I NOTICED there were a few brave souls who found
enough courage to venture forth into their gardens on the
one or two dry days we have had over the past week. It
sort of reminded me of those scenes from Second World

War movies.

“After a long night of enduring
hellish air raids, the stalwart citi-
zens of Moisture Meadows climb-
ed out of their shelters and took
to the task of repairing the dam-
age.’’ Does that sound a little fa-
miliar? Ain't life in the Pacific
Northwest grand?

Not to worry though, folks.
However many negatives the rela-
tives out East throw at you, you
can always counter. by reminding
them that at least the minuses are
not on the thermometer and then
throw them a freshly picked rose.

Meanwhile, once you have dried
out the basement, here are a few
tips for the garden over the next
month:

Lawn care — This is your Final
Notice (1 promise). If your lawn
needs liming (use a pH test kit),
do it now. If your lawn is weak,
thin, new or just plain hungry,
apply a commerical fall/winter
fertilizer.

KEEP OFF THE GRASS!
Limit the amount of traffic,
especially heavy traffic, on the
lawn while it is excessively wet or
frozen. Wet turf will turn into a
muddy mess in the blink of an eye
at this time of year and frozen
grass is easily damaged.

It bears repeating that you try
to gather the leaves of autumn as
they fall. Dead leaves left on the
grass mean dead grass if they are

left for more than a few days.
Dead patches of grass are nothing
but an invitation to moss and
weed problems in the spring.

Flower Beds — If you do not
plant your bulbs in the ground
before Christmas, you may as well
plant them in the garbage can.
Not only are they drying out, but
they must be given the opportuni-
ty to develop a root system before
the start of the flowering period.

Now is a good time to empty
your compost bin. Spread a four
to six inch layer on the beds along
with a liberal dust of bonemeal.
Turn the whole thing over so that
all but the freshest material will be
fully broken down by = spring
planting time. Besides, you are
going to need all the room you
can get for all those raked up
leaves.

Those of you with greenhouses
or roomy coldframes should think
about propagating your gerani-
ums, fuchsias, marguerites, etc.
Getting an early start now will
assure you of good-sized plants by
bedding out time.

If you are lucky enough to own
one of these conveniences, wait
until mid-January or the beginn-
ing of February to take your cut-
tings. They will be too difficult to
maintain in most other environ-
ments. Store them in a bright,
coollocation until then.

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OVER THE GARDEN GATE

Vegetable Beds — Another gen-
tle reminder to clean up _ the
vegetable and flower beds. Last
summer's plants, weeds, and
debris harbor next year’s prob-
Jems; get them out of there now
and save yourself some grief.

You still have time for fall rye:
it will germinate even when the
temperature drops to 35 degrees
Fahrenheit. Do nat let it get much
higher than eight inches, this will
make it more difficult to dig in
and the coarser, more mature
stalks will take longer to break
down. Apply fall rye at the rate of
1 Ib./300 sq.ft.

This is also the last call for the
seed catalogues; if you want to get
your seeds back in time to germi-

During the day a comfortable sofa,
changes at night into a comfortable

VANCOUVER
1148 Homer St..
Tel.: 682-1483

Friday. November 30, 1990 - North Shore News - 23

Rain still beats chilly temperatures

A December check list of garden jobs to do during holiday season

get on it,
something

for next
forget to

nate
Don't
new.

Trees and Shrubs — Pruning at
this time of the year should only
be considered as part of your fall
cleanup. Remove any damaged or
diseased branches as you find
them. Tidy plants such as roses by
pruning them back by half and
then complete the job in spring.

If you had some problems with
disease and/or insects such as
scale and mites on deciduous trees
and shrubs, now is the time for
your first application of lime
sulphur and dormant oil. Repeat
in mid-February.

Protect your garden from the
winter weather ahead. Adding a
layer of mulch around the base of
border-line-hardy plants such as
fatsias and the ‘hardy’ fuchsias
will keep the roots alive even if
the tops freeze back.

Antidesiccants such as Wilt-
Pruf will reduce the risk of frost
burn and/or excessive wilting on
broadleaved evergreens such as
thododendrons and azaleas. One
application will last about six
weeks.

Stake or tie up those plants
which are likely to suffer breakage
or deformity due to wet snow
loads or excessive winter winds.
Try to remember to get out there
and shake the snow off before in-
jury can occur.

Indoor Gardening —- If possible
in the scheme of your Christmas
preparations, relocate some of
your plants to brighter windows,
This weak winter sun means some

year,
try

of your plants may not be getting
as much as they need in their cur-
rent location. Not too close! Any
leaves coming in contact with
single-paned windows will surely
freeze.

You should also be aware of the
lower humidity that this season
brings to the indoor environment.
Keep plants away from hot spots
such as heat registers and heat
generating appliances; these will
dry the air out even more.

As the available amount of light
dinizishes, the plants’ growth
Processes are reduced as well.
Keep things in balance by cutting
back on the other key ingredients
to growth. Eliminate the use of
fertilizer over the winter months,
take extra care not to over water,
and in some instances, slightly
reduce temperatures.

None of this holds true in the
case of flowering plants such as
poinsettias, indoor azaleas,
Christmas cactus, etc. You should
try to continue meeting these
plants’ requirements until the
flowering period is over.

Miscellaneous — Now is the
time to be thinking of tool and
equipment maintenance. Do not
wait unti! you need it unless you
enjoy waiting in line. This in-
cludes sharpening the lawnmower
and pruning tools, repairing
broken handles, greasing the
wheelbarrow, etc.

After looking at the above list
and remembering the last few
weeks, | certainly must agree with
the old adage, ‘*It never rains, it
pours.”

we. PAGODE-70| "8
When only the Jinest will do

RICHMOND
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Tel.: 276-2252

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