Sauk County Gardener: Putting your gardens to bed
“Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul... but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October.” — Peggy Toney Horton
As we wind down September, it’s time to look at what tasks we need to do to put our gardens to bed in October. At the beginning of the month, there are still hints of summer and still plenty of time to plant spring-blooming bulbs and even summer-blooming bulbs such as Asiatic and Oriental lilies. You can plant bulbs up to six weeks after the first fall frost. I was hoping to move some grape hyacinths from my wooded side yard to my front flower beds but unfortunately I can’t find them now. I guess I should have marked their location last spring instead of relying on my memory. Knowing that I was unable to find them this year, I’m going to do a better job at marking their location next spring. If you want to enjoy a bit of spring a little early or are just starting to run out of energy, save a few of those spring-blooming bulbs for indoor forcing. If you haven’t already, cut your iris leaves back to about four inches to prevent overwintering of iris borer eggs. At the beginning of the month, sow perennial seeds such as Oriental or Iceland poppies, scabiosa, phlox, pansy, and penstemon. Near the end of the month after the killing frost, sow hardy annual seeds like Cleome, larkspur, bachelor buttons and calendula. Be sure to mark where you planted them, so you don’t weed them out next spring. Collect any seeds you might want for your perennial flowers and spread the seeds on well-prepared soil. Clear out any diseased or insect-invested plant material from your flower beds but consider leaving the remainder standing to provide winter interest, seed heads for the birds, and habitat for beneficial insects. Some flowers to consider leave standing are coneflowers, rudbeckias, astilbe, and even hostas.
In the vegetable garden, this is the place to really “clean” up your beds. If you have any green tomatoes, don’t let them go to waste. Use them in relishes, make fried green tomatoes, or pick them to ripen indoors. Harvest radishes, beets and potatoes. You can leave carrots, parsnips and turnips for winter harvesting. Just mulch them a bit after the soil starts to get frosty. Harvest your pumpkins, squash and gourds. Only store undamaged, healthy produce; one bad apple or potato one can spoil the bunch. Clear out old plants to prevent disease and insect problems next year. Don’t put any diseased plant material in your compost. Simply bag it and put it out with the trash. For me, this means making sure my tomato plants and cucumber and squash vines don’t end up on the compost pile as my tomatoes ended up with early blight (I always plant mine too close) and my cucurbits with powdery mildew. Once you’ve cleared out the old plant material, spread manure and incorporate it into the soil. An alternative is planting buckwheat, annual rye, or oats to create a green manure that you can dig or till into your soil next spring. In my garden, I’m going plant buckwheat this year. During the first half of the month, you still have time to divide any large rhubarb plants to rejuvenate the plants. Finish planting individual garlic cloves about four inches apart, one inch deep and the cover with mulch or straw. If you have any tender herbs, such as rosemary, still in the garden that you wish to use this winter, pot them up and put them in a sunny location inside your house. Another option is to start a new herb garden in the house. You can plant them in individual pots or in one bigger container, depending on your available space. If you decide to plant them together, make sure you select herbs that have similar light and water requirements. I made the mistake before of planting herbs together that had different water requirements and killed half my plants.
In the yard, consider mowing your leaves instead of raking them. They are a wonderful amendment to your gardens and lawn. Also, it keeps the leaves out of the city streets and rain gutters. You can use these mulched leaves around your perennial flowers and vegetable garden (assuming you didn’t let your grass go to seed.) Place the leaves around, not on, your perennial flowers so they don’t mat down and hold moisture. In the vegetable garden, dig the leaf mulch into the top six inches of the soil. Finally, if you desire a lush, green lawn, late October is the most important time to fertilize your lawn. For Wisconsin, the “holiday” schedule is recommended. A slow-release fertilizer will allow the grass to use some of the nutrient now and the remainder will be available immediately next spring when your lawn begins to grow. To learn more about fertilizing your lawn, check out UW’s the Learning Store document on Lawn Maintenance, cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0145/8808/4272/files/A3435.pdf.
Finally, take a moment to look back and reflect on your gardens. Make notes on what you liked, what didn’t live up to your expectations, and what you’d like to do differently next year. In particular, pay attention to your fall flowers and note what you want to add or change next year. Come next spring/summer, you’ll have a handy shopping list to reference. Use that list to find those needed fall flowers and get them planted and well established before fall arrives. Next year, I’m searching for more asters, chrysanthemums and sedum.
Remember to contact the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Sauk County staff if you have any gardening questions. Please send an email to haley.weisert@saukcountywi.gov or call the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Sauk County office at 608-355-3250.
Jeannie Manis is president of the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association (SCMGA).
