November Leaves: Not Just for Composting

November Leaves - Not Just for Composting

Autumn is coming to an end, and whoever hasn't been overcome by autumn fatigue yet can get started on further work. November isn't just about falling and raking leaves. It's a beautiful month. With its colourfulness, it fills another stage of the gardener's year. Get your muscles and warm clothes ready, we still have plenty of work ahead.

Raked leaves - you can let them rot on the ground. Or rake and burn them. Or dig in and compost them. If you decide to compost, always sprinkle the leaves with lime. Lime destroys pathogens.

Digging beds - dig all beds and leave them in "rough furrows" for winter. Don't forget that good digging is half the fertilising.

Around trees - rake over the rough digging of soil around trees that you did in October.

Tools - clean and preserve your tools for the next season. Consider purchasing new pieces to replace worn-out ones. Check out the new products in the tools section that might interest you and make your work easier.

Drain water - from pipes leading to the garden. Close outdoor taps. Unscrew and put away outdoor showers.

Compost - water with fermented manure, if you have it, also with urine.

Bird feeders - prepare them and you can start feeding to attract the first useful visitors to your garden.

Paths and walkways - repair them and remove weeds from them.

Seeds - prepare new seeds for spring sowing

Protect your health - don't breathe in sprays or fertilisers. Eliminate injuries caused by contact with these substances! Wear appropriate clothing and footwear - suitable for the weather and work being carried out. Don't overestimate your strength. Rest between individual tasks.

Vegetable Beds

Prepare harvested vegetable beds for winter rest. Fertilise the beds and dig roughly. You can cover dug beds with leaves to prevent the soil from freezing. On the beds, leave Brussels sprouts, kale, leeks and parsley for harvesting the tops.

Cover beds with spinach and winter lettuce with brushwood or leaves. Gradually harvest Chinese cabbage and lamb's lettuce. If you're leaving these crops on the beds, build a wooden frame around them and cover it with boards. This way you'll be able to harvest spinach even after Christmas.

We'll prepare chicory for forcing. Store chicory roots vertically in a taller box with sand or peat. Water them. Pour a 20 cm high layer of sand or peat above the heart of the chicory root. You can replace this layer with black film.

Ornamental Garden

If the November weather is warm, dedicate time to planting ornamental trees and shrubs.

Winter Protection for Your Garden Plants

Roses - cut back to 40 cm. Mound soil around them to a height of about 15 cm to cover the buds. Protect rose stems with conifer branches. We don't recommend wrapping them in plastic foil or paper. Don't prune climbing roses.

Once the soil around woody plants freezes, cover it with a 20 cm layer of leaves. This is how we care for hibiscus, beauty bush, clematis, tamarisk, peonies, azaleas, rhododendrons and ornamental almonds. Don't cover these ornamental shrubs completely or wrap them in anything. They could sprout prematurely.

Hedge - Plant Selection by Growth Rate:

• Medium growth - hawthorn (lat. Crataegus) and privet (Ligustrum)
• Vigorous growth - field maple (Acer campestre) and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
• Strong growth - beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Woody Plants Suitable for Fragrant Growing Walls:

• Medium growth - viburnum (Viburnum), forsythia (Forsythia), sea buckthorn (Hippophae), flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), spirea (Spiraea), tamarisk (Tamarix), deutzia (Deutzia), rose (Rosa)
• Slow growth - flowering quince (Chaenomeles)
• Strong growth - lilac (Syringa), ornamental plum (Prunus), ornamental apple (Malus), mock orange (Philadelphus), cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)

Think About What's New for Spring

Do you also spend those long November evenings thinking about what new additions would suit your garden? What would you like to grow? Something new, interesting, perhaps unconventional? What do you have space and time for? In today's world full of supermarkets, most gardeners are moving away from growing vegetables that can be bought cheaply... but from experience you know yourself that even homegrown carrots have taste and juice compared to "store-bought" ones.

So what would we recommend you try? Give our mushroom garden a go. The mushroom garden is filled with nutrient substrate and inoculated with mycelium. After five to six weeks from purchase, the first mushrooms begin to appear. Ventilate the room where you'll be growing your mushroom garden. Water according to instructions. Mushrooms are harvested with a twisting motion. Cover the hole left after pulling out the mushroom with soil. The mushroom garden produces for 2-4 months.

How are you coping with the November mood? Share a cuppa and inspiration with friends on Facebook!

Author: Hana Michalíková