November 2025 Tips

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Dear Gardening Friends, October’s weather was as unusual as that of spring and summer. Basically, it was summer until a few weeks ago when it turned cold and rainy. Thankfully we finally got some much-needed rain. Now I’m faced with all the chores I ignored due to the summer like weather in early October. The following are some tips for November:   Save yourself some time and leave the leaves in your garden beds. They are a wonderful winter protective blanket for the plants and also provide a much needed habitat for beneficial insects. The last mowing of the season will also mulch the leaves on the lawn so you don’t need to rake those up either. If there are areas where the leaves are thick they can be spread around or added to garden beds. Leaves can also be left in ground cover plants like pachysandra and myrtle. The leaves will trickle down and help protect the roots over the winter, decompose and feed the soil in spring. If there’s an area with thick piles of leaves, they can be easily dispersed by sweeping them into the ground cover with a broom. (I know that looks funny, but it works) Many perennials can be left up for winter. Anything with seed heads provid much needed food for winter birds. Also, many beneficial insects winter over or lay eggs in the stems. Beside,s I love how they look in winter with snow on them. Perennials with disease or insect infestation should be cut back and discarded. If you have extra leaves, they can be mulched with your lawn mower, bagged or piled whole and saved for use as mulch next season. The piles of leaves will naturally decompose and turn into “leaf mold” which is not moldy but is an excellent soil amendment. Bring in garden ornaments, plant stands, pots, hoses, or anything else that’s best not kept outside all winter. Concrete or terra cotta planters & bird baths will crack during the winter, so be sure to get those put away. (I speak from experience) Hoses should be emptied and brought into the garage or basement. To empty the hose, start at one end and lift it up waist high before coiling it on the ground. Keep lifting and coiling until the whole hose is empty and coiled. This forces the water out the other end. Leaving hoses outside to freeze can cause sections to burst and leak. A handy way to store hoses is to coil the hose up and tie with twine in 2 or 3 places. That prevents the hose from getting all tangled and you can stack or hang them easily. This is easier to do on a warmer day as the hose won’t be as stiff to coil. If it is sunny lay the hose in the sun for a while and it will be more pliable  Now is the time to make winter critter protection a priority. Depending on how the weather goes I’m waiting a while to put on the shrub coats. Shrubs protected with deer mesh fencing have already been installed. The mesh keeps deer from munching but is not good as winter wind protection. Shrubs that need protection from winter cold & winds should be wrapped in burlap or a shrub coat. Waiting until the leaves drop for shrub coats is OK. If you have any products in an unheated garage like deer spray, liquid fertilizer or anything that would be exposed to freezing temps move them to the basement or other location where they will not freeze. Freezing ruins the effectiveness of some products. Tools should not be stored while dirty. Clean off tools before you store them as any dirt left on over the winter will cause them to rust or corrode. You can sharpen them now or in the winter when you’re dreaming of spring. Check stored firewood for insect infestations. Remember not to use or move firewood out of your area to help prevent the spread of invasive insects like the Spotted Lantern Fly. It’s illegal to move firewood more than 50 miles in NYS. If you have a rain barrel, drain it before freezing sets in. A good idea is to use the water that’s left to siphon the water out and use it to water house plants during the winter. I attach a hose to the faucet on the rain barrel and run it from the rain barrel into 2 large, covered garbage totes in the basement. Gravity does the work for you and your houseplants will thank you all winter. Lucky us, there’s still plenty of time to weed! Every weed pulled now won’t be there in the spring. Gifts for gardeners: Lessons from Nature offers gift certificates for Garden Consults or perennials. Both are the perfect gift for any gardener. Just contact me for details. I can send the gift certificates to you via email or directly to you or the person you’re giving it to.            Happy Gardening! Lyn Chimera Lessons from Nature 170 Pine St. E. Aurora, NY 14052 716-652-2432 [email protected] 716-652-2432 Copyright © 2023 Lessons From Nature, All rights reserved. You're receiving this message because you requested to receive Lessons from Nature newsletters. unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences