October 17, 2008

This drizzly day has me thinking about what I should have done yesterday. Included in those activities would be pulling my impatiens and other annuals from the garden, cutting back my hostas and raking leaves. As I looked out the window early this morning, I could see the results of Mother Nature as she finally took my impatiens up to summer heaven.
In the front yard, I have several mature pine trees that have dropped many needles in the past couple weeks. In the last few weeks, I have fielded many questions about arborvitae, spruce, and pine losing their needles. It is normal for them to drop needles in the fall.  This year I have so many needles, I am going to have to rake. The needles will make an excellent mulch around my hostas, as they will keep slugs away.
In preparation for winter, I’ve pulled all the plants in my vegetable garden and added some compost and straw to add some vitamins and minerals to the soil. This year, I have canned quite a few things, but certainly not nearly as many as others. For instance, my co-worker Brigitte has been busy all summer canning tomatoes. Her tomatoes were beautiful and plentiful! Like every gardener, I am analyzing what to plant next year and have come up with several conclusions listed below:

1. Don’t plant Swiss Chard. This vegetable is pretty in the garden; however, I never did use it in the kitchen.
2. Invest in more weed control! In parts of the garden, I put down layers of newspaper with several inches of grass clippings over the paper. This worked very well, and I look to do more parts next year. I also applied Preen in some areas and had great results.
3. Plant more tomatoes, including Big Boy, Early Girl, and Brandywine. These larger tomatoes make great canning tomatoes.
4. Plant more carrots, beans, peas, and beets.
5. More Basil! Need I say more? 

I’m sure as the late fall and winter roll in, I’ll be analyzing the garden even further. But for now, I’m off to rake leaves and pine needles! And yes, I’m already dreaming about that fresh tomato from the garden next summer.

Have a great week!

Wendy Jasper
MNLA Certified Professional

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