11.15.25 Winter Landscape Prep

Episode Transcript

Welcome to The Keep Growing Podcast, the show that helps you coax more beauty and bounty from your Mid-Ohio Valley landscape, no matter the season. I’m your host, John Morgan, coming to you from my little patch of dirt along the Ohio River. 

It’s mid-November, the maples are bare, and the first snow has kissed the ground. That means it’s go-time for winter prep. Today we’re tackling four tasks you can knock out *right now* to set your yard up for a strong spring comeback. 

Stick around to the end—I’ll tease what’s coming in December. Let’s dig in.

Segment 1: Making Leaf Mold with Fall Leaves

First up: those leaves carpeting your lawn. Don’t bag ’em—turn ’em into black gold. I’m talking leaf mold, the crumbly, nutrient-rich conditioner that beats store-bought compost for acid-loving plants like azaleas, blueberries, and hydrangeas. 

Here’s the dead-simple method: 

1. Rake or blow leaves into a loose pile—four feet wide, three feet tall is perfect. 

2. Run your mower over the pile once to shred. Smaller pieces rot faster. 

3. Wet it down like a wrung-out sponge. 

4. Fence it with chicken wire or a cheap hardware cloth circle if you want it tidy. 

That’s it. By next fall you’ll have leaf mold; by the following spring, pure magic. Pro tip: oak and maple break down quickest in our region. Skip black walnut—they’re allelopathic and can stunt seedlings.

Segment 2: Clear Off Flower & Vegetable Beds

Next, let’s talk cleanup. I know, I know—leaving stems for pollinators is trendy. But in the Mid-Ohio Valley, wet winters breed fungal nightmares like powdery mildew and black spot. Strip the party favors now, compost the healthy stuff, trash the diseased. 

For veggie beds: pull spent tomato cages, yank bolted lettuce, and toss any fruit with blossom-end rot. A quick soil test now tells you if you need lime before freeze-up—our clay soils trend acidic. 

Flower beds: cut back peonies to three inches, leave coneflower and sedum seed heads for goldfinches, but bag any iris leaves with brown streaks. One pass with the string trimmer saves hours of hand-snipping.

Segment 3: Mulch—Your Winter Blanket

Task three: mulch like you mean it. Two to three inches of shredded hardwood or straw over bare soil keeps roots cozy and blocks winter weeds. 

Timing hack: wait until the ground freezes *lightly*—usually Thanksgiving week here—then top-dress. That traps cold and prevents heaving. Roses, newly planted shrubs, and strawberry rows get an extra collar of mulch *after* that first freeze. 

Skip the volcano mulching around trees—pull it back from trunks to dodge vole damage. Our local voles think mulch mounds are Airbnb.

Segment 4: Tackle Hardscape Projects

Last big swing: hardscape. November’s your sweet spot for patios, fire pits, and retaining walls. Ground’s soft but not muddy, rental equipment’s available, and contractors aren’t slammed. 

Dreaming of a bluestone patio? Mark it with spray paint, call 811, then excavate. Base gravel goes down now; pavers wait till spring if you run out of daylight. Same for fire pits—dig the footprint, set the ring, backfill. Come April, you’re grilling while neighbors are still sketching on graph paper. 

Budget move: reuse those fallen leaves as path mulch between new beds. Free and functional.

Closing

Let’s recap: shred leaves for mold, clear beds, mulch after freeze, and build that patio you’ve been Pinterest-ing. Four tasks, one weekend, huge spring payoff. 

Next episode we’re braving December—think tool maintenance, forcing bulbs, and the great debate: real tree vs. artificial. Drop your vote in the comments wherever you listen. 

Until then, keep growing.