What Do You Use To Mend Jack-O-Lantern?… A Pumpkin Patch!
There is always so much to do in the fall with the yard and garden. With the unusual late summer weather I find that I’m no further ahead than usual and even with the promise of rain and cooler fall temperatures that should start by Friday I will be scrambling to complete all the chores that should be done. The more that gets done now the easier it will be in spring and that is a reward in itself as spring brings its own list of to dos that need to be tended to. I am amazed at how quickly October is disappearing. The Lumby and District Public Market finished on the Thanksgiving weekend and although I wasn’t there as often as I should have been when I was it was so good to see everyone. While we are doing our fall cleanup we should also be thinking about what we can do to keep our homes and communities safe from fires. It is so hard to imagine that at this time of year nearly the whole province is still in an extremely high level of fire risk. So many have started recently and so many of them have been human caused. Here are a few tips that can help with that risk while we prepare for winter.
Although we know that covering vents such as in attics and crawl spaces with wire mesh can help keep rodents and other pest out of the house the use of wire screens this can also help with keeping airborne embers from getting into your home during a fire. It should be 1/8 of an inch and no smaller as it can prevent good air flow in your home if it is any smaller. There is even some that will swell when exposed to heat and almost seal your home from flying embers.
Be sure to clean up all waste, vegetation and debris especially evergreen needles as these are heavy in resin and will burn very hot and for a long time, with the heat this summer there was a lot of trees that dropped large amounts of their needles. The leaves and needles on your roof and in your gutters too should be cleaned out well and checked again during the hotter months starting in June.
Trees and vegetation should be removed from around the house and all bark mulch should be removed as well, although attractive it can be an issue in a fire, you can switch to rock mulch and only have small plants that do not reach up to the siding on your home and well spaced so fire can not devour these plants and lead directly to your home. Perhaps nice pots with plants can be placed along a fire proof band that surrounds your house. Trees should although safer that bushes should be no closer that 6 feet from buildings and should have no limbs that are below the 6 foot mark as well. Plants that should not be near your home include Cedar, Juniper, Yew, Tall Grasses and Spruce. Any plant with aromatic leaves or needles have a heavy resin in them will burn hot and ferociously when ignited.
Fences can be a big fuel source as well so if you are replacing an old wooden fence consider metal fencing instead. If wood is being used there are fire resistant woods available and use thicker planks as the are more resistant to fire, be sure to keep grasses down under and along your fence and the supporting posts. Chain link can be very attractive with Ivy growing on it that will provide the privacy wanted.
Once these chores are completed all tools should be washed with soap and water with a splash of bleach before they are stored away. All plants being brought In for the winter should be carefully examined for pests and a mild soap and water spray would not be out of line. Leaves will hopefully start to turn green and fall in the near future and these can be used to cover garden beds as well as flower and shrub areas to protect bulbs from possible freeze then thaw episodes. They also are wonderful for weed suppression, fertilization and lightening of heavy clay soils not to mention how wonderfully neat and clean it makes the yard look. Trees and shrubs should be deeply watered now for protection over winter and a final mowing of the lawn can be done. Do not cut the lawn too short for the best results over the winter. Spray off the lawnmower and be sure its in good shape for its winter storage.
Happy Gardening
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567 • samanthanason@hotmail.com
