November gardening is more about prevention, protection, and preservation of your plants than planting new ones. Plants during winter go dormant, and there is very little growth happening in the garden. Making sure you are prepping your garden is critical in November. That way, you will be more prepared when the snow starts to melt and spring is back next year.
To help you determine the essential gardening tasks, we put together a list of the tasks you can do in November to help get your garden ready for next year.
Clean Up Your Yard
November gardening and leaves falling go hand in hand, especially if you have many trees in your yard. Removing the fallen leaves from your yard and plant beds help reduce the number of pests and diseases that come with those decaying leaves. The leaves left on the ground will also block the much-needed sunlight your grass needs. The same goes for those flower beds and vegetable gardens.
Harvest Cold-weather Vegetables
As the weather gets colder and the snow becomes more frequent, it’s essential to continue to harvest cold-weather vegetables. There are very few vegetables that will grow more during the winter months. If you planted vegetables like spinach, beets, carrots, and beans in early autumn, these should be getting to the time to harvest. You’ll want to make sure all your root veggies get harvested before the ground freezes. Kale and collard greens are some of the more hearty vegetables that you can grow pretty much all winter long.
Keep Watering Trees and Shrubs
Just because it’s getting colder doesn’t mean your plants don’t need water. Making sure that your trees and shrubs get a regular drink is essential in their success next year. Once the ground freezes, there is no need to water. The plant goes dormant, and excess watering after the ground freezes could cause damage to the roots.
Fill Your Bird Feeders for Winter (and keep them filled)
Winter can be brutal for your feathery friends. With food is in short supply, you’ll want to make sure you continue to have your bird feeder filled. By feeding the birds during the winter, you ensure they come back in the springtime. Birds are great for controlling pests during the spring and summer. They can help eliminate pests like grasshoppers, beetles, beetle larvae, aphids, caterpillars, and more.
Prepare those Roses for the Cold
Rose bushes require a little more extra protection from the winter cold than most shrubs. Continue to water roses until the ground freezes. That way, it doesn’t lose much-needed energy to get it through the winter. Before the ground freezes, mound up soil 6 to 10 inches deep around the rose bush crown. Then add mulch on top of that for extra protection of those roots. Finally, wrap them in burlap to protect them from the harshest of weather.
What type of gardening do you do in November? Please share with us on Instagram or Facebook and tag @cityfloralgardencenter or in the comments below!
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