A few winterization tips before going south
It has finally gotten cold enough for me to really feel like heading back to Florida this week. Even with the woodstove blazing, it has been chilly in my house the past few days. This morning, there was a dusting of snow on my picnic table that had frozen and it did not melt all day. The leaves are pretty much gone now, except for some lingering oaks and beech.
Up until now, the warm fall weather has been pretty enjoyable as I finish up gardening chores. I took advantage of the last warm day to run my lawnmowers and chainsaws out of gas. This is perhaps the best way to winterize these machines. Leftover gas in a carburetor sometimes jells over the winter, and most gas stabilizers do not provide complete protection.
Gas with ethanol in it is particularly hazardous to small engines. I always buy non-ethanol, high-octane gas for my mowers and saws. Removing the spark plugs and squirting a tiny bit of oil into the cylinder before replacing them is also a good idea, as well as cleaning out any accumulated dirt and debris. It is also a good idea to get the mower blades and chainsaws sharpened. I wish I could be motivated to spend as much time cleaning my house as I do cleaning up my garden!
I will be bringing some fresh potatoes south with me and lots of canned tomato sauce, peaches and pickles. I harvested a few real lunker potatoes this fall. Oddly, only extra large potatoes and large fish are correctly referred to as “lunkers.” I am happy to have achieved both this past summer! The “lunker” fish were brown trout caught in the Ashokan reservoir. Three of my red-skinned Norland’s weighed more than a pound each, but most of what I dug up were the size of golf balls. Of all the vegetables I grow, my grandkids in Florida enjoy the potatoes most of all!
A number of people have been wondering why there are few or no birds coming to their feeders
this fall. According to Wesley M. Hochachka, assistant director of bird population studies at the lab of ornithology at Cornell University, “Briefly, though, what seems to be happening is that this year has been an exceptional year for seed and berry production for many species of trees and shrubs, and as a result that birds that might typically be appearing at people’s bird feeders have been more than content to make use of the widely available natural food, rather than needing to visit bird feeders.”
I have to agree with whis explanation, as this has been a remarkable year for all sorts of seeds, berries and nuts. I cannot recall ever seeing as many hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) seeds as I am seeing this fall as well as beechnuts, hickory nuts and acorns. Shrubs such as the shrubby dogwoods, crabapples and even the perennial grasses are loaded with fruit and seed. I picked up more than 70 butternuts and I cracked some of them to taste. They are so much sweeter and easier to extract than black walnuts.
Of course, I had to borrow a heavy-duty nutcracker and wear gloves to prevent staining my fingers, but they were worth the effort! Sadly, almost every butternut tree I know of is dying from a blight
that does not seem to generate the attention of other tree diseases or pests, such as the Emerald ash borer, hemlock wooly adelgid and other exotic pests. I did save and plant about 25 of the butternuts that I hope will come up next spring.
Remember to protect your landscape plantings from deer by fencing, wrapping them in burlap or spraying them with a repellent. I visited my friend Lester yesterday and he showed me a couple of small golden chain trees that he had put a fence around. One of the trees had all its exposed branches nipped by the deer whereas the other one that he had hung a bar of Irish Spring soap in, was completely untouched. There is no doubt that soaps such as this do repel deer, but the soap bars also do wash away in time.
Next week, I will be writing
this column from sunny Florida. It is time for this snowbird to head south!
Bob Beyfuss lives and gardens in Schoharie County. Send him an e-mail to rlb14@cornell.edu.