I don't have a lot of experience with this, but my instinct is that it may be better not to stake the trees. Trees bend to the wind so the wind does not break them. If you stake them, you may do more damage because as the wind pushes the tree, the bark or even the entire tree can be strained against the wire with which you have staked it . Some things that may help if you are prepared and safe in all other areas: 1.you could prune buds blooms off any shrubs ( the rose lilac etc) You can prune down the blueberries blackberries and even the trees so there is less for the wind to catch. 2. You don't mention where you are, other than zone 5 NE, but you said the magnolia has defoliated. Since my magnolias are just in the process of losing their leaves, but I am zone 4 central NH, I am going to assume a seasonal similarity. If you can, bring the magnolia into the garage, or inside. If it is heavy and its worth it to you you can usually rent a dolly at the hardware store that makes moving large pots easier. 3. If things are going dormant for winter where you are, as I am assuming, you can cut back any perennials. Even if they are still green, they will be going dormant before they can send out new growth - so its okay to cut them back a little earlier than you planned. 4.If you winter prune your fruit trees, you can do that now to limit wind damage. The risk is that the winter will be bad and freeze the new cuts - but my guess is that is a pretty low risk. Depending on how the forecasts progress I may do this step myself. (I have already cut back all perennials in my garden and in my customers gardens) 5. If I am correct that you are in the NE, I would also prepare for heavy wet snow. ANything you would do in your region to prepare for that I would recommend doing. Except maybe wrapping shrubs. I drove through Vermont several times this summer, and the devastation there from hurricane Irene is tremendous. The mountains funneled the torrential rains, flooding streams, rivers towns and roads. I took some pictures intending to post them for discussion; maybe this is timely, but I will start a new thread. We could also call this Hurricane Kelsey: My daughter Kelsey is flying from santiago chile to miami tonight and then to Boston tomorrow after 3 months away. The path of the hurricane is threatening her flights and I think she will be pretty upset to go from spring in Chile, completely miss fall and land in Winter here. Whatever, I just can't wait for her to get home!!

well pretty much there isn't anything we can do to protect against what nature throws at us, fruit farmers here net whole orchards but hail puts paid to the netting, all we can realy do is replant afer the damage some will grow back. if it was regular wind only then you could plant some windbreaks to help control it. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

The information below is taken from the Fine Gardening article by Dr. Ingham linked in the reply of Sep 26, 09 at 14:23. In addition, I believe that I have read that the brewing equipment should be well cleaned between batches with the use of some hydrogen peroxide. "Also, keep in mind that tea made using this bucket method needs to brew for two or three days and then be used immediately. If you work Monday through Friday, start the tea on Wednesday or Thursday, so it will be ready in time to apply it on the weekend." "After three days, turn off the pump and remove the equipment. If you leave the tea aerating longer than three days, you must add more molasses or the good organisms will start going to sleep because they don't have enough food to stay active. Let the brew sit until the compost is pretty much settled out, 10 to 20 minutes, then strain it into the other bucket or directly into your sprayer. You'll have about 2 1/2 gallons of tea. If you want, this is the time to add foliar micronutrients, like kelp or rock dust. Use the tea right away, within the hour if possible." "With any form of compost, solid or tea, bad smells mean bad business. Healthy, adequately oxygenated compost and compost tea should smell sweet and earthy. Never use a smelly compost tea on your plants. The true bugaboo is alcohol, a product of anaerobic decomposition that destroys cell walls. Roots tolerate only 1 part per million alcohol. That's a very small amount, and human noses aren't good at detecting it. Instead, we can detect all the other smelly compounds that go with anaerobic production of alcohol." Terran Here is a link that might be useful: Brewing Compost Tea by Dr. Elaine Ingham

Twice = since I have both white and red oaks the leaves for one get cleaned up in fall and the other in spring. I do remove daylily and iris foliage as I think it contributes to spot fungus and I believe they both like their roots chilled but sun warmed winter soils and like to go without mulch in winter. All the veggie beds get cleaned and tilled in fall so the chill will kill the critters trying to overwinter. Most years they also get sown with green manure though (winter grains). I wait for the last of the Beauty Berry shrubs' berries to be picked clean, the Chaste Tree berries fallen, the thornless blackberries' ugly canes bothering me, the grapes that no longer are interesting, and the Butterfly Bushes just barely putting out new leaves (about DH's birthday Feb. 19) before I hack them down quite severely. I never do anything in Nov., Dec., and Jan. since there are too many other things to do inside where it is warm. In Feb. I get antsy and go out for hours in anticipation of spring, or should I say "cabin fever"? The fruit trees get pruned then and the asters do too. When I notice the new green mum rosettes their dried uglies get whacked. I always forget about the spirea's pruning in fall so they just get taller every year because I don't want to miss their spring show. I do a lot of compost turning in winter and forget it in spring. I pile on leaves and end of harvest stuff but greens never make it there until spring weeding. Probably worthless endeavor in the winter but I like to run my tractor more in winter. Nancy the nancedar