It’s hard to believe that it’s less than a month away from the First Day of Fall on Tuesday, September 22! But there are still some things that you can do in your garden.
- Apply a two- to three-inch layer of mulch, or even chopped leaves (simply roll over them with the lawnmower) to your perennial flowers and your shrubs. This helps protect the roots a little but also adds fresh organic matter to your soil.
- You can continue to feed any indoor plants, even those summering outdoors. Stop feeding them, whether they are indoors or out, on the first of October. Do not resume feeding until the end of February or the first of March, as winter days are too short and the light is not bright enough. Stop feeding outdoor plants now, as fertilizer tends to encourage new growth, which is more easily frost damaged.
- Now is the time to begin planning your fall garden. Lettuce, spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli, beets, carrots, and more love cool fall weather and some will even make it over the winter. Remember to plant root crops directly in the ground as they don’t like to be transplanted. Lettuce, spinach, and broccoli can be started inside in August, if you want, and transplanted outside the end of September.
- Be sure to keep your gardens weeded, particularly because weeds can drop seeds, which will increase your weeding problem next year.
- Remember dry spells can happen any time of the year so keep an ear tuned to the weather.
- Bring indoor plants back in when night temperatures begin to drop into the mid-fifties. Be sure to examine them closely to make sure uninvited insect guests don’t hitch a ride inside.
- Enjoy having your indoors plants back inside for the winter.