Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Fall Garden Tasks
Belle checks out the bushes.
Recently I appeared on a local TV station as a representative for our Master Gardener group. The interviewer asked me what we should do in the garden now. Just a few days earlier a friend had asked me to speak at her garden club about the same topic. One of my dearest friends, a rosarian, often said she looked forward to the first frost so she could rest and clean her house. But fall is not a time of rest for the garden or the gardener. Halloween decorations on the store shelves are just one indicator that the seasons are about to change. With the slight shift in the morning temperatures we know cooler but shorter days are around the corner. The following are just some of the tasks that can keep us busy in the yard right now.
1. Transplant perennials and separate or move them (a grand time to make more of your favorites or share with friends)– especially spring blooming ones as well as those going into dormancy (like hosta).
2. Get a soil test; obtain the test package through your local Extension Office. The results will give you the information on whether and how to amend your garden soil before the next planting season.
3. November through February is the best time to plant new or to move existing woody ornamentals and trees. Plants can use all their energy to build a root system instead of putting on new growth.
4. November through February when plants are dormant is also the best time to do any major pruning; do not prune now as tender growth may get bitten during the first frost of the season.
5. Fill your garden with colorful early fall flowers, adding either perennials such as Mexican bush sage with its purple flowers or bright colored annuals such as mums. (Mums also are available as perennials.) You might even be able to replace tired summer annuals with fall annuals– there are many beautiful annuals which prefer spring and fall to do their blooming. Lobelia is one of those that comes to mind. Some stores may even have sales on plants at this time of the year.
6. For container gardens, discard plants and store any container that does not winter over, washing and disinfecting it before you put it away. Compost only healthy plants.
7. Take cuttings of any annuals or perennials that you might want to save. If you can’t use them, share with friends. Collect seeds. My neighbor and gardening buddy had a collection of small jars and she visited my garden daily this time of the year to collect the seeds from bloomed out annuals.
8. Prepare tropicals that you want to save (but that can’t remain outside for the winter), for storage in the house, in a greenhouse, or a garage. Tropicals that are hardy in your area will need to be mulched well once we have had the first frost.
9. Prepare your houseplants for re-entry; check to see if they need repotting; give them a good bath, and spray with an appropriate insecticide if necessary.
10. Clean and sharpen your tools and provide some protection to them with a light spray of oil to the metal parts and a wipe of boiled linseed oil to the handles if unpainted.
11. Transplant any perennials from pots to the garden.
12. Harvest herbs either by drying or freezing; cut the rest down and compost; herbs do not thrive inside because lighting is usually not enough for them.
13. Clean and keep bird feeder and hummingbird feeders full; also plan a bird bath as birds need access to water in the winter months.
14. Clean out your garden shed discarding in a safe and responsible manner chemicals that are no longer good. Certain natural chemicals degrade faster than others. If you are unsure how to dispose of a chemical call your local Extension Office or call the company; most usually have a toll-free number on the label.
15. Cut back any diseased perennials but do not put them in your compost heap. Many like to leave the cone flower seed heads as the little birds like to snack there.
16. Plant now to add winter color interest and texture to your garden. It is not too late to order daffodil and other spring flowering bulbs.
17. When leaves drop and annuals drift away, you have an excellent opportunity to study the bones of your garden in preparation for any changes you might like to make.
18. Make a compost pile. Add discarded healthy plants and all the leaves you are soon going to be raking.
19. Rake and shred all those wonderful leaves which should start falling in just a matter of weeks. I mow mine with the lawnmower. One of my favorite fall activities is picking up pine straw off the street that others have thrown away.
20. Fall can be very dry; continue to water shrubs and trees, especially newly planted ones.
21. Enjoy the change of seasons; we are very lucky in Alabama to have four seasons to garden and to live where the temperature cooperates, allowing us to be outside just about all year. For those of you who wanted to rest, fall may not be the best time to do it.
(The hints that I give in this blog are appropriate to zone 7B-8A. For more specific information on your zone, please consult your local Extension Office.)