Articles

Prepare Garden, Landscape for Transition to Fall

September 2013

This past week was a notable reality check for our summer to autumn transition.  The temps dropped and we are getting closer to the fall frost date which will likely occur within the next 30 days or so according the National Climatic Data Center’s freeze/frost table.   Hopefully, the hard frost which puts an end to the tomato, pepper and squash crops will hold off until late October while still giving us high yields of late-summer planted salad greens, scallions, and peas.   The longer season would also allow a final picking of sweet and juicy grapes, raspberries, and apples.

If you are planning to extend your garden yields, now is the time to gather frost cloth and old sheets which will provide an additional 2-8 degrees of protection depending on the fabric’s weight.  Cold frames can still be constructed to enjoy late winter salad greens once the increased daylight is sufficient.

 If you’ve let a few spring planted lettuce and arugula plants or last year’s onions to go to seed, you can scatter those seeds or collect them for future sowings.  Make sure all your collected and store bought seeds are kept in airtight containers in a dark location until needed again.   

Although the aspens are showing touches of golden yellow in some high country areas, for the most part, it’ll be weeks before we see leaves decreasing their chlorophyll to reveal hues of yellow, orange and red around town.  Yet there is still quite a bit of eye candy for those who resonate with the high vibration of late summer color in the perennial garden.  Echinacea, hyssop, rudbeckia, zauschneria, fall blooming sedums and yellow flowering evening primroses are all making a strong finish for bee populations and visual delight as we move into a season that was once just dominated by asters and mums.

But it’s the grasses with their beautiful, breeze-tickled seed heads that capture our attention at this time of year.  It’s great to see South Shields and the East Harmony corridor showcasing so many of them.

Maintenance is pretty much minimal - the most important task being to keep seed-filled weeds pulled. The last of the rose blossoms should be left to develop into rosehips.   Mounding up soil or compost and leaves around the crown or base of hybrid tea roses is months off until the temps drop to 20 degrees Fahrenheit for several days.

Meanwhile, we get to cut back on watering established ornamental plants to begin the hardening off process.  Deeper, less frequent watering is still most effective, although for turf areas, brief, repeated  soakings are the latest recommendation. Recently planted acquisitions will still need regular watering so they can root into their new home before the ground freezes in November or December.

The fall equinox lands on Sunday, September 22, marking the day when the sun rises and sets directly east and west respectively.  Our daylight minutes will continue to diminish well beyond November 3 when daylight savings time ends and we really feel the dark and cold of winter’s approach.  But until then, we have a lot of quality time to still enjoy the garden, harvesting its richness on so many levels.