LIFESTYLES

TASKS FOR DECEMBER

17 - Friday, December 2, 1988 - North Shore News

on't neglect garden

uring the Xmas rush

OFFICE PARTIES, visiting relatives, preparations for the
year end, shopping lists, meal planning, house cleaning, and
so on, and so on. It seems as though December should be
365 days long just so we can get through the work load.

As if you didn’t have enough to
do in the coming month, here are a
few more items for your Christmas
list.
® Lawn Care — As mentioned in
last month’s list, spring is the best
time to lime, but if you have an
acidity problem, consider solving it
now. Get a pH test kit if you are
unsure as to whether it is necessary
or not; a reading of 5.0 or lower
wouid suggest an urgent need. As
always, use only dolomitic lime.

Try to limit the amount of traf-
fic, 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 the year.

Wet soil will become compacted
with even light traffic. Heavy traf-
fic will drive the air out of the root
zone and force the water to mix
with the soil.

When this condition arises, the
turf runs a greater risk of injury
from physical damage. Ever see a
turf football field after a game in
the rain? :

When the turf is frozen it
becomes brittle. Even light traffic
will cause some superficial dam-

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age; heavy traffic can produce
degrees of destruction that rival
those found on that muddy sports
field mentioned above.

Also mentioned last month, try
to gather the leaves of autumn as
they fall.

Turf will begin to die back if left
under a blanket of leaves for more
than a few days. Moss will surely
get a foothold by spring if these
dead zones are allowed to occur.
© Flower Beds — This is your last
chance to plant your fall bulbs
without running the risk of short-
lived displays or, possibly none at
all.

Any planted too early may have
already poked their heads up
through the soil; this could result
in frost damage in the future. Ap-
ply a Jayer of one or two inches of
compost or peat moss as a protec-
tive blanket.

You should ajso finish up the
tasks of dividing and thinning your
perennial plants cver this month.
Any good garden plant book will
list the plants that could use this
type of attention at this time of the
year.

This is a good time to empty the

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compost bin and turn the contents
into the beds. All but the freshest
material will be fully broken down
by spring planting time, and you
might need the room to refill them
with all those raked up leaves.
Apply liberal amounts of
bonemeal at the same time and

over the
garden gate

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ee

work it into the soil. This great
supplier of organic phosphorus,
potassium and calcium will help to
produce strong roots, abundant
flowers and sweeter soil condi-
tions.

REGU LAR
PRICES

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PRICES

(RAMES

© Vegetable Beds — Risking more
repetition, I must reiterate my
position on the need for a good
fall cleanup in the vegetable
garden. If you remove all perennial
weeds, diseased plant parts, and
any non-compostable materials
and then turn the soil you wil! have
fewer pest problems next year.

Fall rye will germinate even
when the temperature drops to
35°F. So don’t hesitate to start a
crop now; you may even have time
to sow two crops over the winter.

If you let it get much higher
than eight inches it will be more
difficult to dig in and the coarser,
more mature stalks will take longer
to break down. Apply fall rye at
the rate of one Ib./300 sq.ft.

Ana now for yet another last-
minute reminder to send in your
seed orders to the seed houses. Try
some new varieties with the ‘old
standbys’; too many of you are
still stuck on oldies such es
‘Beefeater’ tomatoes when there
are so many improved varieties to
choose from.

What place has 3
million sheep?

Question:

million people and 50

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

Always try to sterilize your
pruning tools between cuts,
especially in the case of disease.
Pass the blade(s) of pruning tools
through a flame to avoid transfer-
ence of diseased material to
healthy tisste.

Continue winterizing your
garden. Add a layer of mulch
around the base of border-line-
hardy plants such as fatsias and
the ‘hardy’ fuchsias.

Spray antidesiccants such as
Wilt-Pruf on broad-leaved
evergreens like rhododendrons and
azaleas to prevent frost burn
and/or excessive wilting.

Stake or tie up plants that are

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Page 20

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