By Hank Smith | March 2004
Fall
Garden Vegetables and Fruits
When sowing fine seed such as lettuce, mix seed with dry white sand. This helps to ensure proper distribution.
Now is a good time to plant a strawberry patch. These ornamental plants with white blossoms and red fruit make attractive, low-edging plants for flowerbeds.
You can plant a fall garden and expect good results from lettuce, radishes, cabbage, spinach, onions, beets and mustard. Supply sufficient moisture.
In the fall you can sow seeds of cilantro (coriander) and dill herbs. Also, set out transplants or sow seeds of parsley.
Winter squash and pumpkins store better if you leave a few inches of stem attached when you harvest them.
Trees and Shrubs
Cut away panicles of blooms on crepe myrtles. Plants bloom on new wood, producing more flowers before frost. Allow plants to grow into trees, because much of the beauty lies in twisting trunks in winter when top growth is gone.
Continue deadheading (removing blooms) of flowering shrubs.
If leaves of shrubs are not diseased when they drop, leave them beneath plants to serve as over winter mulch. As they decay, they add nutrients to the soil.
Flowers
Cut faded blooms from roses to prevent plant from producing hips, the fruit that contains the seed. This diverts plant energy to producing flower buds instead of seeds.
Peonies usually respond best to late summer or fall planting. They are somewhat undemanding in soil requirement, often succeeding in heavy clay. Plants prefer full sun or light shade.
Order tulip bulbs for planting later in the year. Store bulbs under refrigeration at 35 to 40 degrees for 60 days immediately before planting.
Before planting bulbs in dry, hard soil, work in a 4-to 6-inch layer of compost or old sawdust and about two quarts of complete commercial fertilizer per 100 square feet.
Climbing roses need to be well anchored to supports. Winter winds can cause damage if they’re allowed to sprawl on ground.
As chrysanthemum flowering ceases, cut back tops. Tender varieties winter best in a cold frame. If that’s unavailable, give the roots heavy mulch.
If October and November are dry, give perennials a deep final soaking so they will go dormant in good condition. They’ll be less subject to winterkill.
Lawn
Lawns need about an inch of water a week. When rainfall is scant, measure the amount applied by using coffee cans at equal distance within the sprinkler coverage. When cans have about an inch of water in them, the lawn will have enough water.
Fertilize tall fescue, fine fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass. Use a complete fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 analysis. If reseeding is needed, do so now. Reseeding can be done in the spring, but seeds take better in the cool days of autumn.
The key to successful grass seed germination is seed-to-soil contact and continual seed moisture. During warm temperatures, this could mean watering often. Sometimes lawn areas require aerating and dethatching to achieve good seed germination.
Treatments
As soon as the temperature drops below 85 degrees and is expected to remain so for at least two days, it is safe to spray broadleaf evergreens with oil emulsion to control scale. Applying oil sprays when the weather is too hot can be damaging to plants.
Hand pick slugs or set out pans of beer to trap these nighttime nibblers. If you spread poison bait, be careful to keep it away from children and pets.
When you collect leaves for mulch, select those that curl as they fall such as maple, oak and birch. Flat leaves can create soggy soil. Mix pine straw with broad leaves to help prevent packing.
A good way to eliminate many insects in the soil is to plow in the fall. Let soil lie fallow over winter. Don’t smooth soil surface down into an even layer.
Indoors
For low-light spots in a room, plant pots of low-growing Fittonia. It grows slowly and requires constant moisture and a monthly feeding of liquid fertilizer. Fittonia does well in a dark corner.
Miscellaneous Tips
Keep on alert for sales on garden equipment such as tillers, mowers, hoses and weed-eaters. Garden centers want to sell these items to make room for holiday merchandise.
Landscape planning involves more than beauty. Consider these major factors: Is the plan functional and suitable? Is it economical? Does it require too much maintenance? Sometimes it pays to consult a landscape architect, landscape gardener, or a master gardener from your local cooperative extension service.
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