Install, check and/or replace tags on fruit trees. You should also have a written record. Written records can be lost and tags may come off, so use both. For tags, I use etchable aluminum bar, 1 inch wide and 1/8 inch thick, which I cut into lengths. I drill a hole in one end of each piece, and etch with an electric engraving pen to show the variety name, rootstock (if any), planting date and source. Then I attach the tag to the tree with soft 12-gauge copper wire wrapped in a couple of loose spirals around the trunk or limb. It is easily adjustable as the tree grows. I have used this method for many years with great success. Neither squirrels nor crows have exhibited any interest in stealing the tags.
Clean up under fruit trees. If you have chickens or other poultry, consider allowing your critters to range freely beneath your fruit trees to eat deadfalls and scratch up the soil looking for insects. If you don't have poultry or free-ranging doesn't work for you, rake beneath fruit trees to ensure that no deadfalls, leaves, twigs or other debris are lying about to aid pests or diseases. Bury or burn the debris; do not compost it, as it may contain diseases or insect larvae.
Sow cover crops. Cover crops such as crimson clover and Austrian field peas should be sown between mid-September and the end of October. The seed is inexpensive and easily used to suppress weeds, enrich soil, reduce soil compaction and, next spring, feed pollinators. I also use cover crops in the orchard. When sowing the seed, keep it at least 18 inches from tree trunks so that the trunks are not smothered by vegetation in the spring. Keep the area around the trunk open to the air and light.
Protect tree trunks. Put tubes made of spiral-cut plastic around the bases of your fruit trees to help prevent damage from mice, voles, rats and rabbits. During the lean winter months these critters can make a salad from the trees' bark and cambium.
Corral running bamboo. If you have planted running bamboo, take time to surround the planting with a pruning trench that is 12 inches deep and wide. Unrestricted bamboo rhizomes usually remain shallow in the soil. When restrained by a deep barrier such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic sheet, the rhizomes go deep and are harder to manage. Instead, dig the trench and inspect regularly, and prune off straying rhizomes and culms as they cross the trench. HDPE can still be used; if you do, it's recommended that you blockade only three sides, leaving the remaining side open but trenched.
Extend the harvest. Build a cold frame for extending the season of harvest. Cold frames can be stationary or movable. They make a lovely home for winter vegetables.
Put your compost pile to work. Plant it with garlic, shallots, winter brassicas such as kale, or cover crop seed.
Maintain tools. Clean, sharpen and oil tools to prevent rust and make them easier to use. Also oil handles to preserve the wood.
For cover crop seed:
Portland Nursery, 5050 S.E. Stark St.; portlandnursery.com or 503-231-5050
Naomi's Organic Farm Supply, 2615 S.E. Schiller St.; naomisorganic.com or 503-517-8551
For aluminum bar and soft copper wire:
Winks Hardware, 200 S.E. Stark St.; winkshardware.com or 503-227-5536
For bamboo, HDPE and other bamboo supplies:
Bamboo Garden, 18900 N.W. Collins Road, North Plains; 503-647-2700, bamboogarden.com
Freelance writer/photographer Vern Nelson: The Hungry Gardener, P.O. Box 25565, Portland, OR 97298; email@example.com