FALL GARDENING

 

FALL GARDENING

Although the days are getting  

 shorter and there could be a slight nip in the morning air, the September sun is still blazing.  We must continue to monitor the garden’s water needs. There are also several other important practices to be accomplished.

Fall Watering:

         Though we usually have ample rainfall in autumn, it's not uncommon to have to supplement what Mother Nature delivers. For instance, it's important to water newly planted tulips and other spring-flowering bulbs so they make roots before the soil freezes. If weather remains dry, water your bulb beds once a week.

It is also a good idea to water newly planted trees and shrubs every ten to fourteen days. Be careful, though, not to over-water if you have heavy, clay soil. Continue watering periodically, IF NECESSARY, until the soil freezes. In fact, you should mulch those plants with several inches of woodchips or shredded bark to prevent early freezing. (Roots continue to grow as long as soil temperatures don't drop below forty degrees F.)

  Evergreens will come through winter in better shape if they're not moisture stressed. We used to think that just meant watering regularly in autumn, but it also involves watering in July and August whenever weather is hot and dry. Even though there's been plenty of rain this summer, it's a good idea to water these plants if we run into a dry spell in fall.

            Remember, the cooler it gets, the longer plants can go between watering. Every year some people lose newly transplanted trees and shrubs because they water them daily, thinking they are being helpful, when really they're just rotting the roots, especially in clay soils.

 Lawn Weeds

Lawn Weeds:

  Fall is an ideal time to control weeds in lawns.  Removal of weeds at this time allows the turf to fill in the areas left vacant before weeds can refill them.  Control of broadleaf weeds in lawns can be most effectively obtained by using a chemical herbicide.  Fall applications of these chemicals are normally safer, too, since most woody ornamental plants are somewhat less susceptible to accidental herbicide drift.

Planting Perennials: 

  Early September is a good time to divide spring blooming perennials, such as iris, peonies, day lilies, Shasta daisies and others.  New divisions need about a month of good growing conditions before freezing weather in order to establish well.  If blooms were sparse or undersized or if plants have dead centers, it may be time to divide.  Once divisions are replanted, water one inch a week to help roots establish well  Plan to mulch newly planted divisions after the ground freezes.

Ripening Tomatoes Indoors:

  Tomatoes taste best when allowed to ripen on the vine, but this year's unusual weather has left gardeners with lots of tomatoes that have been slow to mature.

Any tomatoes that have already turned light green (on their way to pink, and finally red) can be expected to ripen satisfactorily indoors. Of course, they'll never taste as wonderful as vine-ripened, but they won't be bad.

 Tomatoes ripen best indoors when kept out of direct sunlight, at temperatures that range from 60 to 70°. You can keep them in the basement, but if it drops below 55° degrees, flavor will suffer. Wrap fruit individually in tissue paper; then if one begins to decay, it won't take its neighbors with it.

Tom’s Tips:

•        Allow plants to finish the summer growth cycle in a normal manner.  Never encourage growth with heavy applications of fertilizer or excessive pruning at this time.  Plants will delay their dormancy process that has already begun in anticipation of winter in the months ahead.  New growth can be injured by an early freeze.

•        Select plants for your landscape that will provide autumn colors.  Trees that have red fall color are flowering dogwood, red maple, sugar maple, Norway maple, red oak and scarlet oak.  Shrubs with red fall foliage include sumac, viburnum, winged euonymus and barberry.

•        Rake up leaves, twigs and fruit from crabapple trees and dispose of them in the trash to help control apple scab disease.

Tom McNutt is a professor emeritus at The Ohio State University. and retired NBC4-TV resident green thumb