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Set up bird feeders for winter feeding.
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Work organic matter into the vegetable garden and be ready for spring planting.
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Spring blooming bulbs can still be planted until the ground freezes. Paper whites are now available to pot for inside blooms.
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Lawns can be fertilized at the end of November with a 10-6-4 or it’s equivalent, at a rate of 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Lime, if needed, can also be applied at this time.
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Clean your garden tools for winter storage.
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When garden mum flowers die, cut back stems to 4-5” . Mulch them with lightweight mulch (i.e. straw or oak leaves) when weather turns cold.
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Rake or mow leaves from the lawn to prevent matting and killing the grass.
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When frost kills their leaves, dig summer blooming bulbs such as dahlias, begonias, cannas, dry them and store them in a dark, cold, dry location away from rodent access.
CREATING
ATTRACTIVE WILDLIFE HABITATS
By Susan Schneck, Bucks County Extension
University of Vermont
As winter sets in, isn’t it nice to sit with a cup of coffee or tea and watch the winter birds through the window? Many of us feed the birds during the winter months; but there is more to survival than just bird food. Try looking at your yard as a complete habitat. In addition to food, birds also need shelter and a clean source of water. Attracting birds to your yard throughout the year is possible by following a few simple principles.
Shelter is more than a nesting box, it’s a place for wildlife to find cover from predators and adverse weather. Shelter can be provided with evergreen and deciduous shrubs and trees. If you choose shrubs and trees that bear fruit or berries, you can accomplish two habitat objectives; food and shelter. Viburnums, hollies, and dogwoods are three good “woodie” choices, they are also add beauty to your landscape. If you have a large property, consider an area for a wild “thicket” to grow with native grasses, milkweed, and brambles.
Wildlife also need a clean source of water for both drinking and bathing. You can provide this with birdbaths, a seasonal pond or stream, a water garden, or a wetland. Even a small puddling area is useful. If using a heated birdbath to provide water during winter, place a screen just below the surface to prevent birds from bathing during winter. In very cold weather birds have been known to bathe, then freeze when they fly away.
The National Wildlife Federation has a Backyard Habitat Certification Program whose goal is to increase wildlife-friendly, earth-friendly, and naturalized yards. You can find more information from their website: www.NWF.org/backyard.
Penn State School of Forestry has a great series of Wildlife publications that can help guide you in enhancing your wildlife habitat, including:
Landscaping for Wildlife: Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Neighborly Natural Landscaping: Creating Natural Environments in Residential Areas
Winter Bird Feeding: The Basics
Water for Wildlife: Birdbaths and Backyard Ponds
Attracting Hummingbirds
Gardening for Butterflies
Many
of these publications are available on the web,
go to:
http://rnrext.cas.psu.edu/Wild/wildpubs.htm
Or you can order a copy by calling Bucks County
Cooperative Extension at 215-345-3283.
If you love gardening and have a desire to volunteer your time and share your enthusiasm with others, consider becoming a Bucks County Master Gardener. In Fall of 2007, Bucks County will be training a new class of Master Gardeners. Master Gardeners volunteer for Penn State Cooperative Extension, teaching residents about good gardening practices. Master Gardener Trainees will attend weekly classes taught by Penn State from late August through Mid-December (attendance is mandatory), and then, in return, must complete 50 hours of volunteer service the first year after training. To remain active Master Gardeners must volunteer at least 20 hours and complete 8 hours of continuing education each year thereafter. Training for 2007 will be scheduled on a weekday evening. If you are interested in the program, please call the office at 215-345-3283 and request your name be added to the waiting list. In March of 2007, you will receive a letter notifying you of the orientation meeting date and explaining more details about the program.
Terrific
Spring Color Can Be Yours By Planting Bulbs Now!
By Mary Concklin, Extension Horticulturist, Penn
State Cooperative Extension – Montgomery County
Fall is the time to plant spring flowering bulbs. A colorful display of blooms in a variety of colors, begins in early spring with crocuses and snowdrops, followed by hyacinth, daffodils, tulips and fritillaria in midspring, and by alliums, iris and tulips in late spring. Early spring flowering bulbs that prefer full sun do well under deciduous trees and shrubs since they bloom before the trees and shrubs leaf out. Late spring and summer flowering bulbs generally require full sun or partial sun conditions. A few bulbs do very well in partial shade such as Anemone nemerosa (Wood anemone) – a mid spring bloomer, Lilium martagon (Martegon lily) – late spring bloomer, and Fritillaria imperialis (Crown fritillaria).
Bulbs can be planted in mass in the landscape, for naturalizing, and along walkways or foundations. When buying bulbs look for ones that are large, plump and firm. Avoid ones that are soft or mushy. Bulbs prefer well drained soils (they rot in soils that remain wet) with a soil pH between 6 and 7. Adding compost to the predominately clay soils in our area helps with drainage.
As a general rule of thumb, spring flowering bulbs should be planted to a depth approximately 2 ½ to 3 times the diameter of the bulb. The following chart on planting depth is from Purdue University Cooperative Extension and is an excellent guide. (Drawing from Perdue University Cooperative Extension)
Did you know? Bulb is a term that loosely describes a variety of fleshy, underground organs that some plants use to store energy over winter to fuel growth in spring. Plants that use these special organs are sometimes called geophytes. They include:
True bulbs - Energy stored in modified leaves, called scales. Examples include onions, lilies, daffodils, and tulips.
Corms - Energy stored in a modified, swollen stem. Examples include crocus and gladiolas.
Tubers - Energy stored in thickened underground stem. Examples include caladium, and (in the culinary world) potatoes.
Rhizomes - Energy stored in underground stems that grow horizontally through the soil. Examples include bearded irises, lily of the valley, and orchids.
Tuberous roots - Energy stored in large, fleshy roots. Examples include dahlia and anemones.
Scott
Guiser, Extension Educator/Horticulture
and
Sue Schneck, Master Gardener Coordinator
This page last updated Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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