* Take cuttings from some favorite annuals such as impatiens, coleus, geranium, and wax begonia. Root these in a moist mix of peat moss and sand or perlite, or in moistened vermiculite. These annuals not only make good houseplants if given enough light through the winter, but also serve as stock plants from which to start bedding specimens for next year’s flower beds. Take cuttings from the stock plants early next April.
* Cut to ground level those raspberry canes that bore fruit earlier in the summer. Leave the remaining lush, leafy canes, since they will produce next year’s fruit. So-called everbearing or fall-bearing raspberries are now developing a crop which should soon be ready for harvest. Do not cut down the canes producing this late crop, since they will produce another round of berries next July.
* Harvest pears when the fruit is still quite firm and its color changes from dark to light green. Don’t wait until the color changes to yellow. Pears allowed to ripen on the tree become very soft, brown at the center and grainy. Therefore, ripen pears only once they’ve been removed from the tree. To hasten the process, place your pears in a paper bag with a ripe apple or banana.
* To best enhance your garden environment, decide now where spring flowering bulbs can be planted. Then, make a list of bulbs to buy. Next, spade the soil where the bulbs are to be planted. Work in some compost and a balanced fertilizer, meaning one with near equal percentages of nitrogen, phosphorous (phosphate), and potassium (potash). A fertilizer with an analysis of 10-10-10 is a good example.
* Begin to harvest dry beans when the pods are dry and crisp. Unfortunately, not all the pods on a plant dry at the same time. Waiting until all are dry will result in many cracking open and dropping their beans to the ground. Therefore, I selectively harvest the dry pods. Alternatively, entire plants may be pulled up once their leaves have turned yellow and then hung as bunches in a well-ventilated location until all pods are dry and ready for shelling. Store the shelled beans in screw-top jars, e.g. canning jars, along with a packet of silica gel.
* Harvest chard by pulling or twisting off the outer leaves as needed. In this way, the plants will continue to produce new leaves from the center of the crown.
* Trim garlic plants that have been drying over the past six weeks or so. Cut back the dried shoot of each plant, leaving about an inch of stem on each bulb. The roots may also be trimmed. Store the bulbs in net bags or slatted crates in a cold but not freeze-prone place.
* Set up a cold frame in the vegetable garden and plant radishes, green onions, and leafy greens including lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, arugula, and mache. Inside the cold frame, these crops should grow well into winter.
