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Index : Miscellaneous Gardening Topics
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- 9. November Gardening Activities - Top
- November is a month of transition in the garden. Temperatures cool and landscape plants become inactive requiring less water and nutrients. However, cool season flowers and vegetables are just now taking the stage for Act 1 of our winter gardening show. Here are a few activities for November:
Seed cool season vegetables directly into the garden in November. It’s an easy way to establish healthy leafy and root crops. Leaf and bib lettuce (leaf and bib lettuce), chard (chard), spinach (spinach), carrots (carrots), beets (beets), radishes (radishes), peas (peas) and cabbage (cabbage) all grow well from seed. Just be sure to prepare the soil prior to seeding by tilling it thoroughly and mixing lots of organic matter into the top 12 inches of garden soil. Compost, peat, bagged topsoil and composted manure are all good forms of organic matter to improve soil texture and nutrient holding capacity. Also, prior to planting seeded, mix in a fertilizer blended for vegetables at the recommended rate. Follow seed planting instructions on the seed packet. Be sure to keep the soil evenly moist. This is especially important when the seeds are germinating and the young plants are becoming established. It’s best not to place a mulch over the ground around cool season crops. Sunlight is needed during cooler weather to warm the soil and encourage the growth of young plants
Protect tender plants from cold. Freezing weather can occur here in Tucson as early as Thanksgiving, so it’s time to think about providing protection for tender plants from those frosty nights. The easiest way to protect plants is to cover them with sheets, blankets, paper grocery bags or newspaper. Frost blankets for plants made of a spun fiber similar to coat linings are available at local garden stores. These blankets are very light and are great for covering soft-stemmed flowers like begonias (begonias)and impatiens (impatiens). If cold weather is predicted, water frost sensitive plants and the area around them. Moist soil stores heat from the sun’s rays better than dry soil. At night, this stored heat will be released into the air surrounding your plants; keeping them warmer. For even greater cold protection, place a light under the plant covers. A utility lamp available at hardware and home supply stores is ideal for protecting plants from cold. Use a 60 watt incandescent bulb in the utility lamp. You can also use the old-fashion, large Christmas tree bulbs under covers to provide adequate heat.
Prevent cool season annual weeds by putting down a pre-emergent weed control product this month. There are several materials sold for weed prevention in the garden stores. The most commonly used products in the desert Southwest are Surflan, Benefin and Amaze. They’re either sprayed or spread on the soil, depending on the formulation, and they create a chemical barrier that prevents the emergence of weed seedlings. Because weeds begin sprouting with the start of our winter rains, usually in January & February, these weed prevention materials should be applied in November or Early December. To be effective, after application, these pre-emergent herbicides should be watered into the top layer of soil. Use a fan pattern portable lawn sprinkler attached to a garden hose to apply the water. Set some straight-sided cans underneath the sprinkler, and when one quarter inch of water has acculturated in the cans, you’ve applied enough water. Finally, be careful not to till or dig in the area treated. If you break the chemical barrier weeds can sprout up in those spots.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona,
520-626-5161.
- Updated: November 5, 2006
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