November 2011 In Your Garden

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We get more rain this month than any other, so with that in mind here is the list!

Take your vitamin C and vitamin D.

Wash your hands often.

Get a good amount of sleep – studies have found that lack of sleep not only causes a decrease in cognitive function: In a study of six graders, those who got 1 hour less in sleep scored two grades lower at the cognitive level of a 4th grader (Bronson and Merryman, Nurture Shock); but even more intriguing, negative stimuli are stored in the brain by the amygdala while positive stimuli are taken care of by the hippocampus an area of the brain more profoundly affected by sleep deprivation .

So, now that you are healthy, smart and in possession of all of your fond memories you are ready for the West Coast Winter…and the rest of the list:

	Inspect your containers for cracks and ensure there is adequate drainage…you’ll need it.  Bring them up close to the house or under the deck.  Wrap all those that need wrapping with underlay, bubble wrap etc.  Or insulate with bags of leaves, or bales of hay etc.  for the more tender plants.  Be on the lookout for fallen evergreen boughs to spruce up your empty pots.
	If you are lucky enough to have red twig dogwood or a contorted filbert now is the moment you’ve been waiting for to decorate your pots!!  If you don’t have greens and twigs handy you can come in to visit us, we have bunches. If you don’t have a red twig dogwood or contorted filbert, now is a good time to get one.  You can still plant trees and hardy shrubs as long as the ground is not frozen.
	Rake up and bag apple leaves and rose leaves and those leaves that were affected badly by pest and disease.  The others you can compost and use as mulch in your garden.
	You can still divide up hardy perennials. Lift and store Dahlia’s, Cannas as well as other non hardy tubers.  Make sure to check and turn them often and mist as necessary.  Remember Cinnamon is a great fungicide; you can sprinkle your tubers with Cinnamon.
	You can plant your bulbs, garlic too, if you haven’t already and you can find a dry day. Remember it takes approximately 9 months to grow garlic and the fall is the best time to plant it.
Blow out irrigation systems before the hard freezes come. My hubby  did the trailer yesterday. Clean and put away your tools.  Drain the gas from your mower.  I think I’ll take the trampoline down too.  Lawn furniture is nicely tucked away.
	Weed if it’s dry.  Weeding when the ground is mucky will cause soil compaction.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Don’t be too tidy with your clean up.  Beneficial insects and pollinators overwinter in hollow stems and under leaves and branches.  Lucky for me.
Don’t forget those pebble trays with water to humidify those house plants.  A mister works well too. If you're not sure, come on in and well show you what you need to do.

Take care of yourselves this winter, tuck into a good book and stay warm! 

Cheers,  Laurelle