The following article was originally published in 2008  

You can say without hesitation that Indian summer occurred last week. I was mowing in shorts! And sweating! It was one of the warmest stretches of autumn weather I can remember. The sad part is I knew it wouldn’t last. But we managed to get a few things done during the heat spell; I dug up an old tractor tire planter, and Maureen was in shorts as she worked taking out part of the front flower bed. I’ve been collecting leaves and she uses them as a mulch topping. A layer of old newspaper and cardboard went down first, then the leaves and grass clippings. By next spring, the paper, cardboard, leaves and grass will be nothing but decomposed soil amendments and that spot, and the spot where the tractor tire used to be, will be ready for new plantings.   

If you’re wondering, Indian summer refers to a stretch of sunny, warm weather in autumn, usually occurring after the first frost, but before the first snow. Only this time we got the snow first, on Wednesday, October 29. Did you mark that date on your calendar? I didn’t. I was too upset thinking winter had arrived early. But thank goodness for Indian summers. According to information I gathered from several Web sites, the phrase “Indian summer” can be traced back to the 19^th century during England’s reign over India. At the time, it was mistakenly thought the term was referring to the Indian subcontinent when in fact it was Native Americans (it is not related to the summer season in India).

The first recorded use of “Indian summer” is from a letter written by a French-American farmer in 1778: “Then a severe frost succeeds which prepares it to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon to follow; though it is often preceded by a short interval of smoke and mildness, called the Indian Summer.” St. John de Crevecoeur the farmer was also a writer living in rural New York and was probably more in tune with weather than we are today.

In order to officially (a misnomer) determine if a true (another misnomer) Indian summer is occurring, or has occurred, temperatures must remain above 70°F for one week after the autumnal equinox. The autumnal equinox took place on September 22, but I don’t think we had seven straight days with temperatures above 70°. One major requirement that’s already been met is a first frost. Regardless of not meeting the seven 70° days requirement, I’m calling it an official Indian summer. If only I could make it last through winter!

Preparing a new spot for flowers is not that complicated if the area isn’t too large. And now, when leaves are everywhere, why not use them for something besides the landfill? Old newspaper is also readily available, and as long as you don’t use the glossy ad sections, it’s perfectly safe to use it for smothering grass. Your layer of newspapers should be about 10 sheets thick and you’ll need to overlap the ends as you go. Of course this is a task that shouldn’t be started in windy conditions, and you may find it necessary to wet your newspapers with the garden hose if it’s breezy. If you have old empty cardboard boxes, flatten and use them as well.

Once you have your layer of newspaper down, mulching over all of it is the next step. This is where the leaves come in. I’m not advocating the use of carbon emitting mowers and choppers, use them to grind your leaves if you like, but I’ve found it’s really not necessary. By the time spring arrives, everything is mostly decomposed anyway so why waste extra energy mowing and chopping leaves? Put down a 5 or 6-inch layer of leaf mulch over the newspapers, after this last step, go ahead and spray some water over the entire area. The only thing left to do is wait for spring.

Gardening Tips

• Perhaps you’ve seen the infomercial for “Aqua Globes,” the “automatic houseplant watering system.” They’re bulb-shaped glass globes with a long tube, you fill it with water, insert the tube end into your pot, and the globe automatically waters for up to 2 weeks. You’ve heard the adage, if something seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t. If you’ve tried this product and it works, let me know.
• Get your bird feeders up, and provide fresh water too.
• Roses require special attention before winter sets in. For grafted roses, use a good mulch around the bud union to protect it. For own-root roses, cover the base of the canes and surrounding near-surface root zone with 2 - 3 inches of mulch.
• Cut the tops off your asparagus plants and add a winter dressing of aged manure to the bed.