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RAKING/BAGGING LEAVES NO LONGER A REQUIRED FALL JOB
Don't rake those leaves - grind them up instead with your lawnmower as you do your late fall mowing.
That's the advice of the University of Minnesota extension service. In an experiment by University horticulturists, lawn grass that had leaves mulched with a mower was 30% greener in the spring than grass that had been raked clean the previous fall.
The application of shredded leaves to your lawn actually fertilizes your lawn with nutrients removed from the soil by trees during the growing season. "Recycling" the nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and other nutrients in your leaves makes a lot of sense - why expend all the labor to rake and remove leaves when their nutrient value is proven and the alternative is a lot of work?
Best time to mow leaves is when they are dry, says Bob Mugaas, Hennepin County horticulturalist. He adds that a recycling mower works best, and several passes may be necessary so leaf particles can work their way down to the root zone.
If you simply must rake leaves in the fall because of your genetic makeup or some other reason, Mugaas strongly advises against depositing the leaf piles in the street where they can get washed away by rain. "We need to educate people that their property is part of a watershed and leaves that are funneled down streets and storm sewers end up polluting our lakes, creeks and rivers."
A better alternative for raked leaves is composting, preferably on your own property. An ideal recipe for compost is two parts grass and one part leaves, plus fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen. You can make a compost bin or simply create a pile in a corner of your yard.
Next spring, keep your pile of compost moist and turn it with a rake or fork once a week to add oxygen and it will decompose to become a useful soil additive without causing undesirable odors. For more details on composting, contact your county extension or environmental services office.
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Do you still have an amaryllis bulb growing outside in a pot or in the ground? I plant my bulb in the garden each spring and repot it and bring it indoors
For the winter. Along about Easter, the colorful indoor blooms brighten the gray late-winter season.
According to Deb Brown, University horticulturist, you have two choices: Either keep amaryllis growing actively in a sunny window or place the bulb in the basement in the dark and withhold water. Pick off leaves as they wither and dry and replant bulb when new leaves begin appearing. If you have lots of pots, bring one or two up every couple of weeks to spread out bloom times.
Once they're upstairs in the sun, Brown says to water thoroughly but let the soil get pretty dry before you water again. Amaryllis do not need a dormant period to bloom, she says.
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It's not too early to begin thinking about what annual flowers you'll start from seed this winter or purchase as seedlings next spring. Several Master Gardeners developed a list of annual flowers that don't require deadheading to continue blooming. Here are some varieties you might consider next year:
'Fantasy' and 'wave' petunia, fibrous-rooted begonia, wishbone flower (torenia), sweet alyssum (lobularia), spider flower (cleome), four o'clock (mirabilis jalapa), 'Star White' zinnia, 'Gypsy' baby's breath (gypsophila) diplodenia, mandevilla, red salvia, dahlberg daisy (dyssodia tenuiloba), cigar plant (cuphea ignea), browallia, verbena bonariensis, lobelia and tapien verbenas, and tagetes tenuifolia (signet marigold).
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I built an arbor a couple of years ago out of four 3-inch elm trunks (as corner posts) and smaller branches for cross bars and a canopy. It has generated so many comments from visitors that I decided to build another arbor this fall. I patterned the new arbor after the original but this one came with a full-grown grape vine!
After I finished the second arbor, I discovered an aggressive grape vine growing in a nearby ash tree. I pulled the meandering vine out of the ash and weaved it over and through the new arbor. Next spring as the vine leafs out, I'm hopeful that the arbor will look like it's been standing there for several decades. It fits my philosophy that the nicest gardens accentuate their natural surroundings.
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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS:
A Delightful Blend of
Gardening Wisdom, Wit
and Whimsy
$10 + $2 for shipping
by Cliff Johnson |
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