Fall Planting
Brian
Jervis: Ask A Master Gardener
Sunday,
October 27, 2019
Q: Winter is so dreary for us gardeners. Any
suggestions for something to lift my spirits? CH
A: You are right to some degree. After all the
anticipation of spring: the planning, the planting, the waiting, and the
fighting off the predators who seem determined to destroy our beauties, many
gardeners find themselves with nothing left but memories this time of year. But
here are a couple of things you can do to keep your gardener blood pumping
through the coming winter.
Pansies
If you have never
planted pansies you are missing out on a true winter beauty. We are fortunate
in Tulsa since we have a variety of local growers who produce pansies for our
local market. If you are a fan of “local,” pansies can’t be beat. They are also
available in a large variety of colors: even an orange and black if you are so
inclined (Go Pokes!).
Pansies require no
special planting instructions, just loosen the soil, sprinkle in some garden
fertilizer and plant: usually about 4-6 inches. It won’t be long before they
will start to fill in with beautiful flowers.
Watering is something
that can be overlooked during the winter, but your pansies, will still need to
be watered from time to time depending on the conditions. With proper care,
your pansies should be beautiful throughout the winter and early spring.
One of the main
challenges we can experience with pansies is that they tend to really come on
strong about the time we need to begin pulling them out to prep our spring
garden beds. But if you don’t, you will likely miss some opportunities in the
spring when the new shipments of flowers start arriving in the nurseries.
Bulbs
Planting bulbs is
something else you can do now, but you’ll have to wait till spring to see the
results of your efforts. We plant bulbs in the fall because they need the
winter “chill” period to prepare them for spring blooming.
Tulips, gladiolas, and
daffodils are great choices and come in a variety of colors. Planting bulbs is
pretty simple with the depth of the planting hole depending on the height of
the bulb.
First, loosen the
soil, then dig a hole about 3 times the height of the bulb. Place the large end
of the bulb down in the hole; sprinkle with a little fertilizer, cover, and
water in. After that you can pretty much forget about them. Just remember where
you planted them so when you start planting your spring flowers, they won’t get
disturbed.
Then, sometime in the
spring (depending on what you planted) these green shoots will start coming out
of the ground alerting you to what is coming.
After they have
bloomed and the flowers have disappeared, leave the leaves alone until they
turn brown since they will still be helping to store nutrients for the next
season.
Nothing like a little
winter color and the anticipation of spring flowers to help gardeners get
through the winter.
Garden Tips
- Remove green fruit
from tomato plants when frost threatens. If they are green but full sized, they
will ripen indoors. They do not need to be in sunshine to ripen indoors.
- Use a cold frame
device to plant spinach, lettuce and various other cool-season crops for
production most of the winter.
- Take tropical water
garden plants indoors when the water temperature reaches 50 degrees. Also, stop
feeding fish in the pond at this water temperature.
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