Avant Gardener: Keep up with fall garden chores

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • September 11, 2012
  • 366
                        
Summary: Fall brings cooler temperatures that make garden chores a little easier. Fall is by far my favorite time of year. I hated summer. It was miserably hot and humid. I forgot I even had a garden. The weeds, however did not forget and they made themselves quite at home while I was indoors dreaming of cool fall mornings and a fire in the kitchen fireplace. Fall is a great time to get started with garden and yard clean-up. Even while some plants are continuing to produce there are some that can be pulled and tossed in the compost pile. The dogwood trees are already turning red and even shedding a few leaves so with the impending fall leaf maintenance on the horizon there is good reason to keep up with seasonal tasks to prevent everything from happening all at once. Get a handle on the weeds. Many weeds will be reseeding now and they will come back to haunt you next year. Pull the plants out and put them in the trash. Perennials that you loved in summer can get out of control if left to their own devices. Case in point is the beautiful morning glories that I loved so much. The herb garden doesn’t really exist anymore. It is now a morning glory garden with a suggestion of herbs deep in the crevices of the winding, tangled mess of climbing attack plants. The morning glories will be violently ripped from the soil and any appearances missed seeds make in spring will be stopped short of ever growing near the herb garden again. If you have a hard-to-plant area where nothing grows, plant morning glories. They’ll grow. Early fall is the perfect time to stock up on spring bulbs. Go ahead and get them in the ground. When planting bulbs remember they look best in large groups of one color. Nothing beats a blast of color in the spring when Ohio wakes up from a long winter’s nap. If you plan on using the bulb beds for early spring crops don’t worry about the bulbs being in the way. Plant them in pots in the ground so when they are in full bloom you get dig them up and put them on the deck or porch. You can still enjoy the color of spring bulbs while being able to take advantage of early spring vegetables like radish, spinach and carrots. It’s not too early to dig new beds for next year’s plantings as long as you cover the soil. Covered soil is healthier and has less chance of drying out and losing beneficial microbes that are necessary for the healthiest soil. Traditional hardwood mulches will work or simply using weed-free straw or try a cover crop of rye grass or harry vetch. If you are still in the mood to watch things grow get some lettuce in the ground. It tastes better than the pesticide-laden stuff you can buy in the grocery store and is far more nutritious. Wet paper towels have more nutrition than conventionally grown lettuce. Start to think about next year’s garden. Figure out what worked and what didn’t. Put your feet up and tilt your hat forward. A well-deserved break is just around the corner.


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