Cuttings of annuals can be taken now to provide
vigorous plants for overwintering.
Herbs such as parsley, rosemary, chives, thyme
and marjoram can be dug from the garden and placed in pots now for growing indoors
this winter.
Except tulips, spring bulbs may be planted as
soon as they are available. Tulips should be kept in a cool, dark place and
planted in late October.
Begin readying houseplants for winter indoors.
Prune back rampant growth and protruding roots. Check for pests and treat if
necessary. Houseplants should be brought indoors at least one month before the
heat is normally turned on.
Perennials, especially spring bloomers, can be
divided now. Enrich the soil with peat moss or compost before replanting.
Divide peonies now. Replant in a sunny site and
avoid planting deeply.
Lift gladioli when their leaves yellow. Cure in
an airy place until dry before husking.
Poinsettias can be forced into bloom for
Christmas if they are moved indoors now to a sunny windowsill. Each night, they
must be kept in a cool, dark place where there is no light for 14 hours. This
must continue until proper color is achieved in 6-10 weeks.
Lawns
Cool-season lawns are best fertilized in fall.
Make up to 3 applications between now and December. Do not exceed rates
recommended by fertilizer manufacturer.
If soils become dry, established lawns should be
watered thoroughly to a depth of 4-6 inches.
Begin fall seeding or sodding of cool-season
grasses. Seedbeds should be raked, dethatched or core-aerified, fertilized and
seeded. Keep newly planted lawn areas moist, but not wet.
Lawns may be topdressed with compost or
milorganite now. This is best done after verifying.
It is not uncommon to see puffballs in lawn
areas at this time.
Newly seeded lawns should not be cut until they
are at least 2 or 3 inches tall.
Vegetables
Egyptian (top-setting) onions can be divided and
replanted now.
Sowing seeds of radish, lettuce, spinach and
other greens in a cold frame will prolong fall harvests.
Keep broccoli picked regularly to encourage
additional production of side shoots.
Pinch out the top of Brussels sprout plants to
plump out the developing sprouts.
Harvest herbs now to freeze or dry for winter
use.
Tie leaves around cauliflower heads when they
are about the size of a golf ball.
Pinch off any young tomatoes that are too small
to ripen. This will channel energy into ripening the remaining full-size
fruits.
Sow spinach now to overwinter under mulch for
spring harvest.
Fruits
Pick pears before they are fully mature. Store
in a cool, dark basement to ripen.
Bury or discard any spoiled fallen fruits.
Paw paws ripen in the woods now.
Check all along peach tree trunks to just below
soil line for gummy masses caused by borers. Probe holes with thin wire to
puncture borers.
Miscellaneous
Autumn is a good time to add manure, compost or
leaf mold to garden soils for increasing organic matter content.
Monitor plants for spider mite activity. Reduce
their numbers by hosing off with a forceful spray of water.
Seasonal loss of inner needles on conifers is
normal at this time. It may be especially noticeable on pines.
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