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10/10/2026

Should I water it or leave it alone?

Saturday Garden Question:

It's getting colder, the growing season is ending, and your plants aren't actively growing the way they were in July.

So you can stop thinking about water now, right?

Not necessarily.

In much of the dry West, winter plant damage isn't always caused by cold alone.

Dry soil can be part of the problem too.

Trees, shrubs, perennials, and especially newer plantings may still need moisture during prolonged dry periods.

But that doesn't mean watering automatically.

Check the soil.

Consider recent rain or snow.

Look at the forecast.

And remember that a plant using less water isn't the same thing as a plant needing no water.

Sometimes winter plant care isn't about doing more.

It's about knowing when something is actually needed.

Have you ever lost a plant over winter that looked perfectly healthy going into fall?

For readers who ask for specifics in the comments, CSU's Colorado guidance is particularly useful: during prolonged dry periods without snow cover, water when air and soil temperatures are above about 40°F, preferably around midday so moisture can soak in before nighttime freezing. Newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials are particularly vulnerable.

10/08/2026

Winter preparation isn't the same everywhere

"Get your garden ready for winter."

That's good advice.

But what does it actually mean?

In the Western United States, the answer depends heavily on where you garden.

Elevation matters.

Wind matters.

Snow cover matters.

Soil matters.

And the difference between a protected garden and one exposed to winter sun and wind can be significant.

A gardener in a Colorado mountain community may face very different conditions from someone along the Front Range—or someone gardening farther west in a milder climate.

That's why good processes aren't necessarily identical processes.

The goal may be the same: protect the plant and prepare it for another growing season.

But the process should respond to the conditions where the plant actually lives.

Design the process. Change the outcome.

That regional distinction is important. CSU specifically recommends considering elevation, wind, persistent snow cover, exposure, and local conditions when selecting protection such as mulch or row covers.

10/06/2026

Preparing for winter is a process

Winter preparation isn't one task.

It's a process.

We sometimes think of putting the garden "to bed" as something we accomplish on a Saturday afternoon.

But plants don't move from summer to winter in a day.

Temperatures fall.

Daylight shortens.

Growth slows.

Plants harden off.

Soil conditions change.

And the gardener's job changes with them.

The best winter preparation responds to those changes rather than simply following a date on the calendar.

That's a useful reminder about Process Stewardship too.

Good processes respond to conditions.

They don't just follow steps.

Design the process. Change the outcome

10/03/2026

Frost damage or something else?

Saturday Garden Question:

You walk outside after a cold night and find leaves that are brown, blackened, curled, or limp.

Frost damage?

Possibly.

But don't diagnose the plant from one symptom alone.

Water stress, root problems, disease, wind, and sudden temperature changes can sometimes leave plants looking surprisingly similar.

Start with what changed.

Did temperatures drop sharply overnight?

Is the damage widespread or limited to certain parts of the plant?

Is the soil unusually wet or dry?

Did the symptoms appear suddenly or develop over several days?

The symptom is the clue.

The conditions surrounding it help us understand the cause.

What plant problem has fooled you this fall?

CSU notes that frost injury can appear as blackening or browning of foliage, shoots, and flowers, but environmental disorders can overlap visually—another reason to diagnose from conditions as well as appearance.

10/01/2026

The Season Changes. The Process Doesn't.

The growing season may be winding down, but the process isn't finished.

What happens in the garden now helps determine what happens next spring.

Soil holds the results of this year's growing season. Perennials begin preparing for dormancy. Trees and shrubs shift their energy away from visible growth. And gardeners have an opportunity to observe what worked—and what didn't.

That's one of the things I like about thinking in terms of process.

We stop seeing harvest as the finish line.

Instead, one season becomes preparation for the next.

The same principle applies well beyond the garden. Good processes don't simply produce an outcome and stop.

They prepare the system for what comes next.

Design the process. Change the outcome.

09/29/2026

Improvement Starts With Observation

Before we change a process, we have to understand it.

That sounds obvious.

But it's easy to jump directly from seeing a problem to proposing a solution.

What if we spent more time observing first?

Where does the material actually go?

Where does waste occur?

Where is unnecessary work being created?

What happens that wasn't part of the original plan?

Good process design begins with curiosity.

Watch.

Ask.

Follow the material.

Look for the consequences.

Then decide what needs to change.

Sometimes the process will tell us where the problem is—if we're willing to pay attention.

Design the process. Change the outcome.

09/26/2026

Wilting Doesn't Always Mean "Add Water"
September 26 Saturday Garden Question

You walk outside and find a plant wilting.

What's your first reaction?

"Give it some water."

Sometimes that's exactly what it needs.

But wilting is a symptom, not a diagnosis.

Dry soil can cause a plant to wilt.

So can roots sitting in overly wet soil.

Heat can cause temporary wilting even when there's adequate moisture underground.

Root damage can also prevent a plant from taking up the water that's already there.

Same symptom.

Very different causes.

Before treating the plant, take a closer look.

Check the soil. Think about the weather. Look at when you last watered. Consider what has changed.

The plant is telling you something.

The challenge is figuring out what.

What has fooled you into making the wrong diagnosis in your garden?

09/24/2026

We tend to think about processes as a series of steps.

Step one.

Step two.

Step three.

But problems often occur between those steps.

Material has to be moved.

Something has to be stored.

Someone has to handle it.

Energy is consumed.

Time is lost.

Waste accumulates.

Each individual step may look efficient while the entire process still isn't.

That's one reason Process Stewardship requires looking at the whole system rather than optimizing one piece at a time.

Sometimes the greatest opportunity isn't improving a step.

It's improving the connection between the steps.

Design the process. Change the outcome.

09/23/2026

When something isn't working, our instinct is often to add something.

More material.

More technology.

Another step.

Another solution.

But better processes aren't necessarily more complicated processes.

Sometimes improvement comes from removing a step.

Using less material.

Eliminating unnecessary handling.

Or designing something so a problem never has to be solved later.

That's one of the things I find interesting about process thinking.

Innovation doesn't always ask:

"What can we add?"

Sometimes the better question is:

"What no longer needs to be there?"

Simpler isn't automatically better.

But neither is more.

Design the process. Change the outcome.

09/19/2026

Saturday Garden Question:

Your plant's leaves are turning yellow.

Does it need more water?

Maybe.

But it could also be getting too much.

That's what makes plant troubleshooting interesting. Two very different problems can sometimes produce remarkably similar symptoms.

With too little water, roots don't have enough moisture to support the plant.

With too much water, waterlogged soil can deprive roots of the oxygen they need and interfere with normal root function.

The result in both cases can include yellowing or wilting leaves.

So before reaching for the watering can, check the soil.

Is it dry below the surface?

Still wet?

How often have you been watering?

Good gardening isn't just noticing the symptom.

It's figuring out what's causing it.

Have you ever mistaken overwatering for underwatering—or the other way around?

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