Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 44

G Garden Tips for Late Fall & Winter
text and photos by Elizabeth hunter

Mountain
garden

hERE ARE A bAkER’s dozEn idEAs to AssuRE A good gARdEn nExt
yEAR – ninE foR bEfoRE thE snow fliEs And fouR foR thE nEw yEAR.
you’re excused for being gardenweary by November. Still, a baker’s
dozen of garden chores await you, to
be performed during the off season if
you’re planning to garden again in
2014. The list is divided into nine
must-do-nows, and four that can be
postponed until after the holidays.
What must you do before the
snow flies?
1. Plant garlic, if you haven’t
already – or don’t like it.
Garlic needs to be in the ground by
early December, at the latest. If you
planted garlic in 2013, I hope you
saved your largest heads for replanting, because not all strains of garlic
do well everywhere. Add new varieties if you want, but keep planting the
best of your own every year. Once it’s
planted, mulch the bed with straw,
heavily enough to discourage weeds
but not so heavily that the new
shoots can’t push through. There’s
nothing more thrilling than finding
garlic’s green shoots poking up
through the mulch (or snow) in
January!
2. clean the garden uP.
Once you’ve had a killing frost, clear
your garden beds of all vegetable matter except overwintering veggies.
Compost everything not killed by
blight or disease (dispose of those
elsewhere). Leave some seed heads in
flower beds for the birds, but clear
veggie beds to destroy pests sheltering
in garden detritus.
3. Mulch.
If you can, leave the cleared-off garden beds for a few days. But before
winter weeds like chickweed establish
themselves, rake the beds, cover with
leaves (preferably chopped up), and

44 | BlueRidgeCountry.com

Top left: Butternut squash is ready for storage. Top right: Garlic cures for storage
and planting. Above: First killing frost ends marigolds’ long reign.


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Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013

Cover
Table of Contents
Letters/Worth a Click
From the Editor
Digital Help Guide
From the Farm
The Hike
Mountain Report
Creature Feature
Festivals & Events
Explore West Virginia Covered Bridges
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE: Cave in to Adventure
Fall Travel to Restaurants, Diners and Dives
Photoessay: Late Fall Comes to the Mountains
What's New in these Hills?
Life and Death in Butterfield Branch
Mountain-Classic Recipes
Cabin in the Woods: A North Georgia Getaway
Mountain Garden
Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Cover
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Table of Contents
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Letters/Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - From the Editor
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Digital Help Guide
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - From the Farm
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Explore West Virginia Covered Bridges
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE: Cave in to Adventure
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - DE2
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - DE3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - DE4
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - DE5
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - DE6
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Fall Travel to Restaurants, Diners and Dives
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 20
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Photoessay: Late Fall Comes to the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - What's New in these Hills?
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 34
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Life and Death in Butterfield Branch
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Mountain-Classic Recipes
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Mountain Garden
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Cabin in the Woods: A North Georgia Getaway
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2013 - Cover4
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