I am really glad that most people don't think it's the wind that is doing these trees in, because that was going to be the hardest thing to change. I did stake the trees with those green metal fence posts, but to be honest, I don't think it would have made any difference because they never got any bigger than sticks. I kept them weed free but only about 18" in all directions from the trunk so it sounds like that was really inadequate. I was careful to plant them the recommended amount based on the graft mark (I don't recall if I could tell where they were grown in the nursery, but I remember being careful about the graft because of suckering) I watched the area for drainage for almost a year before I put them in, and the ground was not soggy. We also have a much lower spot of ground (kind of a swale) that water drains to in the spring. The trees were planted well above that area. I don't think it is a drainage problem, but I did not ever perform one of those drainage tests (dig a hole, fill with water, time how long it takes to drain). I also made sure I watered during dry weather, but that area out there really cracks once the sun has baked it. It is difficult to get the ground well watered at the end of July. I had mulched with wood chips (there was no sign of damage from voles, etc.) and we have cats that seem to keep the little critters in check. I think that when I put in the new trees I will use gravel around the base. Our property gets baled so I have access to plenty of hay and I use it around my blueberries, so I'll use that around the outside of the gravel. That should help with water issues also. What a great orchard you have thomis! The trees that I planted NEVER had that many leaves. I was anxious about deer coming along and chomping the puny amount of green that I did have and the tree dying from no foliage! I was afraid to use fertilizer since ACN says that fertilizer is one of the leading causes of fruit tree death. It sounds like I need to verify the soil ph once I till everything up and go from there with that issue and probably use some fertilizer. My house is smack dab in the middle of a former farm field. I imagine the soil is probably depleted to start with. Just so I have an idea, what kind of growth can I expect the first year so I know whether the tree is getting established at an appropriate rate and can survive the winter? Thanks once again. I didn't know whether our site was just not going to support fruit trees, but you all have cleared up that issue. I appreciate the help and advice!

Your question about what to do to get ready for next year is the best and first question you asked. Pull out all the dead plants from your garden. If they had disease, put them into the garbage so they are hauled away. Otherwise, put them into your compost pile. (If you don't have one, this is the perfect time to start one. Pile up all the leaves you can lay your hands on.) Hoe or pull the weeds from your garden. Then cover the soil with leaves, grass clippings, straw, or whatever organic mulch you can get. This will stop erosion and keep down cool weather weeds. But most important, it will take away insects' winter camping grounds. If they spend winter break there, they will be bigger, healthier, and earlier next year. If you haven't had frost yet, sow some kind of winter cover crop rather than mulch. Then in very early spring, plan to till it into the soil. You'll be amazed at all the good it will do your soil. You can contact your local Agricultural Extension agent for recommended crops that do well in your area. When you are just starting out it's a good idea to sow the tried and true the first couple of years. In my town, we have Agricultural Co-ops and Farm supply stores that carry the locally popular varieties of seeds. They are a fraction of mail order cost. And finally, use your winter for learning and planning. Read a good basic book or two about vegetable gardening. You can check them out from your library for free. Get a nice calendar and make notes on it for seed starting dates, when to plant, prune, fertilize, start seeds, etc. This information is also available at the Ag Extension office, usually for free. Draw up your garden area on graph paper to scale and plan when and where you will plant your crops on it. Your gardening books and pamphlets will have valuable information about laying out your garden and rotating crops. In many ways, winter planning is just as important and exciting as spring planting or summer harvesting. Finally, seed starting is a great way to jump start your gardening season and eventually is a money saver too, but in the beginning, perhaps not so much. You will need an area to start seeds that provides the right light and the right temperature, as well as being easy to get to to water. Assuming you have all this, most seed packets give good information on when to start seeds. Pay very close attention to required temperature and light requirements for germination. These items are crucial to success. Hope next year's garden is better! It almost always is. :))

Thanks for info, Jaybn. I'll follow your instructions. These Irises were moved 30 years ago from parents old house and had been transplanted there from friend's garden so they are definitely older variety. They've been shared with friends and family for many years spreading flowers to a number of states. People going home with trunk container of green fanned rhizomes packed in damp newspaper to be transplanted and have bloomed well. I'll keep my fingers crossed for many beautiful blooms next year!

Jay, I can't say that I am surprised. I've been getting an early winter "vibe" for 4-6 weeks now...not really based on anything but just that vague feeling that I won't like winter because it will be too cold. Actually, I'd wondered to myself if I was just fearing an early winter more than intuitively feeling one was coming merely because the fall garden was so beautiful, but there have been signs...like the woolly bear caterpillars have been out and about feeding and look really furry. That's one of those old folk things....Also, the mast crop from the trees in the woods is incredibly large and the squirrels are incredibly busy gathering nuts and storing away the ones they don't immediately eat. I took a quick look at my garden this morning, and most warm season plants that weren't covered are toast, but at the west end of the garden where the pecan tree sits outside the fence, nothing looks frosted so maybe the shelter of the pecan tree helped out those plants a bit. The winter squash might still be alive down low to the ground, but the leaves on the trellis are hanging limply and I know they're done. The plants in the greenhouse looked fine when I peeked in the door at them this morning and the thermometer there showed 38 degrees at 8:30 a.m. when it was 28 degrees outside so those plants may gave dodged a bullet. We'll know in an hour or two. Chris had about a minute of snow/sleet pellets and a few flakes, all mixed with rain, falling on him in Denton yesterday on his way to work and the air temp was 44-45 degrees, but clearly there was some much colder air aloft. You might be surprised how similar our temperatures were to yours this morning. At our house it was 28, but at the Burneyville mesonet station about 5 miles west of us as the crow flies, it was 25 degrees. I haven't checked the plants under the row covers in the garden, but if the 28 degree temperature reading was accurate and if the garden didn't drop lower than that (I need to put a min-max thermometer out in the garden to track that because it's pretty far from the outside thermometers at the house, barn and chicken coop), then my beans, peas and peppers will live at least one more day. Tonight or tomorrow night's cold will get them if it goes just a few degrees lower than this morning. A lot of the areas north of us stayed warmer than we did and I am happy for them. I do think the fruit trees need a break to rest. The Methley Plum dropped leaves in August and went dormant even though I felt like it was well-watered. Then, in early October it started blooming as it broke dormancy. Ever since then, it has had new blooms and leaves almost daily. Maybe now it will relax and enjoy a long winter dormancy so it can bloom (much too early as always) next spring. I still have fig trees and citrus trees with ripening fruit, so I dragged them into the garage last night in the hope that they will be able to ripen their fruit. The oranges and lemons are breaking color and ripening up nicely so I think I'll be able to harvest them soon, but the figs are still pretty small and I think it is unlikely the late figs will ripen before the cold gets them. Since they produce two crops a year, I'm happy if I get ripe figs from either crop and don't automatically expect that both the breba crop and late crop will mature. Our weather is just too flakey for the late crop to be guaranteed time to mature. I still have many cool-season crops to deal with for the next few weeks until it gets bitterly cold, and will be harvesting broccoli really soon. This year the fall broccoli has done much better than the spring broccoli and I'm happy about that. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Map: Mesonet Low Temps Since Midnight