Hello! Here we go again! The weather – specifically – Mother Nature! She always has some cruel card up her sleeve! Here we have decent weather during the week when most of us have to be at work. And then – BANGO – the weekend! What – with a 100% chance of rain today………And Sunday – colder – rainy and snowy…….. And it all continues into next week. Lucky us!

And just when does Mother Nature expect us to get our lawns and our gardens squared away for those long winter months to come – oh, so very soon? You know it really isn’t too late for all of us procrastinators to finally get some of those final fall garden wrap up chores done. But we shouldn’t dilly-dally – these last chances just aren’t going to last much longer!

So today we are going to consider some of those last fall chores that we still might consider tackling.
• If your soil is still workable, turn those beds and tuck them under a thick mulch.
• Trim back any rhubarb and asparagus tops and renew the mulch.
• Cut any withered stems from your perennials and then cover the crowns with evergreen branches to lighten the snow loads in the winter.
• Trim any damaged branches from your fruit trees, but save any heavy pruning for late winter or early spring.
• Protect that tender tree trunk bark with loose mesh collars or hardware cloth. Anticipate the heavy winter snow depths and keep in mind that mice can cause girdling damage higher up the tree trunks, not just at ground level.
• Remove any old mulch materials from around your berry plants and replace the old stuff with fresh new mulch to prevent diseases from over-wintering.
• Use pine needles or chopped leaves to mulch blueberries, strawberries and azaleas – acid lovers.
• Prune roses to 12” from the ground; prune soft suckers from grafted roses at ground level.
• Protect the roots and the lower buds on your roses with soil, straw or sawdust.
• Grafted roses need more winter insulation, so surround them with roomy wire cages filled with straw of leaves, and then cover each one with burlap bags.
• Set up burlap screens to shield and protect your evergreens from southwestern winter sun and winds.
• Protect the branches of your favorite shrubs from heavy snow loads, especially if they are under the eaves of your house. Build A-frames or box-frames over them.
• Clean up all of your garden tools before you tuck them away for the winter.
    o Sharpen those shovels.
    o Oil or lightly grease all metal surfaces.
    o Paint handles
    o Replace cracked or broker handles.
• And last, but not least, carpe diem! Seize the day! We are not going to make hay anymore while the sun suns – if and when it ever shines again. But we are going to lay mulch while the sun shines, or the rain falls, or the snow blows. Then your perennials will be cozy and comfy for all those long winter months ahead.

So – Avante! Get a move on it! Get your lawn and garden tucked away so that you too can be comfy and cozy for those long winter months ahead.

Hmmm – long winter months ahead - what a chilling thought!

Remember – Eat Smart New York!

And – Bye – Talk to you soon!
D