Autumn gardening

[shabbychick]

We're going to have our first real autumn-like rain moving in tomorrow, which I guess will signal the end of the short stretch of warm weather we've had. Summer was late in coming (like two months late) and lasted about nine days this year. It's a good thing I like rain.

I'm going to have a little bit of time this afternoon after my professional development class to work in the garden. What do you guys do to put a garden to bed? We've got gardens at work that I'll have to do some work on, too. I hear about putting a garden to bed for the winter, but I don't know what that really means and why it's necessary.

Is it time to plant spring bulbs yet?

[ChapterTwo]

This article/video is from this time of year in 2009, shabby, so it is pertinent now. It's about when to plant bulbs for spring:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/25/earlyshow/living/home/main5338964.shtml

[allen820]

Shabby, I can't think about a summer 9 days long. Dang! We had a really hot summer this year. More days over 90 than I can remember from past years. I'm glad to see that go in favor of the gorgeous autumn days ahead!

As for putting your garden to bed, just clean it up. Clear away any remants of plant material left behind, as that can harbor pests for next season. Also, get rid of weeds now -- I hope you didn't let any mature to make seeds. Finally, cover lightly with leaves (not walnut) that can decompose over winter and be ready to dig in to your soil as organic material next spring.

You should now be set for a 2012 summer that hopefully will be at least 10 days long for you!

Allen

[shabbychick]

Thanks, Chapter Two and Allen. I ended up not getting out to the garden at all yesterday, and today it's raining. Maybe next weekend things will improve. I have to go to work today, and if I make a lot of progress, maybe the next couple of weeks won't be such a flurry of activity and will allow me some free time to work around the house. I do have some weeds in the garden that need to come out, but it's a very small space so not too hard to take care of. The hard part is that it's a very shallow bit of dirt. Not far under the surface it's all rocks. And I can't build it up much because there's a sprinkler head I'm not supposed to cover up. I haven't quite figured out how to build the bed around the sprinkler, and since the sprinkler doesn't technically belong to me (I'm in a condo) I can't just turn it off and cover it up.

Do you have any experience of over-wintering bulbs in pots? I had some daffodils that came up in a pot this year. I'd completely forgotten about them so was surprised to see them because I've never had much luck getting tulip or daffodil bulbs to return if they were planted in pots. Maybe the pot was just deep enough for them to think they were in the ground. Most of my gardening is done in pots, and it'd be nice to have some tulips come up in them in early spring.

[Rory Bremner]

Shabby, Like Allen, during our winter months I tend to place my lawn and organic clippings on my garden, after I've removed all the weeds. Keeps on composting until spring arrives and places a membrane between the soil and the elements. I mix in some new soil before planting. I do the same with potted plants and bulbs too. :) You might have to get an extension to your sprinkler.