On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

• Check local nurseries and garden centers when purchasing holiday decorations and gifts
• If you think any shade trees need work, make arrangements now. But DO NOT TOP.
• If you have put up a natural christmas tree check water reservoir each day for water and keep it full with water that will keep your tree fresh and keep it from trying out and becoming a fire hazard
• If you are installing a row of shrubs as a screen, consider using multiple species. This is less risky than putting all your eggs in one basket.
• You can make holiday decorations from cuttings from your landscape plants. Ex hollies, magnolia, Pine cuttings, pine cones
• Take an inventory of leftover seeds and make sure they are stored in a suitable location (cool and dry).
• Soil Sample Peak season fee starts Dec 1 $4 per sample 7 week analysis time.
• Christmas gift idea: PPE for your loved one! Chem resistant gloves, eye protection, hearing protection.
• Make a compost bin if you don’t have one already
• Add some berry producing native shrubs to your landscape to help birds through the winter.

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

• Collecting leaves use PPE ear,eye, hand protection
• Include some NC products on your Thanksgiving table.
• Have frost protection measures ready for any outside plants you want to protect.
• Cover your raised vegetable garden beds with an inch or two of compost. This will reduce weed growth over the winter and it can be incorporated prior to spring planting.
• Skunks are foraging for grubs in lawns, making a lot of holes in lawns. With colder weather the grubs will go deeper in the soil and skunks will leave your lawn alone for other sources of food.
• Build a compost bin. Pallets, cinder block, wire fencing, etc.
• Now is the time to collect soil samples. 3 week analysis Dec 1 fee goes to $4 per sample
• Visit a public garden to get ideas for plants that look good in fall and winter.
• Kudzu bugs and Asian Lady bugs are on the move to your house.
• Buy fertilizer for the late November application to tall fescue.

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

• Compost Your leaves Please Do Not Burn Them
• Build a frame for a raised bed that you can use next spring
• Do not let weeds seed out in your garden.
• Don’t leave gas in mowers or other equipment over the winter.
• Improve your garden soil by adding compost, or shredded leaves to increase organic matter 3 to 4 inches is sufficient.
• If planting a hedge or screen planting, select a durable species that doesn’t get too big.
• Now is the time to collect soil samples. Avoid the rush! 2 week analysis
• Plant a tree! Serviceberry, crepe myrtle, kousa dogwood, etc.
• Check stored fruits and vegetables for decay.

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 On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

• Now is the time to start planning your season extension methods. Row covers. plastic , cardboard.
• If you plan to renovate your lawn do so ASAP.
• With cooler temps scout your property for fire ants. Granule baits work well when fire ants are foraging
• Plant a cover crop on vacant areas of your garden, Crimson clover is a good cover crop.
• Your fall vegetables may need top dressing check your garden journal for when they were last fertilized.
• Plant trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials, pansies, strawberries.
• Now is the time to collect soil samples. Avoid the rush!
• Harvest sweet potatoes now. Sun cure them by placing them on a trailer and leaving them in sunshine and moving them inside at night. Do this for about 2 weeks after digging.

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