Gardener's Almanac: Oct. 28

What to do in the garden this week...

Nursery bargains: There is still time to plant woodies and perennials you buy on sale, but don't tarry and don't buy or transplant evergreens until next year.

Fallen leaves: Keep lawns raked to prevent leaves from matting
and smothering the grass. But you can let leaves remain under woodlands or
around the edge of shrubbery and perennial beds to act as an informal mulch. Don't bag and throw away valuable leaves. Pile them in a heap to
compost along with the rest of your disease-free garden refuse. Speed the
composting process by adding lime.

Irrigation system: If you have gear-drive rotor sprinklers installed above ground, drain them now. If the water does not drain out on
its own, you need to install a drain valve somewhere on the sprinkler
supply pipe so you can drain the water out. Or you can remove the rotors and shake the water out of them and store them inside for the winter. If
you have gear-drive rotors mounted above ground, check to make sure the
water has drained out of them.

Pond clean-up: If you have fish you plan to keep in the pond over
the winter, keep the pump running and arrange its intake to draw water
from a minimum of 12 inches above the pond bottom. On the other hand, iIf
you want to shut off the pump completely, disconnect your submersible pump
after you notice ice developing on the pond surface. Clean the pump and
keep it in a dry place until spring. Then drain all plumbing lines and the
filter, and clean the filter pads.

Questions? I will be on line live in a chat room Thursday, Nov. 5, from 1-2 p.m. at Boston.com
to answer your gardening questions.