Cochato Nursery's Gardening Tips

When the cold wet weather comes around, our window boxes and planters are in need of a pick me up. Try cutting back the plants that look ragged and leave the soil in the container. Walk through your garden and collect grass seed heads, pods and colorful stems of leaves or twigs like red twig dogwood. Push these stems into the soil of the container so they are supported by the soil. Now add pumpkins, and gourds to the top of the container or window box. These will last long into the fall and require little or no care.

Adding leaf mold to the soil is easy, all you really need is leaves and time. Create a 6-foot-diameter ring with 3- or 4-foot-tall wire fencing and just dump the leaves in, packing the pile down as you add to it. The enclosure will help to keep the leaves contained and more compacted. About two years, it will shrunk considerably, and the leaves will have been transformed into a rich, brown, crumbly leaf mold. You can speed up the process by adding water and nitrogen to the pile, turning it every so often.

Leaf mold is useful in container plantings, in the ground, and on the ground. It will help plants retain moisture and turn hard clay soils into soft rich soil.