I regret admitting that summer is over. So now we prepare for what autumn means for gardeners.
First of all, fall is the perfect time for planting. The extreme heat of summer is past but the ground remains warm, thus stimulating root growth and development. If you want to move or plant perennials, I’d get that done in September to ensure enough time for them to become established before winter.
September is not the time to begin pruning shrubs. I suggest waiting until we have had frost. Cutting back now will encourage new growth that will not have time to mature prior to winter, resulting in the shrub having to redevelop buds in spring ... not a good thing for that plant.
Spring-blooming bulbs are available now ... I’m talking tulips, daffodils, grape hyacinths, etc. These heralds of spring need to be planted in October. If you want to try forcing tulip bulbs for some late winter color indoors, look for varieties that are labeled triumph or midseason bloomers. The early varieties and Darwin late-blooming tulips are not good candidates for forcing.
You don’t have to be in a hurry to dig carrots ... leaving them in the ground until we have had a few frosts will yield a sweeter carrot. Frost will improve or enhance the flavor of spinach, kale, broccoli, lettuce and cabbage. These vegetables are at their best in the cool, moist weather we are experiencing right now.
If you have had problems with diseases like tomato blight or bacterial blight in melon or cucumber vines, don’t use that plant material in your compost pile. These diseases are common to our area, but leaving the infected plant material in the garden or composting it often will reproduce the same problem next year. Your garbage can is the best way to dispose of diseased plant material.