JaG, I don't have any specific cites to support this, only a compendium of experience and info gathered from readings over the years :-) As a hobby gardener I would have assumed much the same theories as you, however my experience working with professional growers has lead me to conclude otherwise. Dormancy in plants can be delayed, sometimes eliminated or cut short early by the timing of fertilizer applications. Growers do it all the time to get plants to market ahead of season or even in the off season. Sometimes it involves other greenhouse conditions (manipulations of heat and light) but it also happens with other hardy plants in unheated, unlighted greenhouse conditions. It is also well documented that plant roots will continue to assimilate nutrients until the soil is too cold for them to do so. Dirk Muntean, a biology consultant for Soil and Plant Laboratory, Inc. in Bellevue, WA, explains it this way: "Those roots are taking up nutrients in the soil throughout the fall until the soil temperatures drop low enough to inhibit root function." And that doesn't happen until quite late into the winter season. That's why along with all the recommendations one sees for fall fertilizing, there is also the caution to utilize low nitrogen formulations - the emphasis is on root growth, not top growth. Even fall and winter blends of lawn fertilizers have lower nitrogen concentrations than do spring and summer blends. FWIW, dormancy in plants is relative.....in some cases, plants will continue to grow and photosynthesize throughout the winter months or what we think of as the dormant period - broadleaf evergreens, conifers, many groundcovers, cool season grasses (I've had to mow my lawn in midwinter!), any winter blooming plant, etc. The growth may not be nearly as apparent as it would be during the typical growing season but it is still taking place. Obviously, much of this will be highly dependent on the specific plant and the specific growing conditions, but in many areas fall is plenty warm enough and soil temps remain high enough to prolong the growing season or even encourage a rapid, nitrogen-infused flush of new growth that will be vulnerable when cold weather finally does set in. I wouldn't be overly concerned about this with most organic sources of nitrogen.....they are just too slow acting to have a significant impact - but alfalfa meal (and blood meal) are extremely fast acting as far as organics go and IMO, are better utilized in spring or during the primary growing season. Excess nitrogen applications - and alfalfa meal is pretty much all nitrogen - can also inhibit root growth, which is the entire purpose of fertilizing in fall

I too am building a bed and found the following recipe in a book and would welcome some feedback: "For each 100 square feet of new garden space: Plant Tone 5-10 pounds Rock phosphate 5-10 pounds Greensand 5-10 pounds Gypsum 5-10 pounds Osmocote (8 months) 2 pounds Till all these ammendments plus organic matter (I presume this means compost?) into the soil, rake smooth and your bed is ready to be planted." Now some background on my soil. Soil test in 2009 indicated dense/heavy clay > 40%, pH 7.7-7.8, N Med/Low, P High, K Med/Low, Volatile Organic Content 1.5%, Humus Med/Low, Salts 92ppm. I laid down cardboard and layered peat moss and compost on top last fall. I already have an Acer Palmatum and plan to add Acer Truncatum (Shantung maple), Port orford lawsonia 'Blue Surprise' w Guardian Stock, and Thuja 'Emerald Green.' Also perennials and shrubs as yet to be determined. I notice moss growing in the bed and areas where water pools. I did a drainage test by digging a hole 1 feet deep and filling it with water. After one hour there was about 3 inches left. Filled a second time and after one hour there was about 1.5 inches left. Two more questions, will Doctor Earths 4-4-4 work as well as the Plant Tone and If I could purchase only 3 books and 2 magazine subscriptions to learn more about responsible gardening, which would you suggest?

I like my garden close to the house for all the reasons you listed. I would mow the area as close to the ground as possible and start piling on the organic matter. Some people like to start with a layer of newspaper or cardboard. I wouldn't put a garden in where morning glories have grown and seeded, no matter what method I chose. If you turn the soil, you will just scatter the seed. Try to smother them and they will come up when you dig your planting holes. I hope its not too late in your area to collect leaves and grass clippings. Straw and spoiled hay are also good to pile up. I don't turn my heaps, but I do lift them periodically so that they don't sour. A garden close to the house is easier to tend and harvest. You can keep it damp (keep a dishpan in your sink) with your kitchen water, and bury your scraps and peelings in your heaps this winter. good luck! jc

Rhoeo can take a lot of neglect but even it will die in bone dry soil, and as we've had so little rain in the last few months I suspect that's been it's problem; even so, your picture shows it's not completely past it. Soil looks to be ok and what is left there, if you like it, should pick up come spring with a little water. You could fertilise it a bit with some dynamic lifter depending on what you intend to replace the rhoeo with, and also cover it with some mulch, say, sugar cane to help reduce evaporation.