Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of Nov. 4

By Ron Kujawski

* Apply repellents to shrubs to ward off deer that treat home landscapes as their personal diner. There are many types of repellents that include such ingredients as by-products of rotten eggs, hot pepper extracts, ammonium soaps, and coyote urine. Such condiments added to shrubs will ruin any critter's appetite. Re-apply repellents periodically, especially after heavy rainfall.

* Keep checking trees for damage. There may be cracks or breaks in trunks and branches. These pose a potential hazard, as it is likely that there will be some heavy, wet snow events in the months ahead. I am ever the bearer of bad news.

* Edge lawns for a tidy look. I use a half-moon type edging tool, that is, the blade is shaped like a half-moon. I’ve also used a flat-bladed garden spade. A string trimmer (weed whacker) held vertically can be used but there are special edging attachments for these trimmers that make the task of edging even easier.  

* Collect soil samples from gardens and send to the UMass Soil Testing Lab. Apply limestone and other slow-to-dissolve soil amendments such as rock phosphate and green sand (a natural potassium source) to garden soils this fall, if needed. Work these materials into the soil to a depth of about 8 inches. 

* Finish cleaning up perennial borders. Cut down all browned stems of perennials and then apply an inch or two of compost or well-rotted manure over the soil around plants in the border. Some of this organic matter will work its way into the ground as the soil freezes and thaws through the winter. 

* Stop watering potted cactus plants until flower buds appear, usually in late winter or early spring. With cooler nighttime temperatures and decreasing daylight at this time of year, cacti will go dormant for the winter. This dormant period is needed to initiate flowering.

* Check one more time that gutters are clean. Water from melting snow on roof tops can easily back up under roof shingles due to ice damns in clogged gutters. It is not a nice experience to have water dripping from the ceiling onto your head while taking an after-dinner snooze in the La-Z-Boy.

* Get off the La-Z-Boy and construct a raised bed or two in the vegetable garden. This can be done by mounding soil to create a berm that is about two or three feet wide, eight inches high, and as long as you want. For a permanent raised bed, build a frame of similar dimensions using 2x8 boards, preferably of cedar, hemlock, or black locust. Fill the frame with garden soil amended with aged manure or compost or peat moss. Why go through all this trouble? With a raised bed, soil drains quickly and warms fast in spring, allowing for early sowing of cold tolerant vegetable crops.

Ron Kujawski began gardening at an early age on his family's onion farm in upstate New York. Although now retired, he spent most of his career teaching at the UMass Extension Service. He serves on Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Horticulture Advisory Committee. His book, Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, is available here.