Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of Nov. 3

by Ron Kujawski

* Winterize power equipment before storage. If you don’t recall details of winter maintenance, get out the Owner’s Manual. Lost the Owner’s Manual? Doofus! Okay, I did, too. However, I found it possible to track down equipment manuals via the internet. Phew!!

* Use small mesh chicken wire or hardware cloth to make protective cylinders around stems of young trees and thin-barked trees. The purpose of the cylinders is to prevent rabbits from eating the bark. If using a mesh size greater than ¼-inch, leave a space of an inch or two between the wire cylinder and the tree stem. With multi-stemmed shrubs, it’d be easier to build an exclusion fence around each shrub, or several shrubs if they are in close proximity. Small mesh chicken wire is the best choice for such a fence. 

* Place 4 to 6 inches of loose mulch over strawberry plants as soon as garden soil develops a frozen crust — that could be as soon as this week if current forecasts are correct. I prefer straw for mulching, but chopped leaves and weed-free hay (Is there really such a thing?) are often recommended. Another option is to place a winter-grade row cover fabric over your strawberry bed. Such row covers should be available at your local garden center.

* Make a sowing of spinach if the soil is not yet frozen. The spinach may or may not germinate this fall, but it will come up very early in spring. In either case, place a row cover over the seeded area. The results will be even better if you sow spinach seed in a raised bed.

* Cut back the dried leaves of amaryllis that are in the resting stage. Amaryllis that are given a rest period, i.e., darkness and no watering, can be forced into bloom after eight weeks of rest. A rest period is not essential, but without it, amaryllis take longer to force into bloom. My brain works in much the same way.

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While on the subject of forcing bulbs into bloom this winter, I recall some interesting results of experiments done at Cornell University on paperwhite narcissus. As most people know, paperwhites are one of the easiest bulbs to force into bloom indoors. They require no cold treatment and can be forced to bloom by simply placing the bulbs in water, e.g., in shallow pans of water filled with pebbles. About the only problem with paperwhites is that the plants tend to flop over. The studies at Cornell found that watering the bulbs with a 4 to 6 percent solution of alcohol resulted in shorter and sturdier plants that did not flop. (Hmm, alcohol has the opposite effect on me). Initially, use plain water, but once new growth is an inch or two tall, pour off the water and replace it with the alcohol solution. To make the solution, mix one ounce of 80 Proof gin or vodka (don’t use wine or beer) with 7 ounces of water. I can see booze sales skyrocketing.

Ron Kujawski began gardening at an early age on his family's onion farm in upstate New York. Although now retired, he spent most of his career teaching at the UMass Extension Service. He serves on Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Horticulture Advisory Committee. His book, Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, is available here.