Adding and Taking Away

Our gardening stage is empty. The last curtain call has come and gone and there only remains an echo from the colorful aster billowing in the breeze. As the curtain of bright leaves plummets to the ground and the voices of children are now entombed indoors, the summer spectators have all gone home. There is stillness except for the rustle of leaves kicked up with each passing pedestrian. The garden is ready to rest. But wait not so fast; a little mulching needs to be done, a bit of pruning and the leaves and dying annuals are not for the trash receptacle, that is black gold to the garden and one of the most ignored chores that is accomplished in the yard.

Adding Organic Matter

“Good topic.” States Bruce Chladny, Douglas County Extension Office guru, “I wish more people would practice using organic matter in their beds rather than throwing away their yard waste.” There it is right at our feet, yard waste. It has to be raked or mowed so why not put it to use? “It is impossible to add too much organic matter to the soil.” Chimes in Reed Dillon, Owner of Reed Dillon and Associates Landscaping team, “Fall is a great time for several reasons. One good reason is all of the materials that you need are available for free, leaves and dying annuals and the like.”

So, what is the big deal? How much can a couple inches layered on garden beds really benefit? According to Chladny, a lot. “The single best practice a gardener can do to improve their soil is adding organic matter. It increases the water and nutrient holding capacity of the soil. It helps make minerals available for plants. And, as it accumulates, it binds clay particles into larger aggregates improving aeration and drainage. And remember, gardening success always starts from the ground up!”

Okay, so apparently many gardeners are taking for granted the most important resource in the yard, the soil. Where do we begin? Dillon recommends, “The best way to add organic matter is to pile up leaves, grass clipping, dead annuals (free of disease) and run over them with a mulching mower. This will chop the material into small pieces and it can be applied as a top dressing. Put down two or three inches. If you have existing mulch, rake that back, apply the shredding organic matter and then place the mulch back on top.”

Layering With Mulch

A large part of the tasks accomplished in the autumn will determine how successful the new gardening year will be. Mulching is one of these tasks particularly if you have added new perennials to the garden this fall. To mulch or not to mulch is highly debated. Some experts offer that if you mulch too soon it will prompt new growth and give the plant a distorted view of the true temperatures. Others say mulching is a must to ensure tender and especially new perennials are given a good foundation in which to root. One thing is for certain only add mulch after you have cleaned away any unwanted debris from the base of the plant and it is imperative to wait until the ground is significantly frozen.

Dillon says, “Mulch over the winter acts as an insulating blanket, keeping the soil from heaving from constant freeze/thaw cycles. If you plant perennials this fall with out mulching, the bare soil will thaw during the day and freeze at night, creating movement that can push small plants up out of the soil. The crown of the plant will dry out and either be damaged or die over the winter.”

A final word on mulching, rose gardeners should not be in a big hurry to mulch this fall. Applying mulch now will do more harm than good. Fall freezes will not harm the roses, so it is better to wait several weeks for the soil to freeze before applying your winter mulch protection to any rose.

To Cut or Not to Cut

There are specific perennials that most assuredly need to be trimmed like peonies after their leaves have browned. The iris is also very susceptible to diseases and rotting and is much better off if you take the time to trim their leaves down. The Tree Peony however is more like a deciduous shrub (woody stem) and will not need to be trimmed only fertilized in November and mulched for the onslaught of a cold winter. There should be some clean up and trimming that is blatantly obvious like fruits and vegetables, which if left decaying on the earth will only lead to diseases and rodents.

Cutting perennials that offer no winter interest will lessen the likelihood of pests, diseases and other gardening headaches, it will spruce up the outdoor space providing it with clean lines and a blank slate for the spring. But, there are many perennials that are a joy to have all winter long. These plants are either feeding birds with their seed heads or adding texture and color to an otherwise mundane and lifeless space.

Dillon states, “I always leave perennials that have winter interest, like sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ or Blackeyed Susan, and I always leave ornamental grasses alone until spring. Texture and different colors of brown, rust and tan can be just as important to the winter garden as bloom colors are to the summer garden.” Dillon does suggest that particular plants such as broad leaf evergreens like holly and azaleas are prone to experiencing winter dryness and are much better off left untrimmed.

While you have applauded and received encore after encore for all of the exceptional color and creative designs of the yard, the janitor still needs to clean up after the show so that the curtain will be ready to rise again with thunderous accolades come the first sign of spring.

· Less than 5% of our local soils are made up of organic matter.

· Apply 50 –100 pounds of compost per 100 square feet annually.

· Apply 25-50 pounds of manure per 100 square feet annually.