Hello My Dear Gardening Friends,

To-day I went to the ecology garden.  Cathy was doing a workshop on identifying evergreens - as always this was a delight as she is so very knowledgeable (as well as being a thoroughly great person).  The weather was warmish and the rain held off until we were finished.  There was a young boy there who is “home schooled” with the wonderful name ‘Amadeus’.  Such a bright child: Polite and thirsty for knowledge.  It was delightful to be in his company and I am betting that he doesn't own a cell phone!!!

November is now upon on us with shorter days and longer nights, giving us time to catch up on all those indoor "things" we have left undone.  I still have a few bulbs to plant and there are a few chores left in the garden… including one last  grass cutting session before we put the lawn mower away until the spring.

When you put yours away, do not forget to drain it, sharpen the blades, etc.  This is a good time to get it in for servicing, before the snowmobilers start getting their machines fixed.  Think how wonderful it will be next spring when all you have to do is fill-up with gas and away you go. (You had better arrange to have Brinks standing by, although the price of gas has dropped considerably of late.)

November is the time to start heaping straw around your precious strawberry plants. To prevent winter injury, pile straw around the plants before the temperatures drop below 20ºF, but wait until we have had two or three hard frosts.  The plants should be covered to a depth of 2 to 3 inches with mulch.  If you don’t have strawberries, but have always wanted some of your own, remember that you can successfully still plant strawberries as late as October or November, though spring is the usual time.  If you plant now, be sure that the plants are mulched very well before the severe weather arrives.

I was reading an old seed catalogue the other day and it states that hardwood ashes are good not only for strawberries, but also for cabbages, potatoes, onions, fruit trees, corn and beans.  About a pound of ashes for each 10 to 20 square feet should be applied in the spring when you removed the winter mulch.  So you lucky folk with wood stoves, be sure to save some of the good wood ash. I really miss my wood stove, but could not handle it alone.

Folk who "read" the moon signs, believe that the propagation of hardwoods is best done on a growing moon under Scorpio.  Hardwood includes all kinds of deciduous trees and shrubs, as well as evergreens, yews, boxwood and hollies.  Make up the slips under this fruitful “sign”, by cutting shoots off the plant, tying them in bundles, and keeping them in damp sand in a cool dark place.  In February or March, whilst the first quarter of the Moon passes through the moist sign of Pisces, plant them outdoors in rooting sand.  I would wait until the middle of March or April here.

If you have noticed that some of your trees do not look healthy, now is a good time to give them some special care.  You can usually tell by the colour of their leaves if they are ailing.  Cut off any dead limbs – but don’t engage in “tree topping” as it does more damage than good.

I often say that you should keep a garden book or diary.  For those of you who follow this helpful practice, make yourself a note to give the trees a good dressing of compost in the early spring to encourage new growth, water them well - especially if we have another dry summer like the one in 2007.

A Little Folklore on Trees

• If a tree will not bear fruit try driving nails into it - but not copper ones!!
• Trees for building purpose should be felled in late November or early December.
• When transplanting a tree, be careful to have the same side facing south before and after it is moved.
• Wood from a tree struck by lightening should never be used in the construction of a house or barn, or they in turn may also be struck by lightening.
• If a pregnant woman helps plant a tree and takes hold of it with both hands, the tree will bear doubly well.
• You will become blind, so they say, if you look up into a tree while a woman is in the tree!!

I often wonder who THEY are, don't you??

I hear that there is an icky flu going around.  Try this remedy:   

• Boil a large juicy pippin apple (or any other apple) in a quart of water.
• When it has broken into pieces, strain off the water whilst the juice is still boiling. Add a tumbler full of fine old whisky and a little lemon juice.

Sweeten to taste. Take it hot at bedtime.

Here’s hoping that you don’t need it!

Hats, gloves, scarves, sunscreen, lip moisturizer… and at this time of year, we need to start thinking about snow shovels, too.   Just don’t forget to stretch before you shovel the snow away!