Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gardening: Cold snap a reminder to do fall maintenance

Our frosts a couple of weeks ago heralded an early end to the gardening season for some people in the area, especially those living in low spots where the cold settled.

Some of us were lucky and missed the surprise of being greeted by wilted squash, tomato, bean, pepper and corn plants. With any luck, the frost only nipped the leaves at the top of the plants and left the fruits underneath to finish ripening. If tradition holds we should have another few weeks of warm weather to finish ripening them.

The frost was a reminder that it is time to starting thinking about fall vegetable garden chores. Tackling them a few at a time makes the overall task less daunting. Start with clearing out anything that did get killed by the frost. The plants can be chopped up a bit with a shredder, lawn mower or even hand pruners, mixed with grass clippings and added to the compost pile. If corn stalks aren’t going to be used for fall decorations they can be cut into one foot or smaller pieces and added to the pile.

As the weather cools, the weeds will become more active, so now is a good time to do a good weeding to catch the new growth and eliminate work next spring. If the weeds and grasses managed to go to seed, remove them carefully to reduce the spread of seed and put them in the trash. Weed seeds are only killed in a compost pile if the internal temperatures get over 150 degrees for at least three days. Lay two to three inches of mulch on any beds you clear out to keep the weeds in check this fall and in the early spring. The mulch can be untreated grass clippings, shredded pine needles or leaves or any other organic material you have handy.

Garlic will need to be planted about mid-October, when the air and soil temperatures have begun to cool. Prepare your bed now by working in an inch or two of compost and watering it well. Garlic heads should be available in garden centers, or you can order online. When you are ready to plant, break the garlic head into cloves and plant the largest ones about two to three inches deep and six inches apart. Once the weather turns cold in November, cover the entire bed with three to four inches of mulch to keep the garlic from being damaged by freeze-thaw cycles. The garlic will spend the fall setting out roots so it is ready to take off in the spring.

There may be enough good weather to plant a quick crop of lettuce. The warm soil should germinate the seeds quickly and get the plants growing. Lettuce can take frost down to the high 20s so you will be able to pick well into October. Leave the plants in place, and if we get a mild winter with some snow cover you might be able to harvest an early crop in the spring.

Pat Munts has gardened in the Spokane Valley for more than 35 years. She can be reached at pat@inlandnw gardening.com.