Bert's BloomersThe Official Blog of the Ten Minute Garden!

        Though the 2009 gardening season is quickly winding down, there is still a lot of gardening to be enjoyed.

         For instance, fall has become one of my favourite times of year not because of the colours and cooler temperatures, but because of the deals to be had at the local greenhouses and nurseries!

         We have one local grower that is offering all, yes, all, four inch pots of perennials for $.99! Even those regularly priced at $5.99 and $6.99!! Makes resisting the urge to squeeze more plants into an already overflowing bed very difficult. And of you have decided to renovate your perennial gardens, you can do so without spending a fortune. Check out your local growers for awesome bargains in late fall.

         Trees and shrubs are also dirt cheap these days. Matter of fact, yesterday I succumbed to the lure of a great deal on several shrubs that have long been on my wish list. What is a great deal? Less than wholesale! And they were purchased from a grower not a reseller, so I know I’m getting quality plants, not the beaten up ones that they couldn’t sell during the height of the season.

         Will I (we) get all these plants into the ground before freeze-up? No, especially now that my other half has decided to get in on the landscape design. So what will happen to the plants over winter? We’ll heel them in and hold them over until next spring. That will give “himself” and me time to hash out a compromise over the winter.

         For new gardeners that have never attempted to heel-in plants, here’s how we do it:

 Dig a trench in a protected area of your yard as wide and deep as the plants’ pots. If you have several different sized pots, put all the same sized together. Yes, you may end up digging a few trenches, but just think of the work out you’ll be getting!

 Set the plant, pot and all in the trench leaving a few inches between the pots.

 Backfill around the pots with soil to the top of the pot.(Do not bury the stem of the plant.)

 Cover the entire trench including the tops of the pots with at least two inches of mulch.

 Water them in and keep them watered until they are covered with a blanket of snow. Top up the mulch as it settles.   

Next spring as them temperature begins to warm up, slowly remove the mulch. 

Water regularly once the snow is gone until you are ready to plant them in beds.