast) is another great place to get more ideas and “meet” more experts.

EARLY DECEMBER is prime time to inventory leftover seeds (which should be stored in a cool, dry place). A friend stashes his in the fridge, first sealing in zipper bags with the air squeezed out, then placing the bags in a sealed plastic box rather than having strays get lost among the yogurt and mayonnaise. To test your germination rate, here’s how.  Or start with my Seed Viability Chart.

TOSS THOSE MORE THAN a few years old and make a list of what you’ll need. Not that any act of self-control stops me from ordering yet another gourd or pumpkin variety, or some oddity I simply must have or perish. My list of favorite seed sources is in on the Resource Links page; and here’s my 2011 and 2012 and 2013 orders, and the binge year of 2014’s, too.

DON’T START SEED TOO EARLY. Use my free online calculator, inserting your frost-free date first, to calculate when the sowing begins (no time soon around here!).

vegetable & flower gardens

AGAIN: REDUCE 2014 PESTS now by reducing places they overwinter. Squash bugs, cabbage worms and more can be limited with extra-good cleanup, like this.  Author and longtime friend Ken Druse and I explained our tactics in this story and podcast. For instance, be extra-vigilant cleaning up under fruit trees, as fallen fruit and foliage allowed to overwinter in place invites added troubles next season.

VOLE PATROL: I continue year-round setting out mousetraps in special boxes like this, or under buckets or cans in the garden where I see any activity. Mice are a primary vector for Lyme ticks, another reason I try to limit their population in the immediate area.

PROTECT ROSES FROM WINTER damage in coldest zones by mounding up their crowns with a 6- to 12-inch layer of soil before the ground freezes. After all is frozen, add a layer of leaf mulch to further insulate.

ANYTHING STILL STANDING in the vegetable beds (kale  maybe, or Brussels sprouts?) or that’s in storage but not in absolutely prime shape (like a winter squash with a bruise or that’s lost its stem, or an onion whose top never dried)? Those should run, not walk, into the soup pot, to become sweet potato-greens soup or vegetable soup, for instance. Toss that last of the kale or chopped-up last sprouts into a creamy, easy bowl of soft polenta called farinata, or a winter squash can become crustless pumpkin custards.

BESIDES THE overwintered ornamental plants in the basement and garage to inspect for possible water needs, do you have produce like potatoes in storage? Check that, too. One bad apple, as the saying goes. Examine at least monthly for any mold or softness. Want to check whether you’re storing various crops correctly?

lawn

TAKE THE MOWER IN for service now, rather than in the spring rush, then store without gas in the tank by running it dry.  If there is fuel in machines that you cannot drain, add stabilizer (available at auto-supply and hardware stores).

houseplants

TOVAH MARTIN’S great advice on making begonias happy indoors applies to many houseplants.

KEEP AN EYE OUT for signs of houseplant pests like spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects. If tackled early, nonchemical methods are usually successful: a simple shower, insecticidal soap spray (as directed on label) or with the most tenacious (like mealybugs) sometimes an alcohol swab and Q-tip. Remember, houseplants are semi-dormant now, unless growing under plant lights. Don’t feed (or feed very little, sometimes expressed as “weekly, weakly”). Watch it with the water.

START A POT OF PAPERWHITES in potting soil or even easier, pebbles and water laced with alcohol, and stagger forcing of another batch every couple of weeks for a winterlong display.

WAKE UP AMARYLLIS BULBS by watering once, placing in a bright spot, and waiting for them to respond. If no dice in a couple of weeks, water again…but don’t repeatedly water an unresponsive bulb or it may rot. It will tell you when it’s ready for action.

trees & shrubs

BRRRRR! Is the potted rosemary still outside in its pot, or maybe the fig?

CLEAR TURF OR WEEDS from the area right around the trunks of fruit trees and woody ornamentals before snow flies to reduce winter damage by rodents and rabbits. Hardware cloth collars should be in place year-round as well. My tactics.

SCOUT FOR VIBURNUM BEETLE egg cases on bare viburnum twigs now through April. Remove cases by pruning off affected wood to reduce larvae and beetle issues in the coming year. The bump-like cases are usually on the underside of youngest twigs. I also watch in May for larvae hatch and rub the twigs then to squash the emerging pests.

Note: All based on my Zone 5B Berkshire (MA)/Hudson Valley (NY) location; adjust accordingly.

 

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3 comments
December 2, 2014

comments

  1. Marian Grudko says

    December 7, 2014 at 10:32 am

    Hi Margaret, your December chores list emphasizes to me what an impressively thorough gardener you are. Such good advice. But I hope you get to put your feet up for a while in January! And thanks for the reminder about putting up the paperwhites. I clicked back to read about the alcohol tip, then went back to your older post about these flowers – the comments are hilarious and the whole thing very helpful – many thanks!

    Reply
  2. Nancy says

    December 7, 2014 at 2:45 pm

    That was a big dose of stuff to remember, a gardener is seldom idle. Good reminders of things still to address. Thanks and how about knitting a little something in an garden inspired color as we sit by the fire or stove or drier in our real lives.

    Reply
  3. Beverly, zone 6, eastern PA says

    December 7, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    Today’s garden chores included winding wreaths from the recently cut Autumn Clematis vines which were trained up the Crabapple, but after 4 years seemed a bit overzealous, so down they came. I made 8 wreaths so far! They are gorgeous, strands wound around themselves with no frame, tones of red and green naturally on the thinner parts of the vines. It’s a therapeutic and creative outlet to make crafts while cleaning up the garden.
    I also stashed some finished compost into a large, covered garbage can to prevent it from getting repeatedly soaked and having all its value leach away.
    My Chicago Hardy Fig stays out with a wire bin surround, filled with pine needles, leaves and wrapped only on its sides with reemay fabric. It survived the horrendous winter of 2013-14 this way, only getting wrapped up in early January.

    Reply

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I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

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mad gardener, nature addict, award-winning writer & podcaster, rural resident, corporate dropout, creator of awaytogarden dot com and matching book.

Instagram post 2190297402408409324_444552553 Snow day. To be followed by a snow night. #awaytogarden #wavehillchairs
Instagram post 2177779417009402040_444552553 No matter that it was 11F and 17F on mornings this week; my lifelong companions and I are all tucked in, each in our respective offseason spots. Three giant pots of #cliviaminiata that are actually pieces of my long-gone grandmother’s original plant from many, many decades ago, love the offseason bright cold of the mudroom, and get no water till around the new year or so. They need a chill (under 50 but above 35) for about 40 days to trigger timely bloom in late winter/early spring (without it they will bloom whenever, later, like June or even summer). The #alocasia reacts to the cold of the mudroom by shutting down and going dormant and leafless, and then I’ll let it sleep till late winter, when I give it a drink to see if it awakens. That one sleeps and wakes on its own timetable because I do not have a proper spot for it (ideally warm, like 60 or 65 at least, and humid and bright...no can do the humid part here). We have been together probably 10 years anyhow, despite my shortcomings as a #plantparent . #alocasiaamazonica #clivias #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #awaytogarden
Instagram post 2172580656557749859_444552553 Gardener: “I raked all the leaves!” Nature: “Oh, really?” (Cue sound of demonic laughter from on high.)
Instagram post 2170506606641504178_444552553 I wanna tell you how it’s gonna be You’re gonna give your love to me I wanna love you night and day You know my love will not fade away Not fade away Nope. Not this #cotinus leaf’s fiery hot love at least. Like the 1957 #buddyholly song I first heard by #therollingstones in 1964, it keeps going. #awaytogarden #fallfoliage2019 #cotinusgrace #notfadeaway
Instagram post 2168987273989949378_444552553 “Jack Frost nipping at your, er, geraniums...” And here it comes.
Instagram post 2166837817953503284_444552553 Constant companions: If you want to keep good company all winter, grow some good keepers. My house is stuffed with piles of #cucurbita awaiting their time in the oven or soup kettle. Each one is a character, distinctive. On one chair in the mudroom two close cousins in #cucurbitamoschata — the horse collar-shaped one called ‘Tromboncino’ or ‘Tromboncino Rampicante’ snuggles with some ‘Butternut.’ The ‘Tromboncino’ are better eaten green and small as #zucchini but I can’t resist their eventual mad size and shape, big enough to wear around your neck. I use their meat for enriching vegetable stock; the ‘Butternut’ are far more rich and delicious. Seed respectively from sandhillpreservation.com #sandhillpreservationcenter and @turtle_tree_seed (whose ‘Butternut,’ selected for “lastingness” for decades, will keep and keep into next spring or more). #wintersquash #awaytogarden #goodkeeper #cucurbitaceae
Instagram post 2162565040882902064_444552553 Furry fall friend: I look forward to crossing paths with this woolly caterpillar of the #giantleopardmoth this time of year, when its fiery intersegmental bands and plush coat seem to be just the right autumn-into-winter look. Miraculously this tiny animal will overwinter in a woodpile or in the leaf litter, even here in the North, building up a concentration of antifreeze (glycerol I think?) in its cells before the worst weather begins to avoid disaster. (Reminds me of the super-hardy #woodfrog who does similarly. Such heroes.) Swipe to see a beat-up pic of the adult moth, tattered with scales missing at its wing margins, but still dramatic. Unlike various spine-covered caterpillars that can sting you, this one’s hairs (or setae) won’t, but he will roll up tight if touched, in self-defense. I am in awe of such complex strategies of survival, I am. #mothsofinstagram #caterpillars #awaytogarden #hypercompescribonia #hypercompe
Instagram post 2161992098629435854_444552553 Beans are life. I mean, not only do I live on them daily (as I have as a vegetarian for 40+ years) but each one is a seed, a living embryo, a distinct and gorgeous little DNA miracle. I have been inspired by the hashtag #31daysofbeans by @lukasvolger lately, loving watching someone unknown to me (um, who shares my oatmeal thing too apparently...also see his #28daysofoatmeal) dish up the #phaseolus. We both admire bean ambassador Steve Sando @rancho_gordo and this photo might be my fave bean of all that I “met” via Steve years back, big and flat and chestnutty ‘Christmas Lima.’ My advice: don’t wait till Dec. 25 to dig in.
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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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