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UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) — When cold weather or
frost spells the end of the grow
ing season, a horticulture spe
cialist in Penn State’s College of
Agricultural Sciences advises
gardeners to spend an extra day
preparing the garden site for
winter.
“Once you’ve made the deci
sion to turn the garden under, it
will take less than a day to real
ly prepare the site for winter
and for next spring,” says Pete
Ferretti, professor of vegetable
crops.
Ferretti says backyard gar
deners should harvest their
crops and prepare to close the
garden when nighttime temper-
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Gap
GAP
Isn’t Done After Picking
atures reach 45 degrees
Fahrenheit four to five days in a
row, or if any frost is predicted.
Ferretti says most garden
crops cannot thrive after cold
injury. Crops that should be har
vested include beans, can
taloupe, cucumbers, eggplant,
peppers, pumpkins, tomatoes,
squash and watermelon.
“Some crops, such as endive,
escarole and Brussels sprouts
can be grown through colder
temperatures,” Ferretti says. “If
you use row covers or even corn
stalks to cover the crop, it can
last into December.”
Ferretti says it’s up to home
owners to decide when to shut
down their gardens. Depending
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on the year, temperatures can
remain warm well into October
or a killing frost can come early
in September.
“It’s like the stock market,”
Ferretti says of gardening.
“There’s a point where you
should ask yourself, ‘Should I
take my profits and run, or
should I hang in there for a few
more tomatoes and peppers?”
Once the decision to pick all
non-hardy crops has been made,
Ferretti recommends taking a
day to prepare the garden for
next year. After picking every
th! ig that can possibly be used,
follow these steps:
- Diagnosis. After final har
vest, Ferretti suggests checking
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Last Garden Crop
plants for disease. If plants or
fruits show major disease dam
age, the plants should be
removed, placed in a plastic bag
and thrown into the garbage.
-Stop and chop. Plants
with minor or no disease dam
age should be cut down and
chopped up. “You can use a sick
le, hedge trimmer or lopping
shears,” Ferretti says. “You can
even use a lawnmower to chop it
finer if you are careful of stones
and large pieces.”
-Turn it over. Once the
plants are chopped down, use a
spade or a rototiller to turn the
earth so organic breakdown of
plant tissues can begin. “You can
leave the surface rough,”
Ferretti advises. “It lessens ero
sion.”
-Plant Annual ryegrass.
Ferretti says annual ryegrass is
a perfect cover crop for small
gardens. “It comes up in seven
days or so,” he says. “It will be
well-established by the time
plants go dormant.”
Ferretti says annual ryegrass
produces a large rootmass,
which keeps the soil loose. The
roots also absorb phosphorus
and attracts earthworms and
microorganisms such as benefi-
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cial fungi, bacteria, yeasts, algae
and other organisms that make
the soil richer. “Planting rye
grass nearly eliminates erosion,”
Ferretti says. “The root struc
ture holds the soil together and
allows water to soak in. If the
soil is left bare, a crust will form
and much of the water will run
off.”
- Soil test. After the garden
is prepared for the winter,
Ferretti recommends testing the
soil for nutrient deficiency.”
Apply lime as soon as possible, if
it’s needed,” he says. “You won’t
need to add other nutrients to
the soil until early spring, but
it’s nice to know what you’ll need
ahead of time.”
- Add manure or compost
(if needed). Gardeners should
add manure or compost to the
garden site m late October or
November. “By spring, the com
ponents will have broken down
and been incorporated into the
soil structure,” Ferre tti
explains.
- Starting the garden
again. By spring, Ferretti says,
most of the annual ryegrass will
have died, so gardeners can
rototill or dig up the garden and
plant new crops.
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To register or for more infor
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