Gardening tasks for November
- Pull dead annuals and, if not diseased, add to the compost pile.
- Cut (do not pull) flower heads and dry foliage from perennials.
- Drain hoses, turn off irrigation systems and cover faucets if a freeze is predicted.
- Cover winter squash. A slight frost will improve the flavor by converting starch to sugar.
- Plant garlic, kale, turnips, pansies, flowering kale and cabbage and snapdragons.
- Plant dormant trees.
- Dry herbs for Holiday greenery. Use Artemisia, Rosemary, Thyme, Elaeagnus, English Ivy and Nandina.
- Take cuttings of herbs for new plants.
- Sow rows of poppies, bachelor’s button, larkspur and sweet pea for Spring color.
- Plant spring bulbs and Spring and Summer blooming perennials like daisies, daylilies and iris.
- Cut mums back to 2-3” after blooms fade.
- Test your soil.
- Cut back tender herbs like lemon grass and freeze.
- Move pot plants inside. Be sure to look closely for insects.
- Add mulch to all beds.
- Water and turn compost piles. Add those leaves!
- Pick tomatoes before a freeze. Let ripen indoors.
- Put out bird feeders and keep filled.
- Water all plants.
- Mulch strawberry plants 2-4” to protect from freeze.
- Order seeds for planting next Spring.
- Cut your Tropical Milkweed all the way to the ground – BEFORE Thanksgiving.