Issue 167

August 2022

Hello Great-Gardeners,

Several new shipments of trees, shrubs, and perennials have arrived. Garden mums are out, and pansies will be available this weekend.

Stop on out and get into the fall spirit.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, hit reply. I would love to hear from you. Have a great-gardening day.

Sincerely,

Holly

September

• Remove dead or underperforming annuals. If they are not thriving now, it's best to cut your losses. Give your pots and planters a makeover by tucking in fresh, ready-to-bloom cool-season annual flowers such as mums or pansies that will keep the color show going through the fall.
• Remove vegetables which have stopped producing to eliminate a shelter for insects and disease organisms.
• Keep inspecting for pests, particularly bean beetles, which can make a second strong showing this time of year. Remove and treat as needed.
• Stop fertilizing roses, trees, shrubs, and perennial flowers now. Feeding your plants in the late summer and fall encourages new growth that probably won't survive the winter. Allow plants to finish the summer growth cycle in a normal manner. Never encourage growth with heavy applications of fertilizer or excessive pruning. Plants will delay their dormancy process that has already begun in anticipation of winter in the months ahead. An early freeze can injure new growth.
• Avoid pruning trees and shrubs since doing so this late in the season can stimulate new growth that will not harden off in time for the cold winter weather ahead. Delay pruning until the end of the dormant season early next spring.
• Harvest onions and garlic as the tops dry and fall over. Braid garlic tops and hang in a cool, dry place. Cut onion tops back to 1" and dry thoroughly before storing. Use any damaged produce immediately.
• Harvest pumpkins, summer squashes, and gourds before the first frost. Pumpkins that have begun showing color will continue to ripen after harvest. Use great care not to nick the rind during harvest since this will lead to more rapid deterioration. Pick summer squash and zucchini every day or two to keep the plants producing.
• Keep harvesting second plantings of the cool season vegetables, including radishes, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, chard, spinach, broccoli, and the other cole crops. Some, such as parsnips, peas, Brussels sprouts, and kale, have enhanced flavor after a frost.
• Now is an excellent time to buy spring flowering bulbs for next year's early flower display—plan for different flowering times to extend the season.
• For a fall harvest, you can still plant leaf lettuce, Swiss Chard, Spinach, and Radishes.
• After the last raspberry harvest for the year, prepare for next year while also avoiding diseases by pruning out old flowering canes leaving only 3-4 young canes per foot of row. Wait until spring to prune back shoot tips.
• Continue deadheading flowers; this allows plants to use energy reserves for a final flower display.
• Some perennial flowers and bulbs will start to go dormant this month. Marking their location with a painted popsicle stick or drawing out a map of your bed is helpful, so you don't forget where things are.
• Check the moisture of hanging baskets and container plantings daily. 
• Every weed that produces seed means more trouble next year—control weeds before they go to seed.
• Late summer is a perfect time to plant perennials and flowering shrubs. Just be sure you keep your new plants well-watered if the weather is hot and dry. 
• Keep evergreen trees and shrubs hydrated. Because plants such as yew and arborvitae never go completely dormant, their roots should be slightly moist to help the plant survive drying winter winds. Newly planted evergreens are particularly susceptible to dry soil, so ensure they get at least an inch of water a week.
• Houseplants "vacationing" in the backyard should be moved closer to the house in a shadier area before being brought into the house. Give them a good blast of water before bringing them in to help remove freeloading insects. Insects in the soil are probably not damaging but more of a nuisance when brought indoors. For the first couple of weeks after the move, inspect your plants daily for any emergent insects and treat them as needed. 
• Give your lawn some attention this month. Dethatch, aerate, and fertilize it. You can also seed or sod new lawns at this time or fix bare spots in older lawns.
• Every 3-5 years, transplant fibrous-rooted perennials. Divide Spring blooming perennials in the Fall and Fall blooming perennials in the spring. Cut back tops to 4 -6" to reduce transplant stress. Thoroughly prepare the new planting site.
• Fall is a good time for improving your garden soil by adding manure, compost, and leaves to increase the organic matter content. Wood ashes contain phosphorous, potassium, and calcium. Place on vegetable gardens and flower beds as a top dressing that will feed into the soil all winter.
• Plant winter rye as a cover crop to help build soil. It smothers cool-season weeds and helps prevent soil erosion over winter and loss of nutrients from exposed soil.

Tree Planting Sale!

We will DELIVER and PLANT any tree purchased from Wilson's For

$85 Per Tree

(Licking County)

$95 Per Tree

Surrounding counties: Coshocton, South East Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Knox, Muskingum & Perry)

NOW through September 18th

(Does Not Include the Price of the Tree)