Planting herbs to cutting back on water, here's what to do in your Brevard yard this month

November is already here, so hopefully cooler temperatures with lower humidity are in our near future.  This is a great time of the year to work in the yard. 

Here are some suggestions of gardening activities for this month:

Plant sales. Mark your calendar for the second Friday of every month for the Brevard Discovery Garden nursery plant sale. 

The plant sales are 10 a.m. until noon and only checks and cash will be accepted. We have a variety of native plants, such as sunshine mimosa, two native species of milkweed, seaside goldenrod, fiddlewood and pink muhly grass, just to name a few.

We have culinary ginger, zingiber officinale, and turmeric, curcuma longa, which are great spices to use in your cooking, plus they provide health benefits.

There are also a variety of ornamental plants, including the unusual ballonplant, gomphocarpus physocarpusvery, which is a member of the milkweed family. This ornamental plant produces striking yellowish, ball-shaped fruits that resemble paper lanterns.  

This perennial grows in zones 8-10 to a height of 6 feet and prefers full sun and sandy, well-drained soil. If you have a butterfly garden, this plant will bring Monarchs to your yard. The fruit can be used in flower arrangements.

We also have a large selection of succulent plants growing in cute containers if you’re in need of a gift. The nursery will be open this month from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 8. The nursery is at 3695 Lake Drive, Cocoa.

Give the mower a break. Good news. Now that the days are so short, you’ll probably only need to mow every 10-14 days. 

Slow the water. Cut back on your watering now, to maybe every other week, because of the shorter days.

Seed your lawn. Consider purchasing annual ryegrass seed this month so you’ll be ready to over-seed your lawn when the temperatures get cooler.  Warm season grasses go dormant during the shorter days of winter so, broadcasting annual ryegrass seed will create a green lawn throughout the winter. 

When broadcasting the seed, be sure to walk in one direction to sow half of the seed, and then walk at a 90º angle to broadcast the second half of the seed. To ensure that the seed comes into contact with the soil, sweep the ground with a stiff broom after broadcasting. 

Proper watering is crucial for germination. Lightly water the over-seeded lawn for 10 to 20 minutes once or twice a day for 7-10 days to improve seed germination. In late spring, when the ryegrass dies, it will provide more organic matter to the soil. This is an easy way to amend our soil and enjoy a green lawn through the winter.

Spray vegetables and fruits. Continue spraying your vegetable plants and fruit trees weekly with liquid seaweed (i.e. Maxicrop, Liquid Kelp, etc.) to improve and keep them healthy.  Use a hand pump-up sprayer to thoroughly spray both sides of the foliage.

Skip the pruning. Don’t prune deciduous fruit trees, shrubs and vines until they have shed all their leaves. Check out our Fruitscapes site trec.ifas.ufl.edu/fruitscapes for detailed information on pruning the various fruit trees, shrubs and vines.

Inoculate fruit trees. Help your fruit trees, especially citrus, avocado and mango trees since they have insect/disease pressure (and all trees for that matter) by inoculating the area below the branches (and out further if possible) with a variety of endo and ectomycorrhizae (i.e. Mycoapply, Plant Success, Xtreme gardening, Bushdoctors, etc.). The mycorrhizae will create a symbiotic relationship with tree roots, benefiting the tree in numerous ways. 

Plant your veggies. Vegetables that can be planted in November include arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collards, endive/escarole, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, bunching onions, English or snow peas, Irish potatoes, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips.

Turn out the light. To guarantee your poinsettias and Christmas cacti bloom in December, make sure they receive total darkness throughout the night, starting now.  If there is any light nearby, cover the plant with a box or blanket overnight, every night, until you see evidence of colorful bracts or blooms. 

Plant your flowers. Flowers that can be planted this month include alyssum, calendula, cleome, dianthus, dusty miller, geraniums, flowering tobacco, lobelia, pansy, petunia, phlox, snapdragon, stock, viola, sweet peas, nasturtium, and ornamental cabbage.

Rake it up. Start raking your leaves and use them as mulch, add them to your compost pile or worm bin.

Plant your bulbs. Bulbs that can be planted now include agapanthus, African iris, amaryllis (these make great Christmas gifts), Aztec lily (Sprekelia formosissima), calla, crinum, Kaffir lily (Clivia), day lily (hemerocallis spp.), narcissus, hurricane lily (lycoris), society garlic (tulbaghia violacea), snowflake (leucojum spp.), shell ginger (alpinia zerumbet), Marcia walking iris (neomarcia gracilis), watsonia, iris, grow native iris or Louisiana iris and their hybrids (German or Japanese iris usually do not grow well here), rain lily (zephyranthes) and spider lily (hymenocallis spp.).

Plant your herbs. Herbs for the November garden include chives, garlic chives, fennel, rosemary, sage, salad burnet, dill, oregano, parsley, lemon balm, lavenders (Sweet, Spanish and French are your best bet), Mexican tarragon, chervil (this is a winter annual, so grow it now,) cilantro, sage and thyme.

Sow your veggies. Vegetables that can be sown now for transplanting in December include arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce, kohlrabi, mustard, English or snow peas, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips.

Hit the produce stand. Some of the fresh produce that could be available at produce stands or farmers markets include baby seedless English cucumbers, beets, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, butter lettuce, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, eggplant, herbs, lettuce, micro greens, okra, onions, pea shoots, peppers, squash, tomatoes, wheatgrass and zucchini. Check out the Brevard County Farmers market at the Wickham Park Equestrian Center from 3-6 p.m. Thursdays.

Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences.