Keep harvesting your cool-season vegetables crops.

December is STILL for Planting! The months of September through December have distinct advantages for planting trees and shrubs. Fall planting follows the heat of summer, and precedes a cool winter season. Trees and shrubs planted use this to good advantage. Plant roots grow anytime the soil temperature is 40 degrees or higher – allowing the root systems of the fall-planted specimens to develop and become established. When spring arrives, this expanded root system can support and take advantage of the full surge of spring growth.

The Fall Season in the Water Garden
The Fall Season is when we turn our attention towards clean-up. Fall is the best time to clean your pond because the fish are the healthiest. It is also the time when leaves begin to fall from the trees above. If these leaves get in the pond and decay it will throw off the ecological balance of a water garden. It is important to remove the leaves from your pond before they can accumulate. One option is to use a Skimmer to remove leaves off the surface of the pond as they fall. Another option is to install leaf netting over the pond. Fish start to slow down with the cooler fall temperatures. With their slower metabolism and the absence of plants our fish are more susceptible to predation by raccoons, birds and other animals. Leaf netting keeps the leaves out of your pond and it also protects your fish from predators! Matterhorn recommends that you clean the pond before winter and remove sludge and organic debris (dead leaves, grass, fish waste and algae). Equip yourself with the proper tools for cleaning such as Skimmers, Muck Nets and Brushes. In addition, use Microbe-Lift Autumn Winter Prep to help break down sludge and prepare the pond for winter. Proper pond cleaning in the fall will prevent problems in the spring. As the water warms in spring, decomposing organic debris promotes the proliferation of harmful bacteria which can foster disease and dramatically decrease oxygen levels.

Fish Care-As the water temperature drops, we should be feeding our fish less as their metabolism slows down. Hopefully you have been feeding your fish well with a high protein food this summer to allow them to build up a reserve of fat to help them through the winter. After the water temperature drops to the sixties you should decrease the amount of food given and feed only once a day. Provide food with a protein content of 25 to 32 percent. Matterhorn's Cold Season Food is an excellent food at this time. As water temperatures continue to drop to below 60 degrees F, you should feed only two or three times a week. Once the temperature drops below 50 degrees F you should stop feeding altogether until spring when the water temperature remains above 50 degrees F.

Aquatic Plant Care-You should have stopped feeding your plants by now. Hardy water lilies should be trimmed back and placed at the bottom of the pond (for ponds at least 30" deep) to keep them from freezing. Submerged plants such as Cabomba and Elodea will winter well underwater - trim plants back and drop to the pond bottom. Some plants do not like being submerged in the pond through the winter. Iris ensata (formerly know as Iris kaempferi), a Japanese Iris, should be removed from the pond and planted in the yard until spring when new growth starts and it can be placed back in the pond for the summer. Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) should be removed from the pond and planted in the yard for the winter.

But What About My Tropical Plants?-Some tropical water lilies will bloom all winter if kept in a tub container inside and given at least six hours of bright light. You can also winter them over by removing the tuber from the pot after the foliage has died back from a freeze. Place the well washed tuber in a container of slightly damp sand or peat moss at 50 degrees F. HOWEVER, the easiest and often best choice for tropical plants is to simply dispose of them after freezing weather and replace them in the spring. This way you get to try new plants and colors next season. If you want to try wintering over your tropical plants there are a few methods worth trying. Many tropical plants can be brought inside and treated as a houseplant for the winter. Umbrella Palm, Taros, and Calla Lilies will do very well with medium light levels. Water hyacinths and water lettuce require more care than they are worth; it is much easier and less expensive to replace them each spring. If you still want to make the effort they require 10 hours of intense light and temperatures above 70 degrees F. Canna rhizomes can be overwintered in slightly damp peat in a basement or other cool area.

Winterization-To avoid freeze damage, disconnect the UV filter and store it indoors. Disconnect the submersible pump, clean it and store it in a bucket of water. Drain all plumbing lines and the filter. Thoroughly clean the filter pads. If the pond will be run in the winter, and fish are present, raise the pump intake to draw water from a minimum of 12 inches above the bottom of the pond. Connect the Aerator when ice skims the surface. Aerators on a small pond with a depth greater than 36 inches will keep an area free of ice so fish do not suffocate and water stays healthy. If a pond is less than 36 inches deep, run a Floating Pond De-Icer with the aerator. As organics decompose in the pond they can produce toxic gases that could be trapped in the pond if it is covered by ice for more than a few days. It is important to keep at least a small area free of ice so that these gases can escape. Do not break the ice as the shock waves created can damage or kill your fish. One of the easiest ways to do this is with a Floating Pond De-Icer. This device floats in the pond and has a built in thermostat to turn the heating element on when the water temperature drops below 40 degrees. They can also be used to keep a small pond from freezing solid allowing you to keep your fish alive.