Winter Gardener's Blues? Not a Chance!
Try to snag bagged leaves when they're dry, then chop them up with your mower, and wet them after placing in the garden. (Or, keep the bagged leaves in the garage - you'll need them eventually.) Wet, whole, matted leaves have a smothering effect and do more harm than good. And a trash bag full of sopping leaves is pretty darned heavy, let me tell ya.
Let's Go Shopping
Isn't this a wonderful time of year? You can curl up by a roaring fire with a nice hot cup of coffee and a big stack of garden and seed catalogs. My mailbox seems to be stuffed with them every day lately...not that I'm complaining.September was especially wonderful, though, as many online gardening companies were clearing out their stock for the year and selling plants at bargain basement prices.
A word of warning about this, however: shopping the plant sales sometimes also gets you bottom-of-the-barrel quality plants. Before buying, be sure the company you're dealing with is prepared to replace plants for free if they become sick, arrive damaged, or die within a year. (Most perennial plants shipping out in the fall will arrive dormant, though, so do give them a chance.) Check the Garden Watchdog website for great information about some of these mailorder companies and the telltale feedback from gardeners like you and me.
I don't generally concern myself with whether or not a plant I purchase has been grown organically. Fall is the perfect time to convert perennials from synthetic fertilization, anyway. Water them very little during the winter, and don't fertilize at all. When spring rolls around, they will have been flushed of synthetics and should be ready to accept and thrive under organic conditions.
It is important that perennials enjoy their "down" time. Those that start shooting up new growth during the winter need to be discouraged and tamed. Cut down on watering and either gradually acclimate them to a life outdoors or put them in a chilly garage area. A little bit of mulch on top of each potted perennial will help protect them from harsh weather.
Bulbs are the exception to the rule and should go in the ground during the fall or early winter. I decided to dive into irises this year and planted several in early October in a small 6' bed that gets plenty of sun, making sure the bulbs' "shoulders" were exposed until really cold temps came. Irises
Latest Articles