Fall has arrived, and winter is coming! Crazy temperatures mean crazy changes to your desert-smart garden. Reporter Joe Rego, has your November gardening tips…
You may continue planting this month even with cooler temperatures, but plants will establish roots more slowly than earlier in fall. Plant seeds for spring and summer blooms, try choosing mix of western wildflowers with annuals and perennials for long-lasting color. Irrigate frequently during Santa Ana winds, which pull moisture from both plants and soil. Give one last deep watering to deciduous trees and grapevines but discontinue feeding to harden them off for the upcoming winter. Irrigate fall-planted trees and shrubs deeply once or twice a month to ensure good root formation prior to cold-weather dormancy.
As for your watering schedules, switch over to watering between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Remember, temperatures in the Morongo Basin can (and have) dropped to freezing in the month of November. November “snow” has also been realized at varied elevations. Be sure your irrigation system has been “winterized” to prevent damage, and that your water supply to the irrigation system may need to be turned off as temperatures drop.
You can get more gardening tips right here on Z107.7 on Saturday mornings during the Unique Garden Show 8:30 to 9 a.m.
