<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=08iQBi_1GzLuneJ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=08iQBi_1GzLuneJ00" width="670" height="502" ><figcaption>Fall leaves are just part of the season.</figcaption></figure>If you wait for the first snowfall to think about winter, your landscape has already taken its first hit. In Douglas County, the weeks between now and Thanksgiving are when we can do the most to help our trees, shrubs, lawns, and gardens get through the cold, dry months ahead. Here is a practical, Carson Valley-specific checklist from the UNR Extension Master Gardeners.Know your Carson Valley winterThe valley floor sits near 4,700 feet and gets only about 10 inches (average) of precipitation a year, most of it between November and March. January nights average in the low 20s or colder (Gardnerville falls in USDA hardiness zone 6b), and the first fall frost typically arrives around the third week of September (this years first freeze was Oct. 13), so many of us have already seen one. The real threats to plants here are not just cold snaps. They are dry wind, bright sun on bare winter days, and sharp swings between warm afternoons and freezing nights. Most of what follows is aimed at those three.Water now, then drain the systemGive trees and shrubs one long, slow soak while the soil is still workable, ideally before the ground freezes or dries out. Aim the water at the whole root zone out to the drip line, not just beside the trunk, and let it sink in well below the surface.Once that is done, winterize your irrigation. Shut off the supply, drain the lines, and have the system blown out with compressed air (if you system requires), one zone at a time and at modest pressure. Drain and store hoses and wrap exposed backflow preventers and above-ground pipes. A single hard freeze can crack fittings that you will not discover until spring.Trees and shrubs: keep watering, mulch, and protect barkWinter watering is the single most overlooked chore in our high-desert landscapes. University of Nevada, Reno Extension advises watering trees every few weeks through winter whenever there is no snow cover and daytime temperatures are above about 40 degrees, with young trees at the more frequent end. Evergreens keep losing moisture through their needles all season, and a dry winter can show up as browned foliage months later. Use a hose on a slow trickle and skip it when the soil is frozen.A few more steps:Mulch. Spread 2-4 inches of wood chips over the root zone, pulled back a few inches from the trunk so the bark stays dry.Protect young trunks. Thin-barked trees such as maples, fruit trees, and aspens can split from sunscald on cold, sunny days. Wrap trunks loosely from the base to the first branches in November and remove the wrap in spring.Hold the pruning shears. Pruning now can stimulate growth that will not harden off in time. Remove dead or hazardous limbs and save structural pruning for late winter while plants are dormant.Lighten snow loads. Gently brush heavy, wet snow off evergreens and multi-stemmed shrubs with an upward sweep of a broom. Never beat frozen branches.Perennials and vegetable beds: tidy smart, not cleanCut back perennials that turned mushy or diseased, and bag or dispose of that material rather than composting it. Leave healthy stems and seed heads of coneflower, sedum, and ornamental grasses standing. They catch snow, shelter beneficial insects, and feed birds, and you can trim them in early spring.In the vegetable garden, pull spent plants, especially anything with disease or pests, and clear out tomato and squash debris. Top beds with an inch or two of compost or shredded leaves. Garlic planted in October or early November and mulched with straw will be ready for next summer. After a hard freeze, drain and store drip tape and containers so they do not crack.Lawns: one last mow and a clean surfaceKeep mowing cool-season grasses until growth stops, lowering the final cut to roughly 2 to 2.5 inches. Grass left tall can mat under snow and invite disease. Rake or mulch-mow fallen leaves, so they do not smother the turf, and move them to your beds instead of the curb. If you fertilize, a late-fall application of a slow-release lawn fertilizer while the grass is still green builds root reserves for spring. Follow the label rate, and keep fertilizer off driveways and out of irrigation ditches. Tender plants, containers, and toolsBring in anything that cannot take a hard freeze, including geraniums, rosemary, and succulents. Move in terracotta and ceramic pots that would crack, or empty them and store them on their sides. Frost-tender plants that stay outside can ride out a light frost under frost cloth or an old sheet, but remove the cover once temperatures warm.While things are quiet, clean and sharpen pruners and shovels, wipe metal with a little oil, drain the mower’s fuel or add stabilizer, and make a note of what worked and what failed this year.Deer, voles, and defensible spaceHungry deer and rodents do the most damage when snow covers their usual food. Protect young trees with a sturdy cage or fence about 6 feet tall, since bucks also rub their antlers on fall trunks. Wrap lower trunks in hardware cloth to keep out voles and rabbits, and rake mulch back from the base of the tree.Fall is also the time to reduce wildfire fuel. Rake leaves, needles, and dry weeds away from the house, clear gutters and roof valleys, move firewood away from structures, and trim dead branches. The University of Nevada, Reno Extension’s Living With Fire program offers free guides for Carson Valley homeowners.Your fall checklistGive trees and shrubs a final deep soak before the ground freezesDrain, blow out, and insulate the irrigation system; store hosesMulch beds 2 to 4 inches, keeping it off trunksWrap young, thin-barked trunks and fence them against deerPlan winter watering for dry, snow-free stretches above 40°FMake the last mow, rake leaves, and apply fall lawn fertilizerPlant garlic and bring in tender plants and potsClear leaves and debris from around the house</div></body>

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If you wait for the first snowfall to think about winter, your landscape has already taken its first hit. In Douglas County, the weeks between now and Thanksgiving are when we can do the most to help our trees, shrubs, lawns, and gardens get through the cold, dry months ahead. Here is a practical, Carson Valley-specific checklist from the UNR Extension Master Gardeners.

Time to prepare for winter

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If you wait for the first snowfall to think about winter, your landscape has already taken its first hit. In Douglas County, the weeks between now and Than

Time to prepare for winter

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