Based on our location in Hardiness Zone 7a , our anticipate first hoar appointment is between October 15th and 25th . It looks like it will be a bit subsequently this year . Nevertheless , even the good cared - for tender weather crops are about finished . Tasks become clean up and protecting soil over the winter and maybe lead off a compost batch with fall leave-taking or adding compost to beds in preparation for next bounce ’s planting . If you have winter hardy crops growing , it realise signified to protect the plant to extend their growth during the coming colder weather . permit ’s talk about what to do and how to do it .
cleanse and protecting your beds
Beds that no longer have a turn crop in them should be cleaned . Remove plant and plant rubble . It can be compost if clean , but if it shows grounds of disease or pest infestation , it should be get rid of and bagged for disposal or burned . It is too late now to set up a cover crop so cover stain with an organic mulch is the next best alternative . Mulched leafage are a dependable and generally usable option . I put the boxer on my mulching lawn mower to collect chop leaves , then use them to protect grime and to start new compost batches . Cutting or breaking them up is important to allow urine infiltration and reduce the likelihood of wind dispersal . They also dampen down faster , furnish require organic matter for the soil while cut down carbon loss , erosion and chair grease temperature . Other mulch options include straw , wood chips and saw rubble .
spread over Crops
in force practice today is consider to be keep alive roots in the soil , yr around . Cover crops are a commend way to do this when other crops are not being produce . dissimilar form of blanket crop are usable . Seed ship’s company typically tender legion option . I chose a field pea plant / oat mix this class . The oats establish promptly , helping suppress weeds and the peas are a legume that will contribute plant life - usable atomic number 7 to the soil . In addition , the roots of both add porosity and structure to the dirt that will benefit next twelvemonth ’s vegetables .
When trim back in the spring , the vegetal stuff can be used as a gullible manure , compost or used to mulch graft . The roots are left in the stain to decompose , add more constitutive affair .
It is late to plant a covering crop now , but if you have n’t done it , you would be saucy to make a point to put one into your plan for next descent . More information on cover crop can be found in earlierGarden Shedarticles includingCover Cropsfrom September 2015 andMinimum Till Cultivationfrom the February 2019 publication .
The photo above , shows a month honest-to-god cover crop of theater peas and oats inside the fencing and a raw repeated layer just outside the fence . The idea is to improve the soil in the bed while increasing the attractiveness of the garden to pollinator . The perennial are plants with peak time from early spring through drop to leave a steady nectar supply through the growing time of year .
Winter Hardy Crops
Winter stout harvest including many putting green like lettuces , spinach , kale and other brassicas , if launch during September or former October , should be harvestable now . mulch the territory around the plants will aid reduce temperature reduction and keep them productive into the wintertime . Using row concealment conserve a temperature beneath the fabric up to 5 or 6 ° F mellow than ambient , while still let rainfall and sunlight to pass on the plants . For more entropy on row cover version option see the articleRow Covers : A Gardening Season Extender With Benefitsfrom the November 2019Garden Shed .
add Compost
This is a capital meter to add a stratum of compost to your bed . A dyad of in of blank compost , act upon into the top few in of soil , then covered with an constitutional mulch will have very confident impact on next outpouring ’s ground readiness . Best practice is not to till deep or turn the soil over , but to shift the compost into the soil surface , lease dirt being break down and gestate the organic cloth deeper into the bottom .
To someone used to tilling , this seems counterintuitive . However , inquiry and the practical experience of many organic market farmers demonstrate that till pulverizes and destroys soil structure , boil down dirt being activeness , and releases stored carbon copy to the atmosphere . Varying the crops develop in specific garden locations , using cover crops , adding organic matter as described , and amending as ground test indicate are the best style to improve and regenerate soils .
startle a New Compost Batch
With the teemingness of twilight leaves , this is a unspoilt fourth dimension to commence a new sight of compost that will be ready for next summer ’s garden . terminal lawn mowing and leaf removal generate a bully mix of nitrogen- and carbon - based organic textile to get decomposition commence . Augment the atomic number 7 input signal it by mixing in kitchen yield and vegetable scraps and chocolate priming coat during the winter . microbic action will definitely slow down during the dead of winter , but with a little mixing to keep it oxygenize and adept wet management , it will be primed to take off as temps uprise above 50 ° in early fountain . The finer you chop the materials , the quicker they will pause down . Check outthis articlefrom the January 2018Garden Shedfor elaborate composting advice .
Prepare a New Bed
The one circumstance where tilling soil may still be utile is in pop out a new seam where loosen soil and adding constituent matter more deep can provide some benefit . However , sheet composting or lasagna mulching provides a non - dig option that may make sense for you . It involves scalp the grass off the bed area(s ) and overcompensate it with interchange layers of carbon and nitrogen fertile materials . The superimposed material will undergo a inhuman composting process , and over a few month , will provide a carbon copy - rich surface that helps dirt organism flourish and comport organic matter profoundly into the background . In the meantime , crops can be planted directly in the surface stuff . start the outgrowth now should provide you with a planting - ready bed for warm conditions veg next spring . For a detailed description of how to do this , refer to the articleLasagna Mulchingin the September 2020Garden Shed .
Other tipsfor the calendar month include :
I desire you find oneself this selective information helpful and that you will retard in again next month . comment are welcome .
Sources :
Cover photo : onion drying by Ralph Morini
“ Monthly Horticulture Tip Sheet : November,”VCE Monthly Horticulture Tip Sheets , Virginia Cooperative Extension , Albemarle County / Charlottesville .
“ November Tips : Vegetables”,Diane Relf , Virginia Cooperative Extension .
“ Monthly Gardening Tips : November,”Piedmont Master Gardeners website , Gardening Resources .
