Gardening

This winter, forget the staking and let your trees be free

Jude and I walk a lot. I, at least, am at that age. One of our favorite routes takes us into a growing subdivision, and I (and sometimes Jude) have to restrain myself from walking up and knocking on a door to tip off the homeowner about something he or she is not doing properly "yardeningwise." I can't help it after all these years of researching for these columns.

For example, why are people still staking up trees? Even the contractors for the municipality and the state continue this practice. In my opinion, even before you read the rest of this article, if you have trees that are staked, go outside and untie them.

Staking trees is an outdated practice. The roots of newly planted trees seem to get established better and more quickly when the trees are not staked. Trees need to sway in the wind in order to transfer the stress of the wind up and down the trunk. Stake up a tree and the stress is usually centered right above where the trunk is tied. Get a good wind and that's where the tree will snap right off.

Consider this. Here in Alaska, the ground freezes. This should convince even the skeptics among you that the tree would no longer need staking. It isn't going to get pulled out of frozen ground. Again, staked trees snap just above where they are tied. Untie them now. Free the trees!

Next (and this should not have to be pointed out): In a matter of weeks, things left outside will be frozen so hard to the ground you won't be able to move them.

Sprinklers, lawn furniture and basketball and volleyball nets will become permanent fixtures if you don't deal with them now. The problem with leaving these things out is that if they don 't crack and become unusable you will trip over them when walking out in the snowy yard.

Plus, they are unsightly when there isn't snow. And one more thing, you may lose some items under leaves, forget they are there and run them over with the mower in the spring, which doesn't help the mower or the items.

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OK, I can see a lot of you agree on this not raking up leaves thing. However, an awful lot of you are not using extra leaves as mulch around your trees and shrubs. Trees may look natural growing out of a lawn, but they are not supposed to be there. They are supposed to be in forests and woods where there is all manner of leaf duff supporting the microbes that feed the trees. Your lawn is somewhere to the right of being a prairie. Most trees don't grow in prairies.

So, make your trees more at home by literally smothering the grass underneath them and even out a ways from the tree's drip-line. Just rake a few up from the driveway and decks if you don't want to take some from your lawn. This will at least allow your trees to get the kind of microbial population more like its natural environment.

Let's see. Hey, you want to attract moose? Leave your old vegetables out there. Yes, I said to leave the perennial beds alone. Not so the vegetable beds. Moose will clean them up and then hang around or come back looking for more. They love old cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Do yourself a favor and clean up the veggies. Do follow up with a mulch if you can. Preferably one with grass clippings.

Here is another one, and it means saving money. You have a great investment in big clay or ceramic pots for use on the porches and decks. You filled them with plants, and they were lovely this summer and fall. However, they will fill with water, freeze and break if you leave your plants in them and don't take care of them. Consider dumping out the soil and taking them into the garage, OK?

And, I don't mind that you leave your hoses out. Truth be told, I do it too. However, you are treading on thin ice that could get really thick if you leave yours attached to an outdoor faucet. The physics of it are complicated, but doing so increases the chances of freezing a pipe on the wrong side of the outdoor wall of your house. Disconnect hoses and timers and do it right now.

Or right after you untie those trees.

Don't make me knock on your door. Look around outside. Winter is coming or, to some, is already here. You know what to do. Do it before you can't.

Jeff's Alaska garden calendar for the week of October 14

Cannabis: If you are growing your outdoor cannabis indoors now, make sure to keep the light the plants receives well below 12 hours. No other light should hit the plants.

Spider mites: The heat is on and spider mite populations explode. Look for yellowing leaves, leaves with a sticky gunk on them and the tiny mites on the underside of leaves. Address with issue with Azamax or other Neem-based product.

Lights: You know the drill. You need them for your indoor plants and your own sanity. This year, why not just up and visit a "grow" store and see what is new. Even the box stores have new lighting equipment.

Alaska Botanical Garden wreath-making: 3-5 p.m. Oct. 15. Limited class size. Check alaskabg.org.

Jeff Lowenfels is America's longest running columnist, having written this column for 41 years, never missing a week, and was awarded the Association for Garden Communicators' 2016 gold medal for best newspaper writing. Jeff is the author of three books. This and more information as well as contact email can be found at his new website jefflowenfels.com.

Jeff Lowenfels

Jeff Lowenfels has written a weekly gardening column for the ADN for more than 45 years. His columns won the 2022 gold medal at the Garden Communicators International conference. He is the author of a series of books on organic gardening available at Amazon and elsewhere. He co-hosts the "Teaming With Microbes" podcast.

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