What now?
In the past I was at loose ends at this time of year. Not being an avid winter-garden person, I had too much time on my hands. Sure, the garden always needs some sort of upkeep, but it requires less of my time in the cold months. One can only look at so many seed catalogs.
I am fortunate to have a garden shed. When I opened it the other day to look for a tool, I thought, “Wow, this is a mess. Maybe I should clean up.”
What a concept. Whether you store most of your gardening equipment and supplies in a shed, in your garage or in another protected spot, the area could probably use some tidying up.
My first endeavor was organizing my collection of planters, containers and pots. After emptying them of soil, I sanitized them with a 10 percent bleach solution. Then I stored them upside down in a central location.
The lawn mower was my next project. My husband stressed the importance of removing the spark plug wire before doing any maintenance. As an additional precaution, he advised putting a piece of electrician's tape on the end of the wire to prevent any chance of a spark. I found the manual online. (I'm not a manual keeper.) Following instructions, I scraped out the underside of the mower, removing all the dried debris. Using a water hose with a pressure nozzle, I rinsed it and allowed it to air dry. With my husband holding one end, I sharpened the blade. Then I sprayed a fine coat of penetrating oil on the cleaned underside and blade. Voilà. All done.
After that I was on a roll. I washed out the wheelbarrow and spreader and stored them on end. You can hang them if you have room, or just store them upside down. The objective is to avoid accumulating rainwater.
Next I moved on to my fertilizers and pesticides. I'm not shy about trying new
things, so my supplies were considerable. I set aside all old products, any that I hadn't used in more than a year and any that didn't provide satisfactory results. I then consulted the County of Napa website to find locations for safe disposal.
I divided the remainder into categories like fertilizers, vitamins and pesticides. I found a dry storage area for them all, with the poisons in a separate location. I sorted my irrigation equipment and put small items like drippers in marked sealable bags. I coiled and tied my hoses and hung them on hooks. I was now ready to attack my garden implements and tools.
Being the proud owner of too many garden tools, I was hard-pressed to find storage for all of them. Keeping them clean and in good working order is an ongoing chore. I always intend to clean and sharpen them after each use, but I am not above just tossing and running. So I pulled all my tools out and lined them up on the garage floor, the only covered space available. As I walked down the rows, I mentally divided them into categories by needs and made a mental list. Hand pruner needs sharpening and oiling. Shovel handle split; needs repair. With an actual list in hand, I decided what supplies I would need to rehabilitate each item. Then I got to work. We had to park our cars in the driveway for about a week as I completed this task.
Although I do have a garden shed, I do not have a large expanse of wall to hang tools, nor do I have unlimited floor space. My solution was to store all the long-handled implements upside down in an old wire-framed laundry bag, a lucky garage-sale find. A50-gallon plastic garbage can will also work, with holes drilled in the bottom to prevent moisture accumulation. I put the small hand tools on a shelf in trays and the long-handled tools, handles up, in five-gallon buckets with holes drilled in bottom.
My shed looks marvelous. I am now ready for spring, and those seed catalogs are looking pretty good right now.
Workshop:Napa County Master Gardeners will conduct a workshop on “Creating Wreaths from Your Garden” on Sunday, December 7, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville.Learn which plants from your garden make good wreaths. Learn how to choose and prepare plant materials, and tips and tricks for designing and making easy wreaths for the holidays and beyond. Using materials and supplies provided, participants will create their own wreath to take home. To register, visit the Parks & Recreation Department website.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
For one reason or another, I ignored the back garden for about four months, until a new puppy entered my life. Watching her discover the garden was fun until the day she popped out of the jungle, tail wagging, dragging a long piece of PVC pipe with a sprinkler head attached. PVC makes the perfect teething toy.
It was time to assess the damage. I couldn't see the pergola, and rambler roses were rambling through the outdoor furniture. I needed to do some shovel pruning.
Last year I planted a one-gallon Verbena rigida, a vigorous perennial that grew to cover a twenty-foot path. Eventually I forgot the path was there. This tough plant has rough leaves, grows two feet high and four feet wide, and sends out stems that root easily anywhere. The flowers are a lovely periwinkle blue but not worth the loss of a five-foot-wide path. I sent most of these plants to the yard-waste bin, but I may not be done yet as it is almost impossible to remove all the roots.
Another plant I love to hate is Jasminumpolyanthum, or pink jasmine, a favorite climber for many gardeners. A fast grower, it will soon reach 20 feet or more. If it outgrows its boundaries, it will grow down over itself, then under fences for the neighbors to handle, or into trees or anything that doesn't move. Grappling with its extreme twining tendencies can be a full-time job that never seems to end. A better choice would be the fragrant star jasmine (Trachelospermumjasminoides), an evergreen with dark shiny leaves. It makes a versatile shrub, ground cover or vine.
A visiting bird probably dropped the wild morning glory seed in my garden. Now the vine fills any spot available, plus it also twines around rose canes and other shrubs. Its roots cannot be pulled out. A troublesome weed, it doesn't seem to have a designated growing season. It's always there, alive and healthy.
If you purchase any of these plants, you will also need good pruning shears and protective garden gloves.
When I say shovel pruning, I mean roots and all—giving the whole plant the heave-ho. Recently, I started by digging out three roses that were almost totally tied up in wild morning glory stems. I put the rose canes in the yard-waste bin, not the compost pile, because thorns don't readily decompose. If you're shovel-pruning roses, be sure to get all the old roots out as these plants are determined to keep growing. I have transplanted many rose shrubs over the years and often noticed new canes emerging in the old location.
Many of us gardeners have a tendency to buy anything new in the market even though we don't have space in our gardens. We need to read the label to know the height and width of the mature plant, and the width and depth of the mature root ball as well. Citrus roots grow several feet beyond the canopy of a mature tree. Japanese maples produce a mass of shallow feeder roots. These roots need room and should not be disturbed by walking or planting in them.
Many trees have shallow feeder roots and many are invasive, heaving sidewalks, driveways and foundations and breaking sprinkler systems. The city has a list of street-friendly trees. Reading a tree's label before you buy it may save you hefty plumbing bills in the future.
Plants need oxygen, water and light to thrive. Once you have removed fallen foliage in your landscape, air circulation improves, sunlight warms the soil and millions of weed seeds begin to germinate. One good rain and any bare patches will come alive with fast-growing seedlings. Prevent this weed explosion now by smothering them with a three-inch-deep blanket of organic mulch, or bark mixed with well-aged manure. These materials will slowly decompose, enriching the soil and adding nutrients. Like a lovely tablecloth, the new mulch enhances the whole yard.
After your autumn cleanup, unleash your creativity. Add bird baths or terra cotta plant saucers filled with muddy water to attract butterflies. Fill bare areas with sculptures, whirligigs or other garden art. Consider placing large boulders for visual interest or creating a path made from local stone or a faux stream that meanders down a slight rise. How about a table-height planter for growing lettuces? Your imagination is your signature; the garden is your space. After all that work, place a bench along a path where you can sit and watch the birds or a new puppy at play.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will conduct a workshop on “Creating Wreaths from Your Garden” on Sunday, December 7, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville.Learn which plants from your garden make good wreaths. Learn how to choose and prepare plant materials, and tips and tricks for designing and making easy wreaths for the holidays or other times of the year. Participants will create their own wreath to take home. To register, call the Parks & Recreation Department at 707-944-8712 or visit its website.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Whether you call it sheet composting, sheet mulching, lasagna gardening or no-till gardening, all names refer to a method of building a garden bed by adding layers of organic material that will break down over the rainy winter months. The technique involves mowing lawn or cutting leafy weeds close, smothering them with newspaper or cardboard, and then adding layers of compost and wood chips or straw. With moderate effort, you will have fluffy garden beds for your seeds and transplants come spring. Best of all, if you are diligent, your new beds will be weed free.
Sheet mulching is also the easiest way to transform lawn into productive garden space. The Bay-Friendly Landscape & Gardening Coalition has clear, simple directions at www.loseyourlawn.org. A new or rejuvenated bed can be a small project or a total yard changer. It is up to you.
To start, identify and mark the dimensions of your new bed. Remember to flag your irrigation heads so you can retrofit later for drip irrigation.
Mow, knock down or cut tall weeds, old vegetable plants, cover crops or grasses at ground level and lay them flat on the ground. This step does not apply to invasive plants like Bermuda grass, oxalis, blackberries or horsetail. If you have tenacious weeds like those, you will have to dig them out and eradicate them any way you can. Otherwise you will be creating weed heaven and will likely never get rid of them.
At this point, University of California Cooperative Extension sheet-composting specialists recommend checking the pH of your soil, adjusting it with amendments, and giving the new bed one initial tilling to break up the soil and mix in any necessary amendments. If you do till, this will be the last time. Now water the bed well to start microbial action and decomposition in your soil.
Cut an edge along the lawn or bed to avoid run off and keep mulch from spilling onto your pavement or walkway after you build your layered beds. Use a flat-edged shovel to clear an 8- to 12-inch-wide zone at the edge of your walks. The soil height in this zone should be at least three inches lower than the pavement or walkway surface.
If you have leftover sod and soil from the edging, you can create mounds in your beds. Mounds can create visual interest and are great for plants that need good drainage.
Now you can plant any large plants in five-gallon containers. Follow directions from your nursery for size and depth of the planting hole. If you get large plants in the ground now and surround them with weed barrier, compost and mulch, these plants will be protected from weeds, and the bed will be protected from the turmoil of deep digging the next season.
The next layer of lasagna is the weed barrier. You can use burlap or recycled natural-fiber fabric, although most gardeners use newspaper or recycled cardboard. Do not use plastic weed-barrier cloth or anything impermeable as you want water and nutrients to reach your soil.
Be generous when laying the weed barrier. A whole section of newspaper is better than a single page. Overlap the material if necessary to cover the bed completely. Tear or cut the barrier as needed to fit it around plants that you want to keep. The goal is to keep out any sunlight, since sunlight will encourage the weeds or lawn you have just buried to pop right back out. When you have finished, water the material until it is soaked.
You have three layers now: soil, weeds and weed barrier. Next, add a layer of compost. If you don't make your own, you can buy some from the local waste-management company. Use one to three inches of compost to provide nutrients and a planting medium for small plants (in 4-inch pots or smaller) in the first season.
Finally, complete your lasagna with three to five inches of mulch. This top layer is intended to mimic the organic matter in a forest, so appropriate materials would include chipped tree prunings, leaves or clean, weed-free straw from your local feed store. Keep mulch a few inches away from tree trunks and plant stems to prevent rot and rodent problems. Give everything a good soaking to make sure there are no dry pockets. Dry cardboard laid in fall will still be dry cardboard in spring if you do not give it a good, soggy kick start.
If we have normal rain this fall and winter, your bed will be ready to plant in just a few months. If we have a long dry spell, remember to water it to keep the microbial action going. You will be rewarded in the spring with a fertile growing space.
Workshop:Napa County Master Gardeners will conduct a workshop on “Creating Wreaths from Your Garden” on Sunday, December 7, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Learn which plants from your garden make good wreaths. Learn how to choose and prepare plant materials, and tips and tricks for designing and making easy wreaths for the holidays or other times of the year. Participants will create their own wreath to take home. To register, call the Parks & Recreation Department at 707-944-8712 or visit its website.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.