Autumn Chores

 There are a lot of chores to work on even after the vegetable plants are pulled and all of the perennial foliage is cut back.  We are having beautiful weather so there is plenty of time to work on it.  The stone areas are weeded and that is all I have to do for them other than keep the leaves blown out.  The mulch beds needs a little maintenance to be ready for spring.  For one thing, there are weeds.  The area where we removed the old Lilac bush has not been mulched yet as we wait to relocate the apple tree.  So that has grown a few crops of weeds.  Each time I weed it, I come across more roots and debris that needs to be raked out.  I did add mulch around the peony that I relocated.  The rest of the bed got roughed up with a rake to remove the mulch crust so that the water will filter down well.

I placed wire cloches over most of the Primroses which are evergreen and therefore, like the Huechera, very attractive mid-winter salads for the wildlife.  I have been dividing them this year so I have more Primrose than cloche.  Bun-Bun the rabbit will snack on those for sure so the cheap solution to that will be wire wastebaskets from the Dollar Store.  I have plenty of those because they are a very affordable alternative to the more attractive wire cloches.  But they block more sunlight, so I will wait to place those.  Incidentally, Gardeners has a pretty good price on those this weekend so if you use them, now would be a great time to snap up a few.  I haven't seen them under $18 in like... ever.   

Of course, there are some things that cloches and wire baskets won't work on because they are too big, or right up against a wall.  I cut a square of wire to go over these evergreen Heuchera.  I won't install this right away either.  And I will have to pin a piece of bird netting over it to cover the ends.  But it is ready to go.

The evergreen shrubs in front of the house get wire rings too.  Obviously the deer could reach over and munch on the spruces, but they probably won't.  And if we get a really hard winter and they change their mind, the wire provides a framework on which to pin burlap.  The spruce on the east end will need Wilt Stop and burlap, but not right away.

The pear tree and small apple tree get tree tubes around their trunks.  A hungry bunny can girdle those.  Up here near the house, the chance of a buck scraping them with his antlers isn't very likely, but better safe than sorry.

Both of the compost tubes have now been emptied and mixed into the last of the shredded leaves from last fall.  Each week I will shovel the left side over the right side and then vice versa until it freezes and can no longer be moved.  It will all be ready in the spring to dress up the raised beds.

I make notes to remind myself of changes that need to be made next year.  In the case below the note is "put T-posts and cable along west side of dahlia bed."  I did that last year and didn't realize how much it helped keep those from spilling over.  It isn't as easy to walk in there with the apple tree in the way so I ended up neglecting them a bit.

This is also a good time to do some maintenance on your tools.  Every time I use them I leave them to dry (if necessary) then brush them off well.  By the end of the year they need a good scouring, sharpening and oil.

Even my favorite transplant spade gets a good polishing.

All of the  plant supports are being rounded up, cleaned and stored away.   I keep a detailed inventory of what I have so I know if I have suitable supports for the crops I've planned.

The garden shed cabinets are being organized and any freezable products are removed and brought into the basement for the winter.  I have made a list of products that need to be replaced when the time comes.

And now for some flowers....