Can you believe it? It’s already November and you are probably wondering what gardening chores you should be doing now. So, with that, let’s take a look at what to do in your garden in November.
Planting
Flowers
Now is still time to replace your summer annuals and replace them with cyclamen, pansies, primroses, stock, and snapdragons. They are readily available in nurseries now and do really well in the Bay Area. This will allow you to enjoy blooms all winter long and into spring. In my experience pansies like to attract snails, so I make it a habit to sprinkle snail killer around my plants after planting and when necessary going forward.- If you haven’t already done so be sure to plant your spring bulbs as well for spring color.
- Sow native wildflower seed.
- You can also plant perennials and evergreens.
Fruits and Vegetables
You can now plant
- Onions for a late spring to early summer harvest. Look for Stockton onions available in reds, yellows, and whites, torpedo onions, and walla walla onions.
- Winter vegetables and lettuce.
- Berries: Look for blackberries, raspberries, boysenberries, loganberries, currants, blueberries, rhubarb, and artichokes to arrive this month in your nurseries. Note, many varieties are only available during the winter.
- Garlic and shallot sets.
Maintenance
- Fertilize your fruit trees and flowering shrubs once a month till the middle of February. Good products are Master Bloom (0-10-10) for root and flower development (adding phosphorus and potash) and F.S.T to nourish plants with Iron, Sulfur, Manganese, and Zinc – to strengthen the trees and help make the fruit taste sweeter.
- Time to cut back certain varieties of hydrangeas. The newer hybrids can be cut back severely if needed and will still bloom in the spring because they bloom on old and new wood. Some of the older mophead varieties should only receive light pruning for shaping purposes this time of year and heavier pruning in the late summer. Apply HYDRA-BLUE to the hydrangeas that you want to turn bluer. Reapply in early spring.
- Dig, divide and replant overgrown perennials for more profuse blooms next spring.
- Prune dead or broken branches on trees and shrubs.
- For larger camellia blooms, remove all but one fat bud from each stem
- Compost fallen leaves. Layer green and brown materials in your compost pile.
- Mulch bare soil to hold in moisture, keep out weeds, and prevent compaction by hard rains.
Lawn Maintenance
- Apply seed patches to browned lawn areas
- Fertilize your lawn again with Master Nursery Fall & Winter Feed to keep the lawn looking good through the winter months. Watering after applying fertilizer is still recommended unless it is raining.
You should have reduced the number of days and the amount of time you are watering. Some years we have rain in November, some years we don’t. If we don’t have any rain, you will still need to water, but won’t need to water as frequently.
Now that you know what to do in your garden in November we hope you go out there and prepare your garden for a spectacular spring showing.
Happy Gardening!
