FALL GARDENING CHORES  -  September 2009
 Jim Fizzell

Labor day!  The lazy days of Summer 2009 have departed.  Now the pace of our days quickens.  School is back in session, vacations are memories, and normal activities resume after the summer hiatus.

Meteorological fall starts September 1, and official fall starts in three weeks.  Although there still are summer-like days ahead, the hint of fall is in the air, and the season is dwindling.  Mornings are not as warm and bright as they were a few weeks ago, and it is harder to get into the garden.  We have lost nearly three hours of daylight since the first day of summer.  Already it is time to begin thinking about finishing up the gardening year.

Plants notice the change too.  The grass which has struggled in late summer begins to grow again.  The rains are more frequent.  Nature makes one last burst of energy, it seems, before shutting down for the winter.

If your lawn is in need of  repairs, plan to do them as quickly as possible.  Time is indeed short.  Newly  seeded grass needs at least two months before freeze-up to be strong enough to survive.

There are some options for lawn repairs.  If lawn is thatchy, core-aerify.  Try to get a hole every two inches thru thatch, 36 holes per sq. ft.  Do not core if weather is hot and dry.

For just a few bad spots, scratch up each spot with a garden rake, or dig out the duff and fill with soil from elsewhere in yard.  Then scatter seed in the spots and gently rake it in.

For a general renewal, where the lawn is thin but otherwise OK, mow short and slit-seed.  Or power rake and broadcast-seed.  Brush seed into core holes, if you core-aerified.

Lawns full of weeds with little nice grass, and beyond repairing, need complete renovation.  Core-aerify thoroughly if thatchy.  Kill off perennial weeds and the old grass with Roundup.  Wait 5 days, then mow short and seed.  Either slit-seed in two directions,  or power rake and broadcast-seed.  Use a blend of Kentucky Bluegrasses and turf-type perennial ryegrass.  Some blends have 50% Rye.  Add 25% Creeping red fescue if shady.

If you prefer to sod, once the coring and Roundup are done, strip off old lawn, loosen the  soil, apply starter fertilizer, moisten the soil, and lay the sod. Be sure the sod is fresh and grown on same kind of soil as is  in your yard.  Roll after installation.

Keep seed wet until up and growing, or let nature do it.  The risk is that fall rains will not materialize.  (See the sidebar).  Keep sod wet for two weeks or until knitted.  
Trees benefit from watering too.  If fall turns out warm and dry, be sure to water new trees.  And, if dry weather is extended, water large trees every two or three weeks.  Apply two inches of water to the entire area beneath the trees.  Measure the water with a coffee can set under the sprinkler.

In the flower garden, replace faded annuals with hardy mums. They will be colorful and cheery,  flowering until frozen out later this fall.

Daylilies, and almost all other perennials can be divided in the fall, but peonies must be divided in fall.  Butterfly weeds, asters, coreopsis, ferns, and a few others that suffer through winter are better divided in spring.

Stockpile the soil for covering roses. Cover it so it stays dry and doesn’t freeze until you can use it.

In the vegetable garden, continue to harvest produce as it ripens.  Keep old bed sheets, or blankets handy to cover  the garden if frost threatens.  Pull out stakes and remove cages as the plants finish for the year.  Clean them and store them where they can be located next spring.  Turn over vacated areas and leave the soil rough for winter to mellow it.  make a drawing of the garden and indicate where stuff grew.  Next year you can rotate crops so none is planted in the same place.

Accumulate mulching materials for winter protection.  Light, airy materials like clean straw or evergreen boughs are best.  Don’t apply them until the ground has frozen, or mice will invade them for the winter.

Think about getting the Christmas Decorations up before the weather turns nasty.  You don’t need to turn the lights on until after Thanksgiving, but it is sure easier to string them up when it is warm and dry instead of windy, cold, and snowing.

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         Sidebar

 What will the winter be Like?
Early Thoughts on the Fall and Winter Weather

Long-range forecasters are predicting that the cool, moist weather is a thing of the past.  The dry weather that began in July will be extended for at least the next six months, they say.

A developing El Nino will rearrange the jetstreams so the rains stay up in Canada.  The cool summers, and the severe weather we have had the last two winters will be bottled up there as well.

What does that mean for gardeners here?

Temperatures will generally fall to about seasonal norms or slightly above as the season progresses.  Fall will be extended and pleasant, however there will be a cold snap and possible freeze in late September and again in late October.  In between, there will be a beautiful Indian Summer.

Rainfall will be limited as will snow this winter.  Plan to water trees and shrubs so they are not dry going into the winter.  The dry weather will be a boone to farmers trying to get crops dried down for harvest, but will mean getting the garden house out for home gardeners.  Midwinter watering might be necessary for exposed plantings as well.

Long-range weather prognosticators rely on the goings-on in the Equatorial Pacific to forecast the weather here.  As the waters of the Pacific warm to above-normal temperatures, it affects the patterns of the upper air currants that direct our weather.  El Ninos can produce beautiful falls and  unusually warm and dry winters in the Midwest.