November 2021
Oh, good gigantic smile o’ the brown old earth,
This autumn morning! How he sets his bones
To bask i’ the sun, and thrusts out knees and feet
For the ripple to run over in its mirth;
Listening the while, where on the heap of stones
The white breast of the sea-lark twitters sweet.
That is the doctrine, simple, ancient, true;
Such is life’s trial, as old earth smiles and knows.
If you loved only what were worth your love,
Love were clear gain, and wholly well for you:
Make the low nature better by your throes!
Give earth yourself, go up for gain above!
Among the Rocks, by Robert Browning.
November is a busy month in the garden, full of work to get done to set the garden right for the coming winter as well as setting yourself up for the coming spring. We can get a frost at the end of October, but more commonly it is sometime in early November, and that has held true this month. I remember the morning very clearly, the forecast said it was only to be down to 36, however when I cam down in morning, in a soft predawn light I saw a world outside my window glistening with the first frost. The car window was a swirl of gossamer thin ice, every leaf in the garden coated, the exposed soil producing a gentle crunch underfoot. It had happened. I said to Johnny over coffee, “but it was only supposed to be down to 36”, to which he laughed and said, “well clearly there is a frost”, so you can’t depend on the weather man getting it down to the degree.
For those of us sensitive to light, November can be a challenging month. As we get nearer to the winter solstice, it seems the evening sky swallows up the light, and by the end of the month, sunset will be just after 4pm. What light we have can feel quite warm and lovely at mid day, however in the morning and evening, it is very thin, and adds little warmth. And there seem to be a number of overcast days in November. But with November we do get those soft winter sunsets, pale yellows, pinks, oranges, and blues gently stretch across a fields.
With the days being so short it is essential to get out there everyday, work in the garden, stack up firewood, walk in the woods, anything, never mind the weather, the day is simply too short to put it off and that time outdoors offers an opportunity to slow down and connect with each season and all the beauty it brings. Us northern gardeners need the winter, our plants need this period of cold weather to return to us again in the spring, so don’t think of it as something to be gotten past, it is just another part of life in the garden.
Planting Garlic
Now, in the past I have typically planted garlic as early as mid October and as late as the first week of November, however, I am a bit behind. I have not yet planted my garlic, it is a job that needs doing this weekend, and if you haven’t planted yours yet, you still can. What do I know, but I would say there is still a few weeks left to plant, so let’s all go plant our garlic (unless of course you are on top of your garlic game, and therefore, have already done so).
When planting garlic I pick through my bulbs that I have dried and stored and select the best of the best, the biggest healthiest looking bulbs, and those I separate out and plant. I also rotate them around the garden each year, this is a very helpful practice and doesn’t just apply to garlic, try to rotate where you grow what every year, and not just the specific veg, but the whole family the veg is in. I typically space the garlic between 6-9” apart, in rows in a grid fashion and about 1” or so deep. Then I top the bed with a fresh layer of salt marsh hay. This both helps insulate the garlic and it helps me remember which bed it is in, I wouldn’t say I am prone to forget, but these things can happen.
Feeding the birds
One of the things I have come to really enjoy in my winter garden is the birds. While their aren’t more of them now than in high summer, there is a lot less going on in the garden, so I notice them more. I delight to see a pair of Northern Red Cardinal at the bird table. His red ensemble is a splash of beauty. The Tufted Titmouse with his shades of grey blues on his back, a splash of ochre under winter and his pointy cap are a delight to watch from the living room window.
Now a good time to start setting hang feeders, or bird seed cakes or creating a bird table to feed the birds. We like to do all three and add them throughout the garden, but we focus on places that are desirable site lines from where we sit indoors and out in the garden, so we can enjoy their coming and going. A good wild bird mix will do best, or even just plain sunflower seeds. I like to set old logs out that have lots of cracks and crevices and fill those with sees because it will offer food for birds of various ability to get the seed out. However you do it, do it regularly, I top the feeders whenever they are low and top off the logs every morning before coffee. One other thing you can do for the birds is to set out some fresh water by a feeder.
Leaves
Many people spend a lot of time raking and bagging leaves, then drive their leaves to the town dump / composting facilities. This has always felt silly to me, those leaves are valuable nutrients that you are working to get rid of. I, in fact, have been known to drive to said facility and take already bagged leaves…these are very conveniently packaged and I can easily carry these around my garden, use them to mulch bed for winter or to dump in a pile and make leafmould to use next autumn. We do very little raking or blowing here, I will rake leaves of a few small lawn areas, but then I will deposit them either in a pile to break down or just pile them directly into my annual garden beds or under my shrubs as mulch.
Another reason to leave leaves in the garden bed is that you are creating habitat in the garden for many insects to overwinter, as well as adding all that organic matter to your garden.
Moving Plants and Planting Trees and Shrubs
We are getting to the end of planting, however it is still a good time to plant trees and shrubs or to move around plants in your garden. With the projects we are planning to tackle this fall / winter / early spring. We had to move a lot of plants this month, but getting it done now means they can settle in for a bit before the ground is actually frozen, and with any luck, they will be happy in their new location and grow beautifully next spring.
If you are moving or planting a new tree / shrub remember to dig the hole twice as wide as the pot, at least, you want to loosen the soil for the new plants roots to grow into. Now is a good time to mix in a bit of compost, mycorrhiza, or any nutritional additives. If it is a larger tree or shrub it is a good ideas to stake them until they are able to develop a strong root system. Give them a good soak after planting and mulch thickly.
Lifting Dahlias
You want to wait to lift your dahlias until after we had a frost or two, you want their growth the be a sad blackened mess. You can cut the stem back to a few inches. I use a fork to gentle lift the dahlias, working my way around the plant, carefully loosening so I don’t break or stab the tubers. Once they are up I remove as much soil as possible with my hands and set them aside while I continue to dig up the others.
Once they are all up, I get them in the root cellar, as a holding spot and then when I have some time over the next week or so, I start giving them a goal look over and ready for long term storage. I have and continue to try a lot of different technique for dividing and storing the tubers, but the general ideas is that they need be stored somewhere cold but not freezing, say 35-50 degrees F and dark. The other key is the right level of moisture, too much and they will rot, too little and they will shrivel up.
I store my in either verimiculite or old potting soil, but you could also use sand. I will layer them into crates and large pots a bins and keep them in the root cellar. Ideally, you should be getting them throughout the winter to see if you have any rooting or drying out and then make adjustments as needed.