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Once again we come to that time of
year when we have to say goodbye to
this year’s garden and get ready for
an even better garden next year.
Fall has arrived with cooler
temperatures and shorter days. It is
a time to reflect on the last
several months and contemplate our
successes and failures and also get
the garden ready for next season.
Good gardening practices don’t
always insure good results, but they
will provide the best conditions for
success. The number one rule is use
the right plant in the right
location in the right lighting and
the right soil. Still keep an eye
out for signs of insects and disease
on the plants. Remove any parts that
show damage, or if the damage is
severe enough, remove the entire
plant. Any plants that have been
damaged need to be kept watered
well. They should be given at least
one inch of water a week until the
ground freezes. Rake up and destroy
any fallen leaves as disease will
over winter and infect new growth
next season. Remove all dead annuals
and fallen flower heads, dead
branches and garden debris in
general. Prune any plants that need
to be pruned in the fall. Keep track
of any insect and disease activity
from this year, so that you can plan
ahead to prevent it from occurring
again next year. Write down what
worked and what didn’t for you this
year so you can plan your strategy
for next season. |
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You may think fall is a terrible
time to be thinking about planting a
vegetable garden, but if you want a
late harvest, fall is an ideal time
to plant cool season crops. The best
cool weather crops are leafy greens,
root crops and certain cabbage.
Beets, carrots, peas, lettuce,
turnips and spinach are good ones to
name a few. Brussels sprouts may be
planted in very early fall for a
late season harvest. Another late
season crop to be planted which
isn’t harvested until next year is
garlic. Columbus Day in October is
the traditional time to do this.
Keep an eye on the weather to watch
for any frost advisories. When frost
is predicted, use some type of plant
protection. Options range from
floating row covers, to newspaper,
to plastic including milk jugs.
Remember to remove the plastic s
used before the sun heats them up
too much. Another fall planting is
bulbs. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths
and crocus need planted in the fall.
They need between nine and thirteen
weeks of cold soil temperature to
flower in the spring. When you
purchase your fall bulbs, buy only
top size bulbs for the best show.
Support your local garden center, me
and buy locally. It’s always nice to
touch and feel the bulbs for
quality, instead of looking at a
catalog photo.
Fall is the perfect time to sit
back, relax and reflect on all the
successes of this season’s garden.
Put all those seed catalogs to good
use and plan next year’s garden
which will be even more spectacular
than this year.
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