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Ask the Master Gardeners: November 2009
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Disclaimer:
Guadalupe County Master Gardeners is responsible for this content, which is not edited by the Wilson County News or wilsoncountynews.com. |
October 29, 2009 | Comment on this blog entry
Q: What should I be doing in my yard and garden in November?
A: You need to start looking around for people raking their lawns and bagging leaves so that you can grab those bags for your compost. I have a friend who cruises her neighborhood this time of year several times a week for leaves. She always has beautiful compost. Personally, I do not have many trees that drop leaves, so I can just leave my leaves on the lawn and my husband mows over them with our mulching mower.
Now is a good time to send a sample of your soil in for testing. If you go in to your county extension agent (or our Master Gardener office), you can pick up a form with instructions and the address of the soil-testing lab.
Also, before the first freeze of the season, be sure to cut a stem of basil, place it in a vase of water, and put it on your kitchen windowsill. Since it will root easily, you can have fresh basil all winter (long after the basil in your garden has frozen). Remember to cover your tomatoes and other freeze-sensitive plants with cardboard boxes, blankets, or row cover to keep them just a little longer. Please remember that freeze damaged plant material is best pruned in February or March.
Winter vegetable crops benefit from a nitrogen fertilizer. If we have a dry spell, don’t forget to water your winter garden.
Q: I’ve really been enjoying the hard sand pears that have just ripened on area trees. Is it possible to root one?
A: I hope so, because I also enjoy them. According to Doug Welsh’s “Texas Garden Almanac” dormant, woody stems from shrubs and trees, and woody stems of perennials are best rooted during the fall and winter. (He also says that bald cypress, cedar elm, oak and pecan are virtually impossible to root.) Have ready a pot of good potting soil with good drainage. Moisten. Take tip cuttings the length and diameter of a pencil. The end of the cutting to be put in the soil should be at a 45-degree angle. Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting. Dip the angled end into rooting hormone. Tap off excess. Make a hole in the soil with your finger and slip in the cutting, than firm the soil around the cutting. Water. Keep the soil moist but not saturated. Welsh suggests using a two liter soda bottle cut in half as a greenhouse. Place in bright light. A helpful hint is to take more cuttings than needed as some always die. If they all root, however, then you have plants to share.
Clara Mae Marcotte is a Texas Master Gardener with the Texas AgriLife Extension. If you have a question to be answered, call the Master Gardeners at 830-379-1972 or leave a message to be answered. The website is guadalupecountymastergardeners.org. The Master Gardener research library is open Mondays from 8:30 to noon, on the second floor of the Texas AgriLife Extension building, 210 East Live Oak in Seguin. |
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