Let nature give you a hand; recycle fallen leaves -- and dig bigger holes
This lemon balm plant is happy and healthy even in hot weather with bark mulch to help preserve soil moisture and keep weeds under control. Kathy Morrison
“There’s got to be an easier way.” How many times have you had that thought while pulling weeds, mowing grass or digging holes?
On this Labor Day, consider how you spend your time in your garden. If it’s all work, there’s no “down time” to relax and really enjoy the results of your efforts. You’re too tired to smell the roses.
With that in mind on this holiday, here are five ways to save labor (and time) in the landscape this fall:
1. Mulch, mulch, mulch!
This simple step saves moisture, cuts down on weeds and helps plants cope with fluctuating weather. Use organic material (straw, leaves, bark, etc.) and that mulch adds nutrients to the soil, too. Avoid rocks or gravel as mulch; they retain too much heat in Sacramento and can “cook” plant roots.
2. Make use of fallen leaves.
This is Mother Nature’s idea of recycling. All those dry leaves that will soon be coming down make excellent mulch and will improve the soil. Mulch also helps suppress weeds, so you’ll spend less time weeding.
Instead of raking up the avalanche of fallen leaves, use the lawn mower to chop them instead. Then, spread this mulch around trees and shrubs. Leave a few inches of space around trunks to avoid crown rot.
Avoid any leaves that show the effects of disease such as peach leaf curl; put those leaves in the trash. If you dispose of that infected foliage, you’ll save time fighting those fungal diseases next year.
3. Use bigger pots.
The larger the container, the less frequently it needs watering. It also makes a greater visual impact and allows plants more room to grow.
4. Choose lower-maintenance, slow-growing plants.
Tired of pruning hedges? Constantly edging borders? Mowing the lawn? Transition your landscape to plants that need less fuss and snipping. It’s a matter of putting the right plant in the right place; it will grow healthier and need less care, too.
5. Dig once, plant a lot.
Fall is planting season for daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and other spring-blooming bulbs. Instead of planting each bulb separately, dig a wide hole to the depth needed and plant several bulbs together. This same idea works for annuals and such cool-season vegetables as lettuce, chard and kale. Dig a single trench, then plant a whole row.
This method also allows for working compost, bone meal or other amendments into the soil all at once instead of little hole by hole.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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