lawn fertilizer, overgrown vegetable gardens, late transplanting, urban balconies: q&a with ken druse

Helping me answer, as he does each month, is my friend and longtime garden writer and photographer, Ken Druse of Ken Druse dot com, author of “The New Shade Garden” and “Making More Plants” and many other favorite garden books.

Read along as you listen to the Nov. 13, 2017 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here). If you have a question for a future show, post it in comments on this website, or on Ken’s website, or use our contact forms to email us, or ask us at Facebook.com/awaytogarden.

Q. We’re at mid-November. How much frost have you had, and what zone are you again? Are you a 7 or a 6B or, what are you?

Ken. I’m 6A—and today was the first frost.

Q. 6A? Really? So today, we should tell people we’re taping on, is it the ninth of November?

Ken. Yes, it is. [Above, Ken’s garden the day before his first frost of 2017.]

Q. I had one 10 days ago, and now I’ve had three since, and tomorrow night, the 10th of November, is forecast for 14°F. Oh, O.K. [Laughter.]

Anyway, yes, so sort of the extra-warm fall, I don’t know about you, but it sort of had me—it was