| PREPARE
FOR WINTER
15
October 2005
This
is the month when a lot of part-time gardeners
hibernate for the winter. The garden will look
better if you leave it tidy and you won’t
have to start into a mess next spring.
 By
now weeding should be less of a priority but
where perennials have become established then
a final clean out, paying particular attention
to their roots, will pay dividends.
Tidy the borders trimming the
edges and raking over the soil. Herbaceous perennials
will be dying down and this is the time to remove
all of the dead and decaying foliage. Old flower
stems can be cut back. Slugs and snails hide
under plant debris and a good clear out will
leave them homeless and vulnerable to hungry
birds.
Tender perennials can be mulched
with chopped straw or coarse bark mulch heaping
the cover over the crown of the plant to keep
out Jack frost.
As
trees lose their leaves it will be easier to
see the shape and spot any branches with disease
such as canker. Crossing branches can be pruned
to prevent them rubbing together.
Check
tree stakes, ties and the pads. If the stake
is no longer required then remove it. Slacken
the supporting ties where they are tight before
they cut into the bark and strangle the tree.
Tree roots, particularly those
of ornamental cherry trees, which are showing
on the surface of the lawn should be cut out
filling the trench with topsoil.
The suckers of poplar trees
and Rhus typhina (Stag’s horn) should
be dug out before they become large and start
a forest.
 Take
every opportunity to cut the grass. There will
be fewer dry days and the grass will continue
to grow until the temperature drops to below
6 o C. Collect the grass cuttings rather than
leaving them on the lawn.
Clean the gunge out of the bottom
of the pond and cover it with a net to prevent
a build up of autumn leaves and debris. If the
pump is not going to be used during the winter
months lift it out, clean and dry it prior to
storing it in a dry, frost-proof shed.
Most of the summer and autumn
vegetable crops have been harvested by now.
The vegetable plot can be tidied removing all
rubbish, old stalks and weeds. Dig the ground
leaving it rough to allow the winter frost to
break the lumps and at the same time kill over
wintering pests. When digging the last of the
potatoes make sure all the crop is lifted. Any
tubers that are allowed to remain in the soil
will be weeds next spring.
Where lime is needed it can
be spread and dug into the soil now.
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