November 2004

In the Edible Garden

Clean up dead plants in the vegetable garden. They can harbor insects and diseases over the winter.

Cut everbearing raspberries to the ground. There will be no spring harvest, but there will be a large fall crop.

Last chance to sign up for the Chicago Master Gardener program, which begins in January. The 2005 Chicago Master Gardener training will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Jan. 24 through April 11, at the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. Classes to be taught by University of Illinois horticulturists include: botany, soils, woody ornamentals, vegetables, annuals and perennials, fruits, insects, turf, plant pathology, organic gardening and pesticide safety. Call 773-233-0476 or apply online at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/cook/mgchicago/index.html.

In the Ornamental Garden

Take the family to a local "Cut Your Own" Christmas Tree Farm. Most open the day after Thanksgiving. For a free listing of local farms, call 773-233-0476 or check out the "Christmas Trees & More" Web site at www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees.

Get your holiday cacti to flower by giving them at least 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness. Light from lamps, streetlights or car headlights will interrupt the dark period and cause the cacti not to flower. Night temperatures above 70 degrees also will prevent flowering. Cold drafts and moving the plant will cause flowers to drop.

Continue to water trees and shrubs if needed until the ground freezes. Evergreens will better survive cold winter temperatures if they have been well watered.

Fertilize the lawn after the last mowing. This application of a fertilizer with more slow-release nitrogen than fast-release nitrogen will make early spring fertilization unnecessary, plus the grass will green up earlier.

Protect the trunks of newly planted trees from mice and rabbits with a cylinder of hardware cloth with a 1/4-inch mesh. Place the cloth a few inches below the soil line to protect against burrowing mice. Remove the cloth in the spring.

Consider not cutting back perennials. This will allow snow to be trapped protecting the crown. Seed heads left on the plant will provide food for birds and some winter interest in the garden. Leaving the plant in place will help to mark the spot and prevent damage from digging in the spring.

Avoid covering roses too early. Wait until most of the leaves have dropped and night temperatures have dropped into the teens a few times. Remove the leaves because they could harbor disease. Tall roses may need a little pruning to fit under a rose cone. If using cones, cut four or five 1-inch holes at the top of the cone to provide ventilation. Pile some soil around the crown before putting the cone in place. Another winter protection method is to mound loose well-drained soil around and over the plant to a depth of 10 to 12 inches. Do not take soil from around the plant. Doing this can cause root damage. When the mound has frozen, cover with 8 to 10 inches of leaves or straw.

Reduce or stop fertilization of houseplants. During the late fall and winter, houseplants go into a dormant period because of lower light levels.