Final Winterizing

 I have been using our mild weather to walk around and look for things that need protection through the winter.  You would think that when everything is cut back and taken in, there would be nothing for the critters to damage.  Not so.  There are several types of perennials that keep their leaves through the winter, and that is just a start.

I place chicken wire cloches over the Heuchera and Primrose. Otherwise the deer or rabbits will eat them down to the roots.  They aren't interested in them during the summer but when those are the only fresh leaves available they are a popular delicacy. I have had the original Gardeners Supply cloches for many years but new designs have been popping up.  These tall black ones are a little less expensive.

And they have legs that function as earth staples to hold them in place.  This makes them more difficult to stack but I love the idea.  I don't have to go back for staples.

Some plants that do not hold their leaves need protection from Voles.  I mulched this bed along the deck where I had a vole damage the roots last winter.

The idea is to pin the cloche down below the surface level of the loose mulch.  I have observed that voles tend to burrow under the snow but at the upper surface of the mulch.  When they encounter a wire mesh, they turn.  The further you can keep a pest away from the plant the more effective the cover.  If the target is a mere half inch away from the barrier, they are more likely to conclude that a little extra effort will pay off.  I want to keep them far enough away that they don't see the plant as a possible meal.

The raspberry plant below is hardy down to minus 10.  I put the pot in a sheltered place where the cold will not be as severe.  That means it needs a cover.  Don't think for a minute that the deer won't come up on the deck to eat.

I left the bird netting around the pear tree.  The other day a deer must have walked right into it trying to get to the tender branches.  The open corner was pulled away and needed to be adjusted and reattached.  But the branch was not close enough for the deer to keep trying.

I protect the trunks from deer scraps starting in September.  A narrow sapling is a favorite for bucks to rub the velvet off of their antlers.  But even these more mature trees are still at risk for deer scrapes.  

I am glad I got the Lindens covered well.  Below you can see where a buck dug in the mulch and then tangled his rack in the branches.  I had to prune back four snapped branches. 

He had broken these fresh, supple branches clean off.

The fallen branches all had scraped bark.

There's the culprit right there.

Some evergreens may need protection from wind and sun.  This one Alberta Spruce gets sun scald on the south east side every winter.  I spray it well with Wilt Stop to seal in moisture, then cover it with burlap to block both wind and sun.

I left grids over these two Hosta plants in containers.  The leaves will be trimmed away but deer will still gnaw right down into the root of some plants and these are at table level.

When the leaves started falling back in September, I ran a lot of them through the old leaf sucker and saved them in a double ring of woven wire.  This has become a yearly chore.  I use the shredded leaves as mulch on the raised beds and what I don't use I mix in with the compost.  I have been adding layers of leaves to the compost tube as I fill it with kitchen scraps.

Some of the beds are already heavily mulched with leaves.  Sometimes I have to rake these off so they don't blow all over.  This year I got some plastic slip sheets that came in a load of metal roofing that the neighbor got.  I drilled holes in them and pinned them onto the bed.  This will also work to warm the beds in the spring.

We pulled that tree top out of the other trees with the tractor and chain.  Below is a picture of it on its way down.  The trunk was covered in a lot of poison ivy.  We got a friend who is not allergic to Ivy to cut it down and pull off the vines.  Then we processed the top into the burn pile.  A lot of it was good for firewood so we dropped that off next door.

It seems like there are always outdoor chores to do.