NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN FOR SEPTEMBER 19,
2015
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BY GEORGE EDGAR
It is time
again for my annual reminder. I have found that the more I do in the
fall, the better it is for most plants, and the easier it is in the
spring. Also, I have found that the better I prepare my flower garden,
my vegetable garden, my lawn, my trees and shrubs for winter, the
healthier they are in the spring. Many diseases and insects over winter
in the debris from dead leaves and flowers in your garden and so they
need to be removed. These are some of the things you can do:
·
Get out a
notebook and write down what worked and what didn’t this year. What
flowers really bloomed for you and what were disasters? Write it down. I
have a hard time remembering in the spring which tomatoes I planted
where last year and which ones really did well. I also write down which
row in the vegetable garden had what kind of plant. Every year I try to
rotate and move things over one or two rows. You might also want to
write down where you got the plant or seed that did very well so you can
go back next year. Make a
note of any particular productive or unsatisfactory varieties of
vegetables that you planted this year. Such information can be very
useful when planning next years' garden. I drew a map of my garden and
the 13 rows. Each year I write in what I planted where. It really helps
as next spring I won’t remember but can turn to my record.
·
Did you
plant a new shrub or tree this year? Write down the kind of tree or
shrub, the cultivar, where purchased, and where planted. Be sure and
save that tag that came with the tree or shrub. I also have a drawing
saved in my computer of my rose bed with the name of each rose. Without
that map I can’t seem to remember what the names are.
·
Remove any
diseased or insect infested plant material from your garden, as it may
harbor over-wintering stages of disease or insect pests. If you leave
this plant material in your garden, you are leaving diseases and insects
which will begin to reproduce again next spring and add to next years'
pest problem. Also, do not put these in your compost pile.
·
Be sure to
keep strawberry and raspberry beds weed free. Every weed you pull now
will help make weeding much easier next spring.
·
Reduce
peony botrytis blight and hollyhock rust by removing and disposing of
all old leaves and stems this fall. Do not put any diseased
leaves and plant material in your compost. Removal will reduce the
carryover of the diseases during the winter and you will have less
trouble next year. Apply a copper fungicide (
·
Iris
borers overwinter in the old leaves and stems left in the garden and
blackspot can overwinter in the dead Rose leaves and foliage left in the
bed. Do not put any diseased leaves and plant material in your
compost where it can overwinter and cause problems next year. Copyright 2015 |