Early to Mid-September
It’s time to . . .
- Plant garlic to harvest early next summer.
- Provide extra support for fruit tree limbs bearing heavy loads of fruit.
- Harvest peaches and plums before frost. It’s okay to pick apples and pears after light frosts.
- Harvest green tomatoes before the first frost. Wrap them in newspaper, and store in a dry, cool place.
- Seed or sod new Kentucky blue grass or tall fescue lawns. Reseed sparse grass now, too.
- Water lawns about 1-1/2 inches per week this month, if needed.
- Core aerate the lawn, if you did not do it in the spring, or if thatch, compaction, or fungus disease were problems.
- Plant newly purchased perennials, trees, and shrubs. Spring planting is best, but fall planting is okay.
- Move, divide, and replant spring-blooming perennials. Replace the soil around the roots and water well.
- Divide older peonies. Leave at least three "eyes" or buds on each root. When replanting, add a handful of high phosphate fertilizer to the hole and plant not more than one inch below the soil. If planted too deeply, they will not bloom.
- Plant mums, asters, pansies, and other late bloomers for fall color.
- Select bulbs as soon as they are available from the garden center for the best selection. Choose firm, unblemished bulbs. The larger the bulb for its type, the larger the bloom.
AVERAGE FIRST FROST DATE IS SEPTEMBER 10 - 15.
Mid to Late September
It’s time to . . .
- Tour the garden, recording what did well and noting ideas to try next year.
- Begin garden clean up. The more you do now, the better your garden will be in the spring.
- Cut off and discard any stems and leaves that had powdery mildew this season.
- Destroy any vegetable plants that may have disease or insect infestations immediately after harvest. Healthy plant material can go into the compost pile, but remove seed heads.
- Harvest winter squash and pumpkins when the skin can no longer be easily penetrated by a fingernail.
- Cut the canes of fall-bearing raspberries to the ground after harvesting.
- Plant spring-blooming bulbs after the soil cools to below 60 o. Bulbs may be planted through November as long as the ground is not frozen.
- Fertilize new and existing bulbs with a high phosphate fertilizer.
- Dig up summer bulbs, like gladiola and dahlia, after frost kills the tops. Dry for a few days and store in sawdust, vermiculite, or perlite in a cool, dry place.
For more information:
September is the Ideal Time to Plant Bulbs
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