Forest Gardening Tips AUTUMN

look closely, can you see the mantid egg sac?

Avoid dead heading all your flowers and shrubs.  There are many insects who have made use of your plants for their next generation... see photo above of praying mantid egg sac.

DO NOT BURN YOUR LEAVES!  Don't burn healthy wood debris either; shred it or leave it out for solitary bees and other beneficial insects.

Plant woody plants (trees, shrubs, groundcovers) after dormancy yet before the ground is too wet.

Ensure irrigation is functioning on an as needed basis. *Contact us to install a Rain Sensor.

you can see the egg sac pretty well here

Apply heavy mulches before your first Fall frost date (here); especially to marginally hardy plants.   Avoid crown rot with too much mulch on sensitive plants.

Build mulch stockpiles after you've spread out all you can.  Allow it to compost or use the extra mulch sporadically. 

Late Autumn Bloomers

A beneficial insects' dream...

Salvia greggii

Insects are busy now ensuring their eggs have been laid and their burrows and hide away's are secure and fully stocked.  They are out in the last rays of warm sunshine gathering the nectar and pollen from flowers that bloom into November's darkening days.

We too are feeling the slow down of summer's many harvests and one look to the pantry shows our storage efforts have paid off.  Yet there is more to think about in the garden...

We can aid the health of our gardens and next year's bounty by encouraging beneficial insects to stay around.  Providing them food during the winter by planting late blooming flowers will help the insects that don't hibernate or have yet to.  

In our region it gets cold but it doesn't truly feel like Winter until late January.  Plants like Salvia greggii (pictured above) will bloom well past Christmas with no major frost. 

A brief lesson in photoperiodism...

Moonflowers are Short day plants

 Photoperiodism is the effect of the length of day and night on plant growth and development.

The effect of photoperiod on flower development is diverse among plant species.  Not all plants respond the same. There are three distinct groups: Short day, Long day and Day neutral plants.

Short day = Long night

Long day = Short night

Long nights (Winter) and short nights (Summer) are really the basis for this effect in plants.  It is generally spoken of in terms of day length when in reality it is the amount of DARKNESS that triggers the flowering response. 

Moonflowers (see 10/1/2010 post) are one of the Short day plants we're very fond of...

Moonflower

Ipomoea alba

A member of the morning glory family these sturdy vines' flowers appear like a full moon.   It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the New World. 

The flowers of Ipomoea alba open quickly in the evening, last through the night and remain open until touched by the morning sun where they often never bloom again.  Moonflowers are what is called a ‘short day’ plant (based on photoperiod -see Eco Land Tips) and in the Northern hemisphere they won’t set buds until early Fall when the night length is near 12 hours.

Use: Ipomoea alba contains sulfur compounds which 3000 years ago was extracted in a liquid form and used to cure latex into a highly elastic rubber.  Mesoamericans used the rubber to craft large, resilient balls which they then used in a ritual game for religious ceremonies.  The ball game also involved gambling for land, slaves and other valuables. The whole plant can also be used externally to treat snakebite.