Quick Answer
The five highest-leverage November chores for Norfolk County backyards: (1) final leaf cleanup with a mulching mower, (2) drain hoses and shut exterior spigots, (3) cover the vegetable garden with compost + shredded leaves, (4) edge perennial beds and apply winter-protection mulch, and (5) stage de-icer at the back-door walk and walk the drainage during a rain. A typical Norfolk County backyard (Brookline, Wellesley, Dedham, Quincy, Westwood, Sharon) wraps these in 3 hours of work spread across two November weekends.
Norfolk County Backyard Profile
Norfolk County backyards are the workhorses — vegetable gardens behind a Wellesley Cape, perennial borders along a Dedham property line, dog runs in a Brookline Coolidge Corner three-decker. The five chores below cover what almost every Norfolk County backyard needs in November, regardless of yard style.
For front-yard tasks, see Top 5 November Cleanup Tasks for Cambridge Front Yards. For Plymouth County variants, see Top 5 November Yard Tasks for Plymouth County Homeowners.
1. Final Leaf Cleanup with a Mulching Mower
Time: 60–90 minutes for a typical Norfolk County backyard. Norfolk County's mature trees drop heavy through November 5–18. The right approach for the back yard:
- Mulch leaves into the lawn with a mulching mower — two passes for nickel-sized pieces
- Rake leaves out of foundation beds and along the back fence before the bed gets a winter mulch layer
- Compost overflow in a back-corner heap or municipal yard waste
For full leaf-cleanup procedure, see How to Run the Final Leaf Cleanup in a Watertown Yard. For composting strategy, see How to Compost Leaves in a Cambridge Backyard.
2. Drain Hoses and Shut Exterior Spigots
Time: 20–30 minutes. The single most-forgotten November chore: draining hoses and shutting exterior spigots. A garden hose left full and frozen splits the male coupling. Worse, water trapped in the spigot freezes back into the house plumbing and cracks copper pipe. Repair runs $400–$1,500 if a copper line splits inside a Norfolk County wall.
The right move: - Shut the indoor valve to each exterior spigot - Open the exterior bibb to drain the water in the line - Disconnect the hose (this is the step everyone forgets) — coil it dry and store - Cover the bibb with a foam insulation cover (~$3 each)
If your house has a frost-free sillcock, you can skip the indoor shutoff but still disconnect the hose — pressure trapped between the hose and the bibb cracks the bibb stem.
3. Cover the Vegetable Garden
Time: 30–45 minutes per bed. Norfolk County's vegetable garden window closes by mid-November. Pull spent crops, top-dress with 1 inch of compost, mulch with 3–4 inches of shredded leaves, and anchor with burlap or row cover.
For full procedure, see How to Cover a Waltham Vegetable Garden for Winter. For raised-bed-specific variations, see How to Layer Soil and Compost in a New Wellesley Raised Bed and browse the Raised Garden Bed Materials collection.
4. Edge and Winter-Mulch Perennial Beds
Time: 60–90 minutes. After the first hard frost (typically November 5–15 in Norfolk County):
- Edge perennial beds with a sharp half-moon spade — fall edges hold through winter and save spring re-edging
- Apply 2–3 inches of hardwood mulch as winter protection
- Pull mulch back 2–3 inches from any trunk — volcano mulching is the leading mistake
A typical Norfolk County backyard perennial border uses ¾ to 1.5 cubic yards of hardwood mulch. Browse the mulch collection.
For full winter-mulch procedure, see How to Apply Winter-Protection Mulch in a Middlesex County Bed and Top 5 Pre-Winter Mulch Strategies for Plymouth County Yards.
5. Stage De-icer and Walk Drainage
Time: 30 minutes total. Two pre-winter setup tasks for the back yard:
- Stage Salt & Sand 20/80 at the back-door walk (5-gallon bucket, scoop). Lighter chloride load — protects pavers, brick, and plant edges. Browse the snow & ice management collection.
- Walk the drainage during the next steady rain. Mark with garden flags wherever water pools, downspouts dump, or the lawn sheets. Spring drainage repairs go in twice as fast when November flags show you exactly where to dig.
For drainage solutions when spring comes, see Top 5 Drainage Solutions for Newton Properties.
The Norfolk County Two-Weekend Schedule
Weekend 1 (early November): - Drain hoses + shut spigots - Cover the vegetable garden - Walk drainage during rain
Weekend 2 (mid-November): - Final leaf cleanup - Edge + winter-mulch perennial beds - Stage de-icer
For Norfolk County-specific delivery on bulk mulch, compost, and winter sand, see the Norfolk County landscape supply collection (or your specific city: Brookline, Wellesley, Dedham, Quincy, Sharon, Westwood, Norwood).
What Norfolk County Backyards Don't Need in November
- New seeding. Soil temps are below germination range. Plan for late August.
- Pre-emergent herbicide. Wrong season — that's an early-spring application.
- Heavy pruning. Most ornamentals want late-winter or early-spring pruning.
The UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry program maintains the authoritative monthly task calendar for MA homeowners.
