Fall Projects: Part 1

By John Wilson

John Wilson

Looking at the extended forecast, the next week or two looks like great weather to get outside and work around the home! I get lots of calls about “Is it time to do this?” or “Should I wait to do that?” so I thought I’d summarize answers to the most frequent calls I get this time of year. These will give you a head start on a healthier garden and landscape next year.

Lawn:

• Apply late season fertilization (1 pound actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet) to bluegrass and fescue lawns. It might not seem like it since the grass isn’t growing as fast as it was a month ago, but this is the most important fertilization of the year because the roots continue to grow and store food, even after top growth has slowed or stopped. It will also give you a more uniform green-up next spring.

• Control broadleaf perennial weeds such as dandelions, clover, or ground ivy after a light frost, but before a hard freeze. This will lessen the chance of accidently injuring other plants in the landscape.

• Water your lawn thoroughly before the ground freezes if adequate rainfall hasn’t occurred.

• Mow and mulch or rake up leaves so they don’t smother areas in your lawn. This also reduces the chance of having snow mold.

• Don’t walk on frozen turf, especially repeated traffic damages, which can injure or kill the crowns of grass.

Garden:

• Clean up diseased plants/fruits/vegetables and dispose of them. Do not add them to compost pile.

• Map where things were planted so you can avoid planting same vegetables in same area. This is important for tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant because they are all susceptible to some of the same diseases. None of these should be planted where any were planted the year before.

• Work your garden area now when the soils are dry, not in spring when the soil is wetter. Incorporating compost or organic material will improve fertility and soil structure.

• Mulch strawberries with straw after plants have died back and the soil is cooler. This is usually something you should do around Thanksgiving.

• Harvest tomatoes, squash and other fruits/vegetables before a killing frost and bring them inside to mature

• Leave root crops such as beets, turnips, carrots and parsnips in ground and cover with 6″ of straw mulch so the soil doesn’t freeze. Then harvest by the end of the year. This can improve the taste.

• Asparagus can be cut back after killing frost in fall which will look tidier… or you can wait until spring which adds winter interest and catches snow. Either is acceptable.

Perennials:

• Leave green growth on plants until killed by a hard freeze. As long as it has good healthy green growth, the plant is still making food for next year’s growth.

• Mulch fall-planted plants and bulbs to help protect them from winter damage and heaving.

• Dig and store tender plants like gladiolas, tuberous begonias in a cool (45-55F) moist area while dahlias and cannas should be stored in a cooler (35-45F) dry area.

• Protect tender roses with mulch, but wait until late November. Don’t prune roses in the fall unless you must to get the bush in a rose cones. Sometimes dieback occurs from those cuts. Wait until spring to prune if you can.

• Cut back perennial flowers about 1-2″ above crown and ornamental grasses to a height of 5-6″ in the fall if plants are diseased or you want a “tidy” winter appearance. Or you can wait until spring to do this pruning to add some winter interest and some plants supply winter food for birds.

• Don’t overwater perennials going into winter as this can cause crown rot. Also pull back mulch from around the base of perennials.

Next week I’ll continue my list of things to do around the home in the fall.