Well all of the spring bulbs are planted, the roses are buried, The hoses are drained and put away, and I have 8 bags of shreded leaves to put on the perenials as soon as the ground freezes. Tomorrow I'll take the mower off and put the snow blower on the tractor.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Ron H. In West entral Wisconsin......
You can have my snow - all of it. I hope we don't see any until Christmas. It was 75 here in Cincinnati today. I expect it will be the last day in the
70s until late spring. I'm not anti-winter. I just want a winter that last for 30 days and only snows once.Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
It was 75 here in Cincinnati today. I expect it will be the last day in the
70s until late spring. I'm not anti-winter. I just want a winter that last for 30 days and only snows once.well, today, once again it reached the low 70's, and we're going to stay in the low to mid 70's for our highs with low's in the upper 40's and low 50's until the first part of the week where it will mellow out into the mid 60's and low 40's. This weather has spoiled me completely and I've STILL not moved those tropical and cactus plants inside for the season. And we're so dry, my ground is DEEP dry. I was going to move a tree yesterday and was unable to even penetrate the soil with my pick. So I left well enough alone.
madgardener zone 7, Sunset zone 36 in Eastern Tennessee
ooops, forgot one thing in my reply, I'd just like to have winter around the end of November, with about three good snows to cover the perennials and bulbs. I don't mind snow, it's the cold and drying winds that have done in so much of my gardens. Now I am looking out for abandoned bags of leaves alongside of curbs in the local area's. I'm notorious for leaf snatching................. madgardener, where temperatures are in the mid 50's at 1 a.m..........................
"madgardener" expounded:
Egg-zactly. A nice winter blanket over the ground, from the end of November til the first of March, would be just fine with me! The heaving, thawing, then freezing winds kill lots around here :o( The winter blanket is one of the reasons I love snow. Last spring was wonderful around here for plants (yea, not so for humans, it was way too rainy) because they'd been tucked in most of the winter with a good layer of snow.
=========== Looking at the current radar you guys are getting hammered with some major rains :0)
I'm in a SW Chicago burb and am on a watering spree as the ground is bone dry in spots. Gotta get the soil moist before old man winter shows up.
PS - planted some Spinach last week. A tad late, but I'll build a cheap-o cold frame to try and have it get a few leaves before going dormant for the winter.
why is it important to not mulch until the first hard freeze? Minneapolis - still balmy
=========== AFAIK if you have plants you really don't want to mulch when they are still growing, or at least 'green'. Also you don't want the ground to go through a freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw cycle if possible, so my mulching after a hard freeze the ground has a better chance of staying frozen. In addition - less chance of bugs using your "winter coat" as a hiding place :0)
OZ from the SW Chicago burbs where even the Basil is still alive. Where be Jack Frost???
Minneapolis had its first hard freeze since last March the other day, and now its going back to the mid sixties tomorrow. What is the chance some of my bulbs will get confused and pop up? I planted over 250 bulbs. Argh.
It happens frequently without any ill effect. Don't worry about it.
the muscari especially seem to be intent on sending out scouts of slender, grass-like leaves first. I had almost all of my bulbs to pop up the year I moved to Eastern Tennessee in November. I wasn't sure if the zone was cooler or warmer, so I took the bulbs I'd scrounged and bought out of the veggie bin in the fridge, and planted everyone where I'd be able to keep watch over them and they started sending out leaves around Thanksgiving. It's how I was able to meet my gardening mentor and friend, Mary Emma, because I wasn't very knowledgable about the bulbs like I am now, and called my extension agent. They directed me to UT's Agricultural department, which was also Knoxville's, and Knox county's extension service. Got the head of Agriculture who gave me his best master gardener's number and told me it was a "Mary Emma question".
We haven't had much in the way of frost here, either, although there was frost in low lying pastures and on the tops of a few things Friday morning because it was more humid from the spitting rains we got Wednesday night. But almost all my tropicals and cacti are still outside. I gotta get moving! Mom's Nature will slip in a shock if I don't start moving things inside (which I have been doing in spits and spells.) madgardener, Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36
Well the weather people are calling for 4 - 8 inches this week..... What timing!
Ron H. West Central Wisconsin
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