November Garden Chores

The first of your November garden chores, no matter where you live, is to rake up all of the leaves that are on the ground. Here in Texas, our leaves come down after Christmas, usually at the beginning of January, but I realize that for most of the country this is not true. So rake everything into a big pile and get it over to your compost area. Yes, you need to compost these leaves so they are ready to be added to your garden beds in the spring.

Another of the November garden chores is to pull up all of the leftover dead plants that you grew this year. If you have an asparagus patch, do not pull those up. Once the ferns are dead, cut them down, leaving about an inch above the ground. If you treat your asparagus patch well, it can last up to 15 years. If the plant debris you have pulled up is free of bugs, compost it. If there are bugs or the plant was destroyed by garden pests, throw it away.

One of the November garden chores you may have forgotten to do in October is to plant wildflowers. If that is the case and you want early spring wildflowers, like bluebonnets, and you live in a warm climate, plant your wildflower seeds now while there is still time. Here in Texas, we say to get them in the ground in October but you still have time. When I say to get them in the ground, I mean actually cover them with a small amount of dirt. Do not just throw the seeds out there on top of the grass. If you do, they will either blow away or get eaten by birds and bugs. They have to literally be planted, not thrown.

One of the November garden chores I have not yet mentioned is to plant a cover crop in warmer climates. David's Garden Seeds® has a nice selection of cover crops. These will put back nutrients into the soil that your garden plants may have used up.

An important part of November garden chores is to plan your spring garden now. Remember where things were planted and change it up. You need to rotate your crops so the soil is not depleted of nutrients. Draw it up on paper from this season and draw next season's plants, moving things around so you can decide what you want to plant and how many seeds you will need to order for spring.

Another one of our November garden chores is to actually order your spring garden seeds now while we have an excellent selection. The past two springs were very busy due to coronavirus and we ran out of a lot of seed varieties. Right now, we have most of your favorites in. Don't wait until spring because most other gardeners are getting their seeds now. Many people give seeds as Christmas gifts which is when our seeds really start flying off of the shelves for spring.

Our November garden chores include continuing to add to your mulch pile and continue to stir your mulch pile. If you have not yet added mulch to your garden beds for next spring, add it now. Get it all mixed in with the soil. Come spring, you will be glad you do not have to do that task again. As to the newer mulch pile that you continue to make, as long as you are able, stir it up a few times a week as you add scraps to it. Let it sit over winter and when you decide to add some new garden bed areas in the spring to your ever growing garden, you will have fresh compost to enrich your soil. Our compost pile just keeps going year round.