Gardening Tips by John Begeman: November Gardening Calendar

	Arid-Southwestern Gardening Information *Gardening Tips by John Begeman*


[e-Mail me the monthly tips] - [Search the monthly tips]

Index : November Gardening Calendar

1. Protect tender plants from cold

2. Garden clean-up

3. Prevent winter weeds

4. Compost spent garden plants, leaves and landscape trimmings

5. Fertilize winter lawns

6. Spray prickly pear cactus

7. Plant secession plantings of garden vegetables

8. Snip petunias

1. Protect tender plants from cold - Top

Protect tender plants from cold by covering them with sheets, blankets, paper grocery bags, or sheets of newspaper. Water plants the day before a predicted freeze. Moist soil will store up heat from the sun's energy and release it at night, keeping your plants warmer. A heat source such as Christmas lights or a utility light can be placed under plant covers for additional protection. Frosty weather in Tucson can occur as early as Thanksgiving! - Updated: November 19, 2001

2. Garden clean-up - Top

Garden clean-up is the best way to eliminate garden problems such as weeds, insects, and diseases. Pull weeds and remove dead or dying plants. Rake up fallen leaves and bag them up for disposal, or better yet, compost them! Prune off dead and injured stems and branches from trees and shrubs. Replenish garden mulches and stone landscape mulches. - Updated: June 19, 2002

3. Prevent winter weeds - Top

Prevent winter weeds by applying a pre-emergent herbicide prior to the start of the winter rainy season. Granular herbicides, such as Amaze, are easiest to apply. To be effective, pre-emergent herbicides must be "watered-in" within a day or two of application. This can be done using a lawn sprinkler attached to a garden hose. Randomly place empty, straight-sided cans under the sprinkler. Turn the sprinkler on a let it run until all the cans have filled with at least one-half inch of water.
- Updated: June 19, 2002

4. Compost spent garden plants, leaves and landscape trimmings - Top

Compost spent garden plants, leaves and landscape trimmings. Make a compost pile by forming a frame of chicken wire or wood slat fencing three feet in diameter. You can also stack concrete blocks to form a three sided bin, a minimum of three feet wide and three feet deep. Start your composting by putting in a layer of compost material. These include; leaves, chopped-up garden plants and weeds, chipped branches, lawn clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, and other types of plant matter. Sprinkle a fine layer of soil and a small amount of nitrogen containing fertilizer between 8 inch layers of compost material. Moisten the pile as you build it, and keep it moist (not wet). Turn the pile every week or two to bring the compost on the outside edge of the pile into the center.
- Updated: June 19, 2002

5. Fertilize winter lawns - Top

Fertilize winter lawns monthly to maintain good color. Lawn fertilizers containing nitrate sources of nitrogen work best in cool weather. Follow label directions on application rates. When using ammonium sulfate fertilizer (21-0-0), apply 5 pounds for every 1,000 square feet of lawn area. - Updated: June, 2002

6. Spray prickly pear cactus - Top

Spray prickly pear cactus who's pads are covered with a white cottony substance known as cochineal scale. A strong spray of water from a garden hose attachment will remove much of the white-waxy coating. Heavily infested pads should be cut off at the joints and discarded. - Updated: June 19, 2002

7. Plant secession plantings of garden vegetables - Top

Plant secession plantings of garden vegetables. As leafy and root vegetables are harvested, replace them with new seedings of radish, lettuce, spinach, chard, and other fast maturing winter vegetables. Protect young seedlings from cutworms by placing a ring, cut from a paper or Styrofoam cup, around the transplant at the soil line to block the cutworm and protect the stem. - Updated: June 19, 2002

8. Snip petunias - Top

Snip petunias to encourage them to branch and spread. Cut the ends off of stems to encourage side branching. This will promote abundant flowering and more compact plants. Remove the blooms from geranium, begonia, cosmos, and calendula as they fade by cutting them off with a sharp scissors or hand pruners. This will also increased flower production. - Updated: June 19, 2002

[e-Mail me the monthly tips] - [Search the monthly tips]
: 1. Protect tender plants from cold; 2. Garden clean-up; 3. Prevent winter weeds; 4. Compost spent garden plants, leaves and landscape trimmings; 5. Fertilize winter lawns; 6. Spray prickly pear cactus; 7. Plant secession plantings of garden vegetables; 8. Snip petunias

1. Protect tender plants from cold - Top: Protect tender plants from cold by covering them with sheets, blankets, paper grocery bags, or sheets of newspaper. Water plants the day before a predicted freeze. Moist soil will store up heat from the sun's energy and release it at night, keeping your plants warmer. A heat source such as Christmas lights or a utility light can be placed under plant covers for additional protection. Frosty weather in Tucson can occur as early as Thanksgiving! - Updated: November 19, 2001

2. Garden clean-up - Top: Garden clean-up is the best way to eliminate garden problems such as weeds, insects, and diseases. Pull weeds and remove dead or dying plants. Rake up fallen leaves and bag them up for disposal, or better yet, compost them! Prune off dead and injured stems and branches from trees and shrubs. Replenish garden mulches and stone landscape mulches. - Updated: June 19, 2002

3. Prevent winter weeds - Top: Prevent winter weeds by applying a pre-emergent herbicide prior to the start of the winter rainy season. Granular herbicides, such as Amaze, are easiest to apply. To be effective, pre-emergent herbicides must be "watered-in" within a day or two of application. This can be done using a lawn sprinkler attached to a garden hose. Randomly place empty, straight-sided cans under the sprinkler. Turn the sprinkler on a let it run until all the cans have filled with at least one-half inch of water.
- Updated: June 19, 2002

4. Compost spent garden plants, leaves and landscape trimmings - Top: Compost spent garden plants, leaves and landscape trimmings. Make a compost pile by forming a frame of chicken wire or wood slat fencing three feet in diameter. You can also stack concrete blocks to form a three sided bin, a minimum of three feet wide and three feet deep. Start your composting by putting in a layer of compost material. These include; leaves, chopped-up garden plants and weeds, chipped branches, lawn clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, and other types of plant matter. Sprinkle a fine layer of soil and a small amount of nitrogen containing fertilizer between 8 inch layers of compost material. Moisten the pile as you build it, and keep it moist (not wet). Turn the pile every week or two to bring the compost on the outside edge of the pile into the center.
- Updated: June 19, 2002

5. Fertilize winter lawns - Top: Fertilize winter lawns monthly to maintain good color. Lawn fertilizers containing nitrate sources of nitrogen work best in cool weather. Follow label directions on application rates. When using ammonium sulfate fertilizer (21-0-0), apply 5 pounds for every 1,000 square feet of lawn area. - Updated: June, 2002

6. Spray prickly pear cactus - Top: Spray prickly pear cactus who's pads are covered with a white cottony substance known as cochineal scale. A strong spray of water from a garden hose attachment will remove much of the white-waxy coating. Heavily infested pads should be cut off at the joints and discarded. - Updated: June 19, 2002

7. Plant secession plantings of garden vegetables - Top: Plant secession plantings of garden vegetables. As leafy and root vegetables are harvested, replace them with new seedings of radish, lettuce, spinach, chard, and other fast maturing winter vegetables. Protect young seedlings from cutworms by placing a ring, cut from a paper or Styrofoam cup, around the transplant at the soil line to block the cutworm and protect the stem. - Updated: June 19, 2002

8. Snip petunias - Top: Snip petunias to encourage them to branch and spread. Cut the ends off of stems to encourage side branching. This will promote abundant flowering and more compact plants. Remove the blooms from geranium, begonia, cosmos, and calendula as they fade by cutting them off with a sharp scissors or hand pruners. This will also increased flower production. - Updated: June 19, 2002

[e-Mail me the monthly tips] - [Search the monthly tips]