The No. 1 most important autumn task is to feed everything in the yard before Halloween.
September starts a season of change with the most pleasant mountain weather. The hot summer days are behind us; spring wind has abated, with nothing but warm, bright days expected through November. Enjoy all the gardens have to offer. Albert Camus famously wrote, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
Here are the top five autumn tasks you should complete in the garden:
#1 Plant Large Trees
Fall is for planting significantly larger shade trees like maple and aspen. The same is true for larger spruce, pine and ornamental grass. You will find a large selection of evergreen spruce, pine and pampas grass best planted in autumn. As days cool, kale, lettuce, arugula, mustard greens and spinach proliferate. Sow seeds directly into the garden, cover, and keep moist to encourage sprouting. Beets, radish, broccoli and cabbage can be sown from seed as well. You will find cool-season vegetables and organic herb starter plants at Watters Garden Center through October.
#2 Harvest and Clear Space
Harvest time is undoubtedly the most rewarding season for vegetable growers. While your lettuces and radishes may be finished, tomatoes and squashes are just getting started. Harvest is almost daily in autumn for cucumbers, broccoli, carrots and cabbages.
September can turn any landscape (edible or not) into a mess of falling, brown plants trying for one last round of blossoms. Remove brown, spent leaves from your plant, including old flowers. The cooler temperatures often yield one last flush of fragrant growth. Go crazy, thinning and cleaning overgrown plants. Bare ground invites more weeds and pests to grow next spring. Cover bare patches in the garden with a 2-3” inch layer of Watters Premium Mulch, a cover crop, or even fall plantings help to keep the ground covered.
#3 Prepare Mulch and Compost
If you haven’t created one already, a DIY compost pile is a simple weekend effort yielding superior returns. Add organic materials like rotted vegetables, plant scraps and leaves to create a mulch pile used later as compost gold. Compost is often ready by spring, ready to spread and invigorating next year’s gardens.
#4 Weed and Deadhead
Weeds are most prolific in September; don’t let them go to seed. Weeds become well-established, aggressive and seedy, making next spring’s garden laborious. Stay on top of your weeds, especially in the fall, for less work next year. If a portion of your yard is incredibly weedy, apply a generous application of Watters Weed & Grass. This weed preventer keeps weed seeds from germination. The strongest over-the-counter weed killer would have to be “Decimate” by Fertilome. A better replacement for Roundup, this concentrated weed killer truly decimates mountain weeds faster and without cancer-causing side effects.
Deadheading flowers is pinching the dried, spent flowers off your plant, so it reblooms and looks its best. Fall garden mums, aster, roses, marigolds and more look their best through autumn. Pinch off old, spent flowers to allow healthy new growth and buds to form. This one fall task forces ever-bearing plants to keep producing flowers. And if you have an unruly perennial, pinching its flowers prevents it from seeding and out-competing other plants in the garden.
#5 Maintain Trees and Shrubs
Lots of growth happens in autumn, especially at the root level – yet another reason why fall is an ideal season to plant new fruit and shade trees and evergreen plants. Give plants a deep soak at a weekly interval. Heavily mulch around the new plant’s roots for more roots and stronger growth next spring. Apply a three-inch layer of composted mulch over the roots of your new Colorado Spruce, Blaze Maple or fruit trees for impressive growth next year.
The No. 1 most important autumn task is to feed everything in the yard before Halloween. Fall plants are storing up food, much like bears do in winter. Encourage better autumn growth and heartier hibernation by feeding everything in the yard with 7-4-4 All Purpose Plant Food. This local plant food is especially important for stressed plants and those new to the gardens.
Until next issue, I’ll be helping locals plant better fall landscapes here at Watters Garden Center. QCBN
By Ken Lain
Ken Lain can be found throughout the week at Watters Garden Center, 1815 W. Iron Springs Rd in Prescott, or contacted through his website at WattersGardenCenter.com or Top10Plants.com.
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