When you have had 10 days or more of below 30\u00b0-degree nights, what could possibly be left to do in the garden except dispose of the dead?\u00a0 Oh, don\u2019t you worry, we\u2019ll find more work for you. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you have had 10 days or more of below 30\u00b0-degree nights, what could possibly be left to do in the garden except dispose of the dead?\u00a0 Oh, don\u2019t you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,28],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/rospeppers-1-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1243"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1243"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1340,"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1243\/revisions\/1340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abundantharvestaquaponics.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Perhaps you are fortunate enough to be in an area where you are still babying a good flush of frost hardy veggies.\u00a0 Arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale, onions, radish, Swiss chard, spinach, and turnips are all stalwart against early frosts.\u00a0 Kale, cabbage, chard, arugula, and Brussel sprouts for sure, convert their bitter tannins and take on a sweeter flavor due to a frost. These are best left to suffer the onset of early winter.
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Plunging nighttime temperatures can be regulated somewhat by mulching and keeping the soil evenly moist like you should be practicing anyway. Of course, root-type veggies are safer from hard frosts than leafy types. It may seem counter-intuitive but watering prior to a hard frost can be enough to keep plants from ultimate death because just a bit of elevated humidity around the plants can protect them.
Mulching perennial vegetables and fruits like strawberries should also be on your \u201cTo Do\u201d list now.
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\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Asparagus ferns will turn brown and go dormant when they are killed by first frosts. Cut dormant or fallen ferns off nearest to the ground and lightly rake up or use the leaf blower to clean up the remaining debris. Also, do your due diligence to dig out any signs of problematic perennial weeds. In a few weeks after the ground has frozen, mulch over the entire asparagus bed with 4 to 6 inches of mulch, which could be clean straw, chopped leaves, or pine needles. Bear in mind that the mulch added in the fall will need to be removed when spring arrives. If not, the spring spears could grow crooked.
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t neglect your rhubarb. It is easy for gardeners to take rhubarb for granted because it will grow so faithfully for years, however, rhubarb clumps should be divided at least every 3 to 5 years. Maybe more frequently your patch is overly robust.\u00a0 It is best to divide from the center out. That way the tubers on the outside edges do not get disturbed. Regardless of plants needing to be divided or not, rhubarb roots should be side dressed with a few inches of leaf compost or aged manure.
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Strawberries need to be covered too but don\u2019t rush it. Strawberry plants covered too early, prior to going fully dormant, will have weaker berry production the following season.\u00a0 They can tolerate some hard freezes. You should cover plants when the ground is frozen to a \u00bd inch depth. Use 4 to 6 inches of clean straw, which is best for many reasons, but you could use pine needles or marsh hay if you have access. Chopped leaves could also be used but know that they could harbor unwanted fungal pathogens. Never use full or whole tree leaves. They mat and cause damage by smothering the strawberry crowns.
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Other perennial, woody fruit-bearing plants will also benefit from a good winter side-dressing of mulch.\u00a0 Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, elderberry, and others can all be mulched with the same 4 to 6 inches of straw, shredded bark, wood chips, or marsh hay.\u00a0 Again, it is critical to wait for at least two consecutive hard freezes (29\u00b0F or lower) before attacking your mulching project for these types of plants. They must be forced into dormancy to be fully protected from later winter temperatures. Make sure to keep the mulch back and away from the main trunks by at least 2 inches to allow adequate oxygen to the crown of the plant. Remember, this mulching exercise is to help keep the root zone evenly moist and to keep it cold, not warm or in other words to prevent damage from freezing and thawing episodes during the plant\u2019s dormancy period.
When we speak of edible vegetable gardens, the most important thing to do this fall is to protect next year\u2019s plants from damaging and deadly diseases.\u00a0 Most fungal and bacterial pathogens can live on pieces of over-wintered garden plant debris. Cleaning up is never fun, but it\u2019s essential!
I have said it many times before, \u201cThe happiest gardeners are the cleanest gardeners.\u201d
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pull out all old dead or recently frozen plants.
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rake up and pick up as much left-over debris as possible.\u00a0
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If any of your plants have died or are suspected to have died from the disease in the garden this year, DO NOT compost those. Put them in a separate burn pile.
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Once you have bare ground add 4 to 6 inches of fresh compost or well-aged manure over the entire garden area.
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If plants had a high incidence of nutrient imbalance issues this past year, you may want to add 10-10-10 fertilizer at a rate of 3 to 5 lbs. per 100 sq. ft. Then cover all of that with some clean straw or 1 to 2 inches of grass clippings.\u00a0
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now you may rest!
Some of your happiness for next season\u2019s vegetable garden starts this fall.\u00a0 Bite the bullet and be diligent in some of these end-of-season chores and you may very well be able to prevent damaging diseases next year: Article by Totally Tomatoes<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n