With the autumn season around the corner, the end of August brought a few rainy days to the relief to our parched soils. Now we can hopefully look ahead to cooler, more comfortable temperatures. Early autumn is a time when many of us become quite busy with sudden changes in schedule (school is back in session!). But as things begin to settle down, there are a number of tasks in the garden that can be attended to.
Here are some fall gardening tips on maintenance and care for September:
- Keep deadheading! Believe it or not, hanging baskets and planters full of annuals can continue to flower well into September and even October.
- For those annuals that look a little past their prime, consider adding some fall colours in the form of mums, icicle pansies or ornamental kale to brighten up your garden bed or porch.
- Resist the urge to prune your trees and shrubs. Contrary to popular belief, there’s no advantage to fall pruning and in some cases it can even cause damage. There is always a better time to prune than the fall – if you’re not certain when you should be doing so, ask us!
- The time for fertilizing trees and shrubs is over. There are still a few more weeks to fertilize perennials, but by the end of September this should also be stopped. Annuals can be fertilized right up to a killing frost.
- Although a little early to plant fall bulbs, we suggest shopping early for best selection. Choose from a variety of colourful early, mid and late-spring bloomers including tulips, crocuses, daffodils, irises, hyacinths, and more.
- As your lawn’s growth slows, reduce the frequency of mowing to suit and raise your mower’s blade. This is also a good time of year to repair patchy areas with fresh seed. Speaking of lawns, it’s not too late to apply nematodes to control the grub and Japanese Beetle populations in your yard.
- Harvest remaining vegetables, including green tomatoes.
- Pick herbs for drying or freezing
Fall Gardening Family Fun Day – Saturday, September 21, 2019
SAVE THE DATE for a day of gardening demos, fun activities and BBQ!
Bring your friends and family for a taste of fall.
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