The Seasons Of The Garden

November/December 1979

 Issue # 60 - November/December 1979

November is the "in between seasons" time . . . on warm afternoons, in many parts of North America, drunken yellowjackets still circle the sticky sweetness of spilled cider, and then-one chill morning-you walk out and find that the leaves crisping under foot are covered with frost. Nature is slowing down and the year is dying, but there's still plenty to be done on nippy weekends in the November-December garden!

by CROPPIN' GROUND CLEAN-UP  

The coming of cold weather marks the time for the grand garden cleanup. The work that's done in the fall determines (to a large degree) the success of the next year's vegetable crop, so it doesn't pay to cut corners.

First, a thorough policing of the area is called for. Cornstalks, pumpkin vines, and all the other debris left behind after the harvest should be gathered up, shredded (the power mower does a good job on all but the toughest material), and either placed in the compost pile or set aside to be rototilled into the earth later. At this point, evaluate your garden's soil. Many county extensions offer complete testing services . . . and, even if you don't have access to a full evaluation, you should at least run a pH check on the "brown gold". The ideal garden pH is about 6.8-slightly acid-and chances are that your loam will need some help if it's to reach this figure.

If the soil is too acid-with a lower pH than the ideal-add about five pounds of lime per 100 square feet to "sweeten" it. On the other hand, those folks (mainly living west of the Mississippi) who have a naturally alkaline growing medium should incorporate agricultural sulfur into the soil for greater acidity.

Next, cover your entire garden with a three-inch-deep dose of fresh horse, cow, or goat manure. Then top off the "nutrient sandwich" with the ground-up garden debris you set aside, and add lots of shredded leaves (mix in extra lime if you use oak leaves). Once that's done, rototill all the glorious nourishment into your garden soil to a depth of 8 to 10 inches, and make sure it mixes in well.

The final step in preparing the soil for the next season is to plant a green manure crop ... winter rye or oats. (Seed for these living fertilizers is sold by Johnny's Selected Seeds, Dept. TMEN, Albion, Maine 04910). In the spring, simply till your cover crop under... to improve both the fertility and the tilth of the soil.

FORCE RHUBARB FOR MID-WINTER PIES

Before the ground freezes, consider digging some rhubarb crowns for forcing. Take the roots and replant them in a soil-filled, plastic-lined bushel basket until they freeze. After the roots have frozen solid (late December is a good time for this), bring them into the cellar and allow them to thaw. Water heavily, and keep the sprouting stalks in a dark place. In a little over a month you'll have succulent tart fruit, just right for pies and sauces. Then, come spring, you can replant the roots in their garden bed and give them a good mulch of well-rotted manure to help them recover from the midwinter forcing.

IT'S TIME TO PLANT, TOO

Unless you live in the very coldest parts of the country, you can try sneaking in some very early spring vegetables by planting in November. Wait until a good killing frost before putting in a trial planting of one of the hardier smooth-seeded pea varieties . . . such as Alaska (available generally) or Feltham First (from Thompson & Morgan, Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 100, Farming-dale, New Jersey 07727). Then mulch the soil to prevent frost-heaving, and look for those green pods earlier in the spring than you thought possible!

In areas where frost comes later, you might even try a fall planting of lettuce . . . helped along, of course, with plenty of mulch. Evergreen (from Stokes, Dept. TMEN, 737 Main Street, Box 548, Buffalo, New York 14240) is a cold-tolerant heading variety, and Grand Rapids Forcing (Stokes) is a loose-leaf type with a chance of wintering over. November is also a good time to plant garlic cloves (three inches deep, and spaced four inches apart), shallots (plant them about two inches deep), and leeks (purchase transplants from Le Jardin du Gourmet, Dept. TMEN, Box 48, West Danville, Vermont 05873).

Christmas is a wonderful time for giving gardening-related gifts ... presents the grower wouldn't think of buying because of the expense, but would dearly love to have. Books are right at the top of the "planter's present" list this year. The Reader's Digest has recently published a superb guide titled Success With House Plants. At $17.95, the volume is not inexpensive . . . but the quantity of information given and the excellence of its presentation make the work a fine gift idea.

Onward and Upward in the Garden is a beautiful book by Katharine S. White, the late wife of E.B. White of Stuart Little fame. Mrs. White's gardening essays first appeared in the New Yorker, and they're both wise and elegantly clear. This is the book to curl up with in February, when it seems that winter is never going to end. The publisher is Farrar, Straus & Giroux, and the price is $12.95.

GIVE A GARDENER'S GIFT

Another good entry in the Christmas reading list Is the newly revised version of Rodale's classic Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. This massive volume (which is available in most good bookstores or from Mother's Bookshelf P.O. Box 70, Hendersonville, North Carolina 28739-for $19.95 plus 95 cents shipping and handling) stands as the basic reference tool for the organic gardener.

Or if you're serious about horticulture, you might treat yourself (or someone close to you) to a really outstanding Christmas gift: membership in one of the specialist plant societies. You'll have access to the latest research ... you'll benefit from the trial-and-error experiences of others . . . and you'll participate in seed exchanges open to members only. The fees are modest, and the rewards are great. Here are several of the better-known groups:

African Violet Society of America
Dept. TMEN
Box 1326
Knoxville, Tennessee 37901

American Begonia Society
c/o Kathy Brown
Dept. TMEN
10692 Bolas, Street, No. 14
Garden Grove, California 92643

American Gloxinia and Gesneriad Society
c/o Jean Morton
Dept. TMEN
Box 312
Ayer, Massachusetts 01432

American Orchid Society
Dept. TMEN
84 Sherman Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140

American Rose Society
Dept. TMEN
Box 30,000
Shreveport, Louisiana 71130

Cactus and Succulent Society of America
Dept. TMEN
P.O. Box 3010
Santa Barbara, California 93105

Gesneriad Society International
c/o Dorothy E. Thomas
Dept. TMEN
828 North Cory Street
Findlay, Ohio 45840

Herb Society of America
Dept. TMEN
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Indoor Light Gardening Society
c/o The Horticultural
Society of New York
Dept. TMEN
128 West 68th Street
New York, New York 10019

The Terrarium Association
c/o Robert C. Baur
Dept. TMEN
57 Wolf-pit Avenue
Norwalk, Connecticut 06851