November Gardening Tips from Southwest Austin’s Natural Gardener

Now that Fall weather has breezed into Austin, Texas, it’s time to start preparing your garden for Winter! Enjoy these useful gardening tips for November, complements of Southwest Austin’s home for gardening, the Natural Gardener …

Gardening To Do List for November

• The average first frost date in our area is November 15.

– Plant vegetable seeds. EARLY NOVEMBER: Mustard, Radish, Spinach.

– Plant vegetable plants. Lettuce, Mustard and other Greens, Peas, Spinach.

– Plant herb plants. Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Parsley and all perennial herbs such as Chives and Oregano.

– Plant strawberries.

– Plant annual flower/ornamental seeds. Sweet Alyssum, Calendula, Centaurea, Coreopsis, Delphinium, Larkspur, Linaria, Nemesia, Poppy, Snapdragon, Sweet Pea, Johnny Jump-Up (Viola).

– Plant annual flower/ornamental plants. Dusty Miller, Flowering Kale and Cabbage, Nicotiana, Pansy, Snapdragon, Sweet Pea.

– Plant perennial plants, trees, and shrubs. All of them!

– Plant ground covers and borders.

– Last chance to plant wildflower seeds!

– Overseed lawn with winter rye. Use “perennial rye” for that thin-bladed, slower-growing green winter lawn. It is not really perennial in Texas; it will die in the spring when the weather warms up.

– Plant cover crops on bare garden soil. Plant clovers, hairy vetch, Austrian winter peas, annual rye, or Elbon (cereal) rye, for example, to protect the soil from weed infestation, help prevent erosion, and to till in as organic matter before planting in the spring. Elbon rye should be tilled in before it gets a foot tall, or it will be too tough to till.

– Plant bulbs. Here are just a few types of bulbs that can naturalize here: “Carbineer,” “Carlton,” “Ceylon,” “Delibes,” “Earlicheer,” “Fortune,” “Grand Primo,” “Ice Follies,” “Mount Hood,” “Paperwhites,” “Rustom Pasha;” Hyacinthus orientalis var. albulus (French-Roman hyacinth); Ipheion uniflorum (blue starflowers); Lycoris squamigera (magic lily); Leucojum aestivum (summer snowflake); Muscari neglectum (a.k.a. M. racemosum or M. atlanticum); Zephyranthes candida (rain lily); and Zephyranthes drummondii (giant prairie lily).

– Divide perennials. Transplant or give away your divisions of: daylily, bearded iris, Shasta daisies, violets, wood ferns, and cannas.

– Spray turf and landscape weekly with seaweed solution as a winterizer.

– Prune out dead limbs from trees and shrubs before the leaves fall.

– Prune back chrysanthemums almost to the ground after blooming.

– Inspect and clean up potted plants that are moved indoors. Control insect pests on the plants or in the soil with an organic solution.

– Mulch all plants, including trees and shrubs.

– Water plants well before a freeze. Freeze damage occurs when ice crystals form inside plant cells and pierce the cell walls. A turgid plant cell (plump with water) is less likely to be ruptured by the ice crystals than flaccid cells.

– Drape row cover–a lightweight, spun fiber cloth–over susceptible plants in advance of a freeze, securing the fabric well at the soil line. Sheets or blankets are used the same way, and are better than plastic for draping.

Thank you, Natural Gardener! Check out the store website for additional information. Or, take a trip to see them this winter. Store hours and directions are below. Happy gardening!

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Store Hours:

Mon-Sat: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

(Hours Change Seasonally)

Address:

8648 Old Bee Caves Road Austin, Texas 78735. Phone Number: (512) 288-6113

Directions to the Natural Gardener:

This gardening store is relatively close for residents of South Austin neighborhoods like Circle C, Legend Oaks, and the Village at Western Oaks.

From South Austin:

Take Hwy 290/Hwy 71 into Oak Hill. When you reach the “Y”, take Hwy 71 West. Go about 1 mile to the traffic light at Fletcher. Turn right onto Fletcher and go about 1/4 mile until it dead ends into Old Bee Caves Road. Turn left onto Old Bee Caves Road and go 1/2 to 3/4 mile. The Natural Gardener is on the right.

From North and Northwest Austin:

Heading south on MoPac, take the Southwest Parkway exit. Turn right onto Southwest Parkway. Check the odometer, go 4.5 miles. You will turn left onto Travis Cook Road. Go about 1/2 mile until it dead ends into Old Bee Caves Road. The Natural Gardener is at that intersection on the right.