Thursday, September 5, 2013

Summer into Fall Gardening




As fall arrives the summer garden is waning and the intrepid gardener has much work to do. Hopefully you have taken photos of your garden as it has grown, bloomed and produced for future planning. If you are not planting a fall garden what is next?
Veteren gardens know you are never totally finished in the garden. New or beginner gardeners need to be thinking of all the additional steps to good gardening Below is a short list to get you started.










A short list of things to do in September.

Planning:

This is the time to take photos of your garden, and pull out your notebook and takes notes on successes and failures of your garden. Did you like your selection of container plants? How productive were those tomatoes and peppers? What insects or diseases did you encounter? How was the overall weather pattern? Where are you going to rework that perrenial garden? Are you expanding your raised beds and getting them finished by November for next year? What bulbs will need to be planted for a spring garden? Do you need an additional shrub or small tree? These are just a few of the questions that will make your life easier in the spring.


If you have not read our blogs on photographing and logging information visit these links.

Photographing your garden
Journals for Gardens



Planting and Harvesting:
  • It is not too late to sow some lettuce or other cold hardy greens nto the ground.
  • Transplant cabbages, collards, kale, broccoli and kohlrabi.
  • If you have a sunny place indoors, pot some of your favorites and healthiest herbs and enjoy them in the the winter.
  • To prolong the vegetable production, keep your veggies picked
  • Watch for frost and cover your tomatoes that are still on the vine. Pull the green tomatoes in your garden and wrap them in paper. Store them at 55to 60 degrees. You could have tomatoes at Thanksgiving.
Maintenance:
  • Start pulling up plants that are no longer producing or past their prime.
  • Clean the garden of dropped foliage to discourage disease and insects from overwintering in the soil.
  • Make sure the mulch is thick enough on your cold season crops.

A little light reading:








And finally, refresh your containers.  Find fall plants like ornamental cabbages, grasses, hardy pansies and chrysanthemums. Take color and beauty into the fall.




2 comments:

  1. Pick off the affected part of the plant and reduce any humidity by increasing space between plants, encouraging air movement. Destroy all plants which are severely affected, and avoid over-feeding with a high nitrogen fertiliser as this encourages soft lush growth that is more susceptible to attack.

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    Replies
    1. This is good advice for a multitude of diseased plants in your garden. One that comes to mind is blackspot. Some plants with certain diseases should be dug out and not put into the compost pile but sent to the trash.What disease were you referring to?

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