Fall is my second favorite time of the year. I love April and May, but September and October are close behind. The trees put on their yellow, orange and red fall color and the meadows are full of ragweed, iron weed and black eyed Susans. We live in a beautiful little corner of the world.
Enough of waxing poetic, there are things to be done! Fall is a busy time for the garden.
The first thing you need to do is go outside and walk around your yard. Take a camera or a notebook or whatever you need, and take a good hard look. What did well? What did not? What do you want to do next year and what do you want to avoid at all cost? Have bugs and fungus set up housekeeping? How is the weed population? Does something need to be pruned or moved? If it is still too hot to actually do anything at least you will have an idea of what needs to be done.
If you decide that you need to add some things to your yard, fall is a great time to do that. Trees and shrubs planted in the fall have all winter to get their roots down so that they are ready to grow next spring.
Are there dead or diseased branches on trees or shrubs? Fall is a good time to prune them out. This is not a good time, however, to do severe or cosmetic pruning. Healthy branches that are pruned now will put on new growth that will be vulnerable to frost.
Fall blooming perennials should be planted by the end of the month so that they can get roots established before the first frost.
Cut back scraggly perennials that are done blooming. Some may reward you with a second flush of blooms.
Spring blooming perennials can be divided now. Fleshy rooted perennials like peonies and iris can also be divided. Cut off and dispose of all unhealthy parts and divide the remainder. You do need to be aware that it can take peonies a couple of years to bloom again after division.
When your annuals start to fade, replace them with pansies. Wait until at least mid-month to do this so that it is cool enough for them, otherwise they will “stretch.” Snapdragons, ornamental cabbage and kale are good companions.
If your containers look tired, refresh them with pansies or fall perennials. If you don’t want to fool with them anymore, dump the dirt out and put them where they will be protected from freezing this winter.
If you have a vegetable garden, keep harvesting! You can also plant cool season vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage until early September.
Fall is a good time to add compost and manure to your beds. This will make your flowers next spring very happy.
This is also a good time to add mulch if you did not do it this spring. Mulch helps the plants get through the winter.
If you did mulch this spring, your mulch probably needs to be refreshed. It can get a hard crust on the top that makes water run right off. “Fluffing” it with a rake or hoe will get it ready for winter.
The weeds are very prolific this year. I think I have pulled up enough crabgrass, spurge and other weeds to cover East Tennessee. You will need to continue to pull or spray them, well, forever.
Clean up debris, especially if you have insect or fungal problems. The bugs and fungal spores overwinter in fallen leaves and are ready to start again next year. If your plants are still healthy, leave the stalks and seeds for the birds.
Bring houseplants back inside by the end of the month. Most will need to be treated with an insecticide to get rid of any hitchhikers that would love to roam around your house all winter.
I know that we are above average on rainfall, but you will need to water if the rain stops.
Mums will be arriving soon. Remember, there are early, mid and late season bloomers. If you want them to come back next year, they need to get in the ground by mid-late September.
Check our website for information on upcoming events. The site is Meadowviewgreenhouse.com. You can also check Facebook for updates.
If you have problems or questions, call or stop by. Enjoy your fall!
Meadow View Greenhouses
and Garden Center
9885 Highway 11E
Lenoir City, TN 37772
865-986-7229
www.meadowviewgreenhouse.com
