If you are done mowing for the year, be sure to service your mower before putting it away. Make sure you drain the gas tank of gasoline-powered engines or use a gasoline stabilizer. Untreated gasoline can become thick and gummy. A few drops of oil squirted inside the spark plug hole (after you remove the spark plug) will help lubricate the cylinder. While you have the spark plug removed, replace it with a new one. If your equipment has a battery, clean the battery terminals, which usually corrode during the season.  A wire-bristle brush is a good tool for doing this. The battery can then be removed or connected to a battery maintainer that will keep it charged over winter. If you remove the battery, be sure to store it in a protected location for the winter (a cool basement works best). Now is also an excellent time to sharpen mower blades so they'll be ready next spring. 

Sharpening rotary mower blades is fairly straightforward. The following steps will guide you through this process:
* Check the blade for major damage. If you can't fix it, it will need to be replaced.
* Remove grass and debris from the blade with a moist cloth. Dry before beginning to sharpen the cutting edge.
* Remove nicks from the cutting edge, using a grinding wheel or hand-file.
* If using a grinding wheel, match the existing edge angle to the wheel. If hand-filing, file at the same angle as the existing edge.
* Grind or file until the edge is 1/32 inch, about the size of a period.  Sharpening to a razor edge may result in the edge folding over during use resulting in a poor cut.
* Particularly with a grinding wheel, avoid overheating the blade as this may warp it.
* Clean the blade with solvent or oil, much like if you were cleaning a gun, for optimum winter storage. Avoid using water because it will promote rust. 
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Following these tips can help you better prepare your mower for winter storage and also save you some steps this coming spring. (Ward Upham)

Cool-season vegetables vary in cold tolerance, with some able to take colder temperatures than others. Semi-hardy crops can take a light frost but are damaged by temperatures in the mid- to upper-20s. Examples include beets, Chinese cabbage, collards, Irish potatoes, Bibb lettuce, mustard, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, and leaf lettuce. Covering these plants when cold weather threatens can help extend the harvest season.

Plants termed “hardy” can take lower temperatures but are damaged when the temperature drops to the low 20s. These include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, carrots, turnips, and kale.

Certain root crops can essentially be stored outside even after the leaves have been damaged or killed by frost. Beets, carrots, potatoes and turnips can be mulched and harvested as needed until the soil starts to freeze in late November to December.
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Growing vegetables in Kansas can be a challenge, but we have an extremely long gardening season. We can harvest from early April (asparagus) to early December. Winter is a good time to plan and prepare for next year’s crops. (Ward Upham)

If you buy your pumpkins early, there are some tricks to make them last. Make sure the pumpkin wasn't harvested too early; before the rind developed a hard, waxy layer to keep it from drying out and shriveling. Test the pumpkin with your thumbnail. If it penetrates the fruit easily, it was harvested too early. Pumpkins also keep better in cooler weather. Even mature pumpkins may benefit from a light application of a spray wax such as that used for cars.

If you carve your pumpkins consider that the seeds can be saved and roasted.  Scoop out the seeds, rinse them well to remove any strands of tissue that have remained and spread them out so they can dry.   Once dry, they can be roasted on a cookie sheet for 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Roast larger seeds for the longer amount of time.  

If you prefer salted seeds, soak the seeds in a brine.  Make the brine by combining 2 tablespoons of salt for every 2 cups of water.  Add the seeds to the brine and bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain, toss with a tablespoon of olive oil and spread on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  Check the seeds during the last 5 minutes and remove when done.
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Note that carving reduces the longevity of pumpkins with carved pumpkins doing well to last a week. (Ward Upham)

As winter approaches, we need to start thinking about storage of the bulbs that will not survive Kansas winters. The bulbs of gladiolus, caladium, dahlia, tuberous begonia, calla lily, and canna lily need to be dug and stored so they can be planted next year. Actually, the storage organ of the above plants is not a true bulb. Canna and calla lilies are rhizomes, caladium, and tuberous begonias are tubers, gladiolus is a corm, and dahlia is a tuberous rooted plant.

All of these plants should be dug after frost has browned the foliage. Then, allow them to dry for about a week in a shady, well-ventilated site such as a garage or tool shed.  Freezing temperatures should be avoided.  Remove any excess soil and pack them in peat moss, vermiculite, or perlite. Make sure the bulbs don’t touch so that if one decays, the rot doesn’t spread. Dusting them with fungicide before storage will help prevent them from rotting.
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Caladium should be stored between 50 and 60 degrees F. The other bulbs mentioned should be stored as near 40 degrees F as possible. Finding a good spot to store the bulbs may be difficult. Some people place them against a basement wall farthest from the furnace and insulate them so the wall keeps them cool. (Ward Upham)

​We have received a large number of contacts recently about Atlas Cedars that have suffered dieback during July and August in south-central Kansas.  In some cases, the trees have had the top or bottom turn brown or the whole tree has collapsed.  Though there can be a multitude of reasons for trees not to do well, the most likely reason for these trees is environmental stress.  

Stress is cumulative. In other words, trees and shrubs can be affected by stresses that happened up to several years in the past. The primary cause of this year’s tree damage was likely the sharp drop in temperature during last fall. The extreme cold last February didn’t help anything but may not have been the major driver for the damage we are seeing this year.

Let’s look at last fall in more detail.  The Wichita area went from a daytime high of 87 on October 22, 2020 to a low of 24 degrees on October 26.  Unfortunately, trees were not hardened off before this happened.  In other words, they were not ready for these cold temperatures. Trees that are marginally cold hardy such as Atlas Cedars are most likely to be affected.

A sharp drop in temperature may damage at least a portion of the phloem and the cambium. Remember the phloem carries food made in the leaves to all parts of the plants including the roots. The cambium produces new phloem and xylem.  If the phloem and cambium are killed, the cambium cannot produce new, living phloem, and, therefore, the roots don’t receive the food needed to survive as food produced in the leaves cannot be transported to the roots.  What about the xylem that carries water and nutrients from the roots throughout the plant?  Why is the xylem still able to function when both the phloem and cambium have been killed?

The reason the tree can still distribute water to the top portion of the tree is due to how a tree grows and, specifically, how xylem works.  Even in perfectly healthy trees, most of the xylem is dead. Portions of this dead xylem forms hollow tubes that carry the vast majority of water and nutrients throughout the plant. Though there are living xylem cells, the contents of those cells make them inefficient in moving water. Therefore, the functional portion of the xylem wasn’t hurt by the freeze because it was already dead. Since this xylem system still works and provides water for the tree, the tree can live for quite a period of time.

Trees so affected will not die immediately.  First of all, a healthy root system has stored energy reserves that it can use to keep the tree alive. When those reserves are depleted, the entire tree or a portion of the tree will die very quickly.  Usually this occurs during the summer following the year the damage occurred.  That is what we saw this summer with the Atlas Cedars.

So, is there anything we can do now to help the trees?  Those that collapsed are done for.  Those that suffered lesser damage should evaluated as to whether they would be worth keeping once the dead is pruned out.  Those that are should be watered to prevent further stress.  Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged  (Ward Upham)

​Sometimes people are unsure on how to tell the difference between a maple and an oak. The easiest way is to look at how the leaves are arranged on the stem. Maples are opposite leaved and oaks are alternate. Opposite leaved plants such as maples and ash have leaves directly across from one another. Alternate leaved plants have leaves alternating up the stem; one on one side and the next, further up the stem, on the other. (Ward Upham)

Pruning in August can stimulate new growth that is less hardy during the winter.  But what about pruning at this time of year?  Woody plants move sugars and other materials from the leaves to storage places in the woody portions of the plant just prior to leaf fall and we would like to maximize those stored energy reserves.  Even pruning later in the fall can cause a problem by reducing the cold hardiness of woody plants.  Dr. Rich Marini at Penn State Extension has written , “Based on everything that has been published we can conclude that woody plants do not attain maximum cold hardiness when they are pruned in the fall. Trees are affected more by heavy pruning than light pruning.”  However, this does not mean that woody plants pruned in the fall will necessarily suffer winter damage.  In most cases, I think we can get away with the old adage of “prune whenever your pruners are sharp.”  However, damage can occur if we have a sharp drop in temperature before plants are completely hardened off.  Also, marginally hardy plants are more susceptible to winter damage, especially if pruned in the fall.  Though light pruning and removal of dead wood are fine this time of year, you may want to delay severe pruning until spring.

Consider pruning to be “light” if 10% of less of the plant is removed. Dead wood does not count in this calculation.  Keep in mind that even light pruning of spring-blooming shrubs such as lilac and forsythia will reduce flowers for next year. We normally recommend that spring-bloomers be pruned after flowering.
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Shrubs differ in how severely they can be cutback. Junipers do not break bud from within the plant and therefore should be trimmed lightly if you wish to keep the full shape. Overgrown junipers should be removed. On the other hand, there are certain shrubs that can be pruned back severely during the spring. Rejuvenation is the most severe type of pruning and may be used on multi-stem shrubs that have become too large with too many old branches to justify saving the younger canes. All stems are cut back to 3- to 5-inch stubs. This works well for spirea, forsythia, pyracantha, ninebark, Russian almond, sweet mock orange, shrub roses, and flowering quince. Just remember that spring is the correct time to do this, not now. (Ward Upham)

​Iris are known for a couple of common problems: a fungus disease known as iris leaf spot and an insect named iris borer. Though both cause problems in the spring, now is the time to start control measures. Both the fungus and eggs of the borer overwinter on old, dead leaves. Remove dead leaves and cut back healthy leaves by ½ this fall to reduce populations of these pests. Also remove other garden debris from the iris bed.  This can significantly cut down on problems next spring. (Ward Upham)

Though we often think of soil testing as a spring chore, fall can actually be a better time. Soil-testing laboratories are often very busy during the spring resulting in a longer turnaround from submission to recommendations. Also, soils in the spring are often waterlogged, making taking samples difficult. If your soil test suggests more organic matter, fall is a much better season because materials are more available than in the spring (tree leaves), and fresher materials can be used without harming young tender spring-planted plants.
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Begin by taking a representative sample from at least six locations in the garden or lawn. Each sample should contain soil from the surface to about 6 to 8 inches deep. This is most easily done with a soil sampler. Many K-State Research and Extension offices have such samplers available for checkout. If you don’t have a sampler, use a shovel to dig straight down into the soil. Then shave a small layer off the back of the hole for your sample. Mix the samples together in a clean plastic container and select about 1 to 1.5 cups of soil. This can be placed in a plastic container such as a resealable plastic bag.
Take the soil to your county extension office to have tests done for a small charge at the K-State soil-testing laboratory. A soil test determines fertility problems, not other conditions that may exist such as poor drainage, poor soil structure, soil borne diseases or insects, chemical contaminants or damage, or shade with root competition from other plants. All of these conditions may reduce plant performance but cannot be evaluated by a soil test. (Ward Upham)