Winter Protection - fall chores

[Albie]

Massachusetts zone 6 here and the weather has been unusually balmy but wondering when others stop gardening and start protecting for winter. I have bags of collected pine needles for mulch and LOTS of oak leaves, plus some of the gardens are already covered with leaves naturally. When do you mulch your perennial beds? In the past I have raked the leaves off the gardens, fearing that they would smother the beds under a covering that didn't allow them to "breathe" now I am thinking I should just leave it be.

Also, is it too late to do any transplanting? I'm thinking I should wait until spring at this point but you know how hard it is to stop gardening when fall comes along.

 

[Meadowlark]

Welcome.

Balmy in zone 8 also...and somewhat dry. I never stop gardening here....and mulch is a huge friend to the gardener.

I never rake leaves rather mulch them with a mower to particles about dime sized where they will build soils without smothering grass. Mulched leaves are so valuable to the gardener...far too valuable to remove.

Regarding transplanting, I think its best done in Feb. here and not during these balmy days where the plant may be active and stressed rather than be dormant. Things may be different in your zone.

 

[Albie]

Welcome.

Balmy in zone 8 also...and somewhat dry. I never stop gardening here....and mulch is a huge friend to the gardener.

I never rake leaves rather mulch them with a mower to particles about dime sized where they will build soils without smothering grass. Mulched leaves are so valuable to the gardener...far too valuable to remove.

Regarding transplanting, I think its best done in Feb. here and not during these balmy days where the plant may be active and stressed rather than be dormant. Things may be different in your zone.

So do you then rake the leaves off the garden, then cut them with the mower and put them back? Some of my gardens now have at least 4 inches of leaves covering all the plants.

In the past I have raked the leaves off, run over them with the mower and then take the bagged leaf cuttings and tossed them back into the garden after waiting until the ground is well frozen but wondered if I am making more work than I need to. Also, seems to me that oak leaves work much better than others. Believe it or not I was gong to drive down the street to a wooded area where there are lots of Oak trees and rake them into a large mattress cover as a bag, bring them home, put them on the lawn, mow them and then use them in the gardens. I suspect the neighbors think I'm not well.

 

[Meadowlark]

No, mulch them in place with a mower. Much less work and most effective. The more the better as long as you mulch it thoroughly. You may have to go over it more than once to get it mulched into small particles but that isn't a big deal.

Believe it or not...ha, I did that for years in suburbia and never used fertilizers as a result. Just mulch that stuff into the grass and let it do its thing.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I take up leaves from the paths and where they blow and collect deeply against the bottom of the hedge. I use the mower to do it, all those broken edges are places where the microorganisms that will cause them to rot down can get in. I take a length of chicken wire about four foot wide and eight foot long and join the two ends to make a four foot tall cylinder, then put four long sticks down it and knock them into the ground a bit to hold it open and hold it down. The leaves go in there and get pounded down so more can be added. That four feet of compacted leaves will go down to about two feet of lovely leaf mould over the year.
I don't bother with gathering what is on the beds, just turn over the top few inches of earth so they get incorporated a bit and I can still see weeds.
I have been looking for something to do with the cuttings from lonicera hedges and similar and have recently seen someone suggest they would be good for mulching blueberries, reckon that would be a good use for your pine needles.
Oak leaves can be a bit acidic, I lime when I have used a lot of them.