'CORLISS CLIPS'/October 2011/Page 2

Corliss Clips
October 2011..... Page 2

NOTES FROM THE GARDEN SHED.....

Photo:©Post Woodworking~Shed styles on display
at Corliss Bros. ~ 31 Essex Rd. Ipswich, MA

☛Fall planting continues... Work with Mother Nature, who provides warm days, cool nights and increased moisture. As plants enter dormancy, roots are still active and will be stimulated by fall planting, resulting in well-rooted specimens. Although choice is a bit more limited at this time, well-maintained plants, fall-dug nursery stock and many seasonal specials make an excursion to the garden center well worthwhile.

☛Lawns: Check Page 2 of September's 'Corliss Clips' for tips that apply now, as well. Gradually lower that mower, until the final cut at 1½ - 1¾" high, so blades remain upright and not as prone to mildew, rust and other diseases. It's getting late to seed (certainly early October at the latest, and hope for a warm fall), but sod lawns will succeed in those sunny areas until late October/early November. Keep raking, once the leaves start to fall, to increase available sunlight and air circulation. A last feeding with a winter turf food or long-lasting organic fertilizer, will strengthen roots and thicken turf... fewer spaces for weeds to find a foothold and a better lawn next spring. Apply that last feeding between mid-October and late November.

☛Houseplants: Oops! Forget something? Those indoor plants should be inside, by now. Leave them outdoors, on an extended vacation, and the adjustment from out to in will result in more yellowing foliage and faltering new growth, than usual. Check them over for disease and/or insect problems and treat as necessary. Horticultural oil, neem oil, hot pepper wax, or insecticidal soap are some of the safer control alternatives available. Once inside, those tender specimens should be placed on humidity trays (stone-filled saucers with constant water level) and kept away from direct heat sources. Humidifiers are a great help with the dry air problem. Misting foliage with a sprayer is only a very temporary means of increasing humidity. Leave that Christmas cactus out, until just before frost, to force bud production.

☛Perennials: Continue digging, dividing and transplanting perennials until mid-October. Add a little compost and organic fertilizer, as you plant them in their new positions. After the ground freezes, apply a 3" layer of salt marsh hay for extra winter protection, this first year.

☛Pruning: Remove any diseased or dead wood before winter. Got a few shaggy evergreens, that could use a little tidying before winter? Consider delaying this until November, when you can harvest these greens for seasonal decorations. Do not prune roses, as canes have now reached maximum hardiness - especially those that have formed rose hips.

☛Feeding: Other than roses, perennials and vines, the landscape will benefit (just as the lawn does) from a fall feeding. Late October to late November is an ideal time to encourage increased root activity, by applying slow-release organic fertilizer. The resulting renewed vigor, next spring, will make your autumn efforts worth while. Work with the season, and if it stays quite warm, delay feeding until late November. Food will be assimilated and stored away for next spring's first growth flush.

☛Compost: Keep adding to that compost pile, as you rake and clean gardens. Keep harvesting summer's finished compost and enriching gardens and fallow beds. Look into one of the many compost activators, like Organica's Compost Accelerator to shorten the time between batches.

☛Cover Crops: Besides working compost, chopped seaweed and other organics into the soil of empty vegetable beds, consider sowing winter rye of buckwheat in these areas. They'll hold the soil from water and wind erosion this fall and winter. Turned into the soil next spring, as "green manure," they'll be an excellent source of nutrients for the new season's crops.

☛Fall Decorating: Corn stalks, scarecrows, pumpkins, gourds, ornamental grasses, garden mums, ornamental cabbage & kale, Montauk daisies, Icicle pansies... so many possibilities ~ time to have a little fun with your exterior decorating! And don't forget a few ghosts and ghoulies to amaze the "trick or treaters!"

☛Birds: Time to replace some of those tired old feeders, add a new squirrel-foiling model or establish a brand new feeding station? Corliss has about every type imaginable ~ likewise with housing ~ from bats and bluebirds to wrens and woodpeckers, houses and roosting boxes for your backyard visitors. Fall-mounted housing provides much needed shelter this winter.

☛Other: Edging beds now, saves time next spring. If bark mulch has composted down into the soil, add a fresh layer this fall. Plant garlic in fall, for a larger crop next year. Bring in mature herb plants to sunny windowsills for culinary use this winter. Start herb seeds for fresh, new indoor crops. For faster results, root herb cuttings.

Well, that's enough to keep us busy this fall, right? Let's see... are we forgetting anything? You're right ~ Dutch Bulbs! Actually, I didn't forget... just thought I'd give them their own page. So, come along to Page 3 for all the details.....

(continued on Page 3...)

©DJL/CBI 2008