Gardening Tips and Tricks For Late Autumn
By Karen Peralta
Preparing for the Winter Months: Gardening in October
When you feel that first solid bite in the breeze and you see the songbirds winging their way south, and the trees are bursting with fire-laden hues, you know you can't be spending the weekend curled up by the fireplace with a good book. Not for long.
While the weather is still gardener-friendly, you must shorten your "to-do" lists for the coming of late fall and early winter. Now is the time to attack your lawn and garden by planting your spring bulbs, buying and maintaining your trees and shrubs, doing your late autumn lawn care, using common-sense watering strategies, building a compost bin and making your own compost, controlling the many common garden pests, and winning at the weed-whacking war before the sudden onset of the fickle, cold and all-enveloping winter season.
Planting Your Perennials
Plant the spring-flowering bulbs until the ground becomes frozen, and prepare your tender but tenacious perennials for the coming seasonal changes. Remember that in the milder climates, bulbs can still be divided and transplanted. Plant hardy bulbs anytime before the soil freezes, but it's best to plant them early enough so the root systems can grow before winter arrives. In some climates, you can plant until Thanksgiving or even Christmas. Late-planted bulbs develop roots in the spring, and may bloom late. But they'll arrive on time by next year.
Be sure to position the bulbs at their proper depth. They must be planted so their bottoms rest at a depth two-and-a-half times each bulb's diameter. In well-drained or sandy soil, plant an inch or two deeper to increase life and discourage rodents.
Choosing Your Trees and Shrubs
October is a wonderful time to shop for trees and shrubs at the nursery. They're now showing their best and brightest colors there. You can plant them now and over the next few months, so that strong, healthy roots will grow over the winter.
You must carefully plan out your landscape to choose which trees you wish to plant for providing proper lawn coverage and the most beautiful scenery. When an appropriate tree is purchased, selected and planted in the right place, it frames your home and beautifies your land, making both more enjoyable. Trees can greatly increase the resale value of property, and even save you on energy costs.
Visualize your new trees at maturity while realizing that some trees develop as much width as height if given enough space to develop. Picture each tree's size and shape in relation to the overall landscape and the size and style of your home. Trees peaking at forty feet do best near or behind a one-story home. Taller trees blend with two-story houses and large lots. Trees under thirty feet tall suit streetside locations, small lots and enclosed areas such as decks and patios.
There are two basic types of trees you will be considering for purchase. Deciduous trees include large shade trees which frame areas with a cool summer canopy and a colorful autumn rack of superior colors. In winter, their silhouettes provide passage for sunlight. These trees can shade a southern exposure from summertime heat, and allow winter sunlight to warm the house. Evergreen trees have dense green foliage that suits them for planting as privacy screens, windbreaks or backdrops for flowering trees and shrubs. But they are handsome enough to stand alone. They do not lose their leaves, called needles, and provide year-round shelter and color. You should be sure to include a wide variety of both kinds of trees in your landscape to avoid losing them to diseases or pests. Buy disease- and pest-resistant trees.
When buying a tree, look for healthy green leaves if it has any, and also well-developed top growth. Branches should be unbroken and balanced around the trunk, and on dormant or bare-root stock they should be pliable. Examine the roots, which should form a balanced, fully-formed mass. Reject trees with broken or dried-out roots. Avoid trees showing signs of disease, pests or stress such as wilting, discoloration, misshapen leaves, scarred bark and nonvigorous growth. Consider the size of the tree. Young trees have a better rate of success when planted, and most flowering trees grow quickly, so start with less expensive, smaller specimens. And be sure and buy all your plants from a good quality nursery with a decent reputation.
Don't prune a newly planted tree unless its form needs improving. Prune flowering trees in spring, after blooming, to correct unsightly problems. Crab apple trees are an exception and should be pruned in late winter. But you can remove diseased or dead branches anytime of the year, and much of this is done during the winter. Apply fertilizer when needed in the second and subsequent growing seasons. Mulch to conserve moisture, reduce weeds and eliminate mowing near the tree. Spread wood chips or bark four inches deep and as wide as the tree's canopy around the base. But don't mulch poorly drained oversaturated soil. Wrap tree trunks after planting to prevent winter damage from weather and pests. And stake young trees, especially bare-root trees and evergreens, to fortify them against strong winds. Stake loosely and allow the tree to bend slightly, and remove stakes after one year.
Shrubs are often planted and used merely as foundation plants or privacy screens. But shrubbery foliage is vastly more versatile, and can go a long way toward livening up your landscaping. Countless varieties of gorgeously hued and beautifully leafed shrubs are available through nurseries and garden catalogs.
You must start by learning what varieties thrive in your area. Try visiting your local arboretum, where you may view different kinds of shrubs and decide whether they fit your gardening plans. Decide what overall look you want at different times of the year, and then find out which shrubs will be flowering, producing berries or sporting colorful foliage at those times. Compare what you find to the inventory at your local nursery, and ask the professionals who work there lots of questions.
Understand the characteristics of each shrub before you plant it. Flowering and fruit-bearing shrubs enhance a new home, but improper pruning and care will ruin the beauty of all your hard work. Some shrubs bloom on second- or third-year wood. If you're maintaining a shrub because you're hoping it's going to blossom, but you're cutting off first-year wood every year, it's never going to bloom.
Some varieties are a foot tall at maturity, while others reach over fifteen feet. A large shrub will usually require more pruning. Also determine the plant's ability to tolerate various soil conditions, wind, sun and shade. You don't put a plant that's sensitive to the elements in an open area. Use hardier plants to shelter it.
Not all shrubs work in every climate. Witch hazel, for example, blooms in fall or winter and is hardiest where minimum temperatures range from thirty degrees below zero to twenty degrees above. It would not be a good choice for very dry, hot climates. But some shrubs such as buddleia, hydrangea and spirea perform well across a wide range of growing zones.
Late Autumn Lawn Care
Aerate lawns in mid- to late-October, while the grass can recover easily. If you core aerate, make your cores three inches deep, spaced about every six inches. Break up the cores and spread them around. If your lawn needs it, thatch and follow with a fall or winter fertilizer. Even if thatching isn't needed, your lawn will be happy for a dusting of fertilizer to help roots gain strength before the spring growing season. Overseed bald patches or whole lawns as needed.
Rake and compost leaves as they fall, as well as grass clippings from mowing. If left on the ground now, they'll make a wet, slippery mess that's inviting to pests.
Good gardeners use heavy-duty molded plastic for shaping neat edges of beds. You can buy these from garden centers, nurseries and mail order suppliers in rolls of flat, four- to six-inch-tall plastic, and the edging installs easily. You'll save yourself countless hours of removing grass and weeds that otherwise creep into your beds.
Watering Your Lawn and Garden
You can't forget about watering in the middle of fall. The summer's long over, but proper moisture now is key to your plants' survival over the cold winter months. You're likely to hear two pieces of advice on watering. One is that you should give established plants an inch of water per week, whether from rain or irrigation. The other is that personal observation of your own garden is the only way to judge how much water it needs. One fact about which there is more agreement: the ideal is to maintain constant moisture, not a cycle of wet soil followed by dry soil.
Although overwatering can be as big a problem as underwatering, most gardeners err on the side of too little. Your needs will vary through the year depending on the rate of evapotranspiration in your garden. Evapotranspiration refers to the two ways that plants lose water. There's evaporation, the loss of water to the air from soil, water and other surfaces. Then the other way is called transpiration, or water lost primarily from the leaves and stems of the plants. You can often obtain evapotranspiration rates for local areas from water departments and other agencies. You will see a graphic description of how a plant's natural need for water changes during the growing season.
In the meantime, keep these pointers in mind:
1) Water when it's needed, not according to the calendar. Check the top six inches of the soil. If it's dry and falls apart easily, water. Your plants will also show signs that they need water. Wilting, curling or brown leaves mean that your plants may lack adequate water. Meanwhile, bear in mind that excess water creates a lack of oxygen in plants, making them show similar symptoms to underwatering.
2) Water slowly, not more than one-half inch of water per hour. Too much water can be lost to runoff. This is why handheld watering cans or handheld hoses generally work only for watering small areas.
3) Water deeply. With established vegetables and flowers, six inches is a minimum. With trees and shrubs, water one to two feet or more. Shallow watering does more harm than good; it discourages plants from developing the deep roots they need to find their own water. Except when you are watering seedlings, soil should never be wet only in the top layer.
The increased use of piped municipal water and the invention of sprinklers have made mechanical irrigation the most commonly used watering method, particularly for lawns and large areas. Sprinkler irrigation works best with well-draining soils and shallow-rooted plants, or where a cooling effect is desired. But sprinklers have several disadvantages. They waste water, since much of it is sprayed on areas other than the root zone around the plant. Because much of the water is thrown high in the air, loss due to evaporation can be significant. Sprinklers can also foster fungal diseases and other problems with some plants such as roses that don't like having wet foliage. Sprinklers require good water pressure and are best used on plants which are not in bloom. Several types of sprinklers are available.
Building a Bin and Making Your Own Compost
A bin will contain your compost pile and make it more attractive as well as keep it from spilling or blowing over into your yard. A circular or square structure can be made from fencing wire. The idea is to push the compost material together to make it heat up and rot properly. The bin should be at least three feet wide and three feet deep to provide enough space for the spreading material. Use untreated wood or metal fence posts for the corners and wrap sturdy wire fencing around them. The fence mesh should be small enough that rotting materials won't fall out. When the compost is ready, unwind the wire and scoop from the bottom of the pile. Then re-pile the undecomposed material and wrap the wire back around the heap.
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Riding lawn mowers are a great tool that can save you a lot of time in the Spring, Summer and Fall, but once Winter comes around, it can be stored and forgotten. Learn to properly prepare your mower for its winter hibernation so that you can prolong the life of your mower and have fewer problems the following Spring.
The Biggest and Best CAT Grader There Is
This article will describe the world of cat graders. It will accomplish this by telling you what a cat grader is, what it does , what benefits it can bring you, and why cat graders are so important.
Used Exmark Mowers
Exmark lawn mowers have been built to last through alot of abuse which comes with them being used for eight hour days and up to seven days per week. Although these mowers are built to the toughest standards it is very important to maintain them properly. A poorly maintained mower will fail alot faster than one that has been looked after with great care.
Are You Looking to Buy Small Farm Tractors?
If you have some outside work to finish around the house, then small farm tractors may be just what you need. These tractors are also known as compact tractors, and are built as miniaturized versions of full size agricultural vehicles. These tractors are mainly used for landscaping purposes on smaller estates.
Riding Lawn Mower Blade Care
From time to time, it is necessary to sharpen, balance, and replace the blade on a riding lawn mower. Learn to properly care for your lawn mower blades and replace them if necessary.
Cordless Lawn Mower - Makes Your Life Easy
Cordless lawn mowers have been very popular among all those people with medium or regular sized gardens. Usually, these types of machines are very light weight, easy to operate and cut very neatly.
Finding John Deere Lawn Mower Parts
I am the proud owner of a John Deere LT155 riding lawn mower. Rarely do I have any troubles with it, but occasionally I have to replace some parts. Even the highest quality machines, like the John Deere, will need work done on them at some point - even if it's just routine maintenance.
Push Reel Lawn Mowers - For the Environmentally Friendly Gardeners
Lawn mowers come in various types, design and style. The basic reel mowers have a rotary blade to cut the grass. This is the standard type of machine used by many gardeners.
Reel Lawn Mowers - The Best Option For Mowing Your Grass
Most of the present day house owners are looking for an environmentally-friendly solution to yard maintenance. The reel lawn mower isn't a new idea but they are growing popular day by day. The big reason for their popularity is perhaps people are becoming "environmentally-aware".
Husqvarna Lawn Mower in Review
A Husqvarna lawn mower will give your yard a neat appearance and make the mowing process easy for you. Invest in a Husqvarna lawn mower and make it easy on yourself.
Lawn Mower Hand Powered Manual Mowers - Get Fit and Reduce Your Gardening Costs
Hand powered manual mowers are go anywhere push mowers. With no electrical motor or petrol engine they are environmentally friendly, silent in operation, lightweight and long lasting. These lawnmowers use no petrol or electricity and significantly reduce your household costs.
Versatile Sprinkler System For Small and Odd-Shaped Yards Or Gardens
Regular outdoor hose sprinklers must be placed and replaced often to do a satisfactory job of watering all the areas of yards or gardens. These placements often cause sprinkler carryover that irritates a neighbor or someone walking by the front yard. This article shows how to make and use a versatile homemade system that will sprinkle along property boundaries, around trees, bushes, and corners, and is easily adapted to watering odd shaped yards and gardens. The parts for making it can be found in most hardware stores.
Riding Lawnmowers - A Guide to Purchasing Riding Lawnmowers
A lawn mower is something that everyone generally has. Having its inception somewhere around 1830, they very soon became essential to everyone. As a consequence of several years of evolution, there exists various kinds of lawn mowers in the market ranging from the most rudimentary push models to the most advanced remote-control machines, and so it is still very difficult to locate the appropriate one.
Best Riding Lawn Mowers For Better Performance
Many gardeners are looking for easier ways of cutting the grass. Walking behind an unwieldy lawn mower is the thing of the past. Riding mowers are becoming very popular but finding the best riding lawn mowers can be a daunting task for the customer.
Best Lawn Mowers - Plenty to Choose From
Everyone wants to own a beautiful garden with sprawling spaces of lush green grass. The lawn adds beauty to the premises of a house, building or an office. Designing, creating and maintaining a beautiful garden is the focus of many home owners.
Top Seven Common Riding Lawn Mower Problems and Solutions
While Cub Cadet builds the toughest and most durable riding lawn mowers you can buy, mowers do occasionally have problems. This article outlines how to diagnose and fix seven of the most common problems you are likely to encounter with your riding lawn mower.
Why You Need a Zero Turn Lawn Mower
If you have a large yard to mow and want it to look good afterwards then you need a zero turn lawn mower. These machines are very dependable and will last for years.
Solar Lighting For the Garden Saves Energy and Gives a Warm Glow
Solar outdoor lights are excellent for the garden yard, deck or entry path, giving a romantic soft garden glow. Garden lighting effectively adds a warm touch of home, even before entering the house. Individual accent lights showcase interesting elements in the yard. Spotlights can make a plain tree look spectacular at night, which may just increase your property value as well.
Choosing the Right Bounty Hunter Metal Detector
Metal detectors is a must equipment for treasure hunting as a hobby, you might be surprised to find some treasure along the way! When buying a metal detector, try getting some professional and expert advice is a good way to make sure you aren't buying the wrong choice, especially when you are buying for the first time.
Buying a Zero Turn Mower
If you're ever taken a look at the lawn equipment that professional landscapers use you would have noticed that they tend to use what are called Zero Turn Mowers. A Zero Turn Mower or Zero-Radius Turn Mower is a lawn mower that has the ability to turn 180 degrees on the spot, completely changing directions without missing any grass. With Zero Turn Mowers, the amount of edging that you will have to do is drastically reduced, which will cut down on the overall time it takes to cut the grass.
Why All the Hype About Bacho Grass Shears?
Bacho AB is a renowned Swedish company which has long produced a line of state-of-the-art garden tools, including Bacho Grass Shears. With its tools being sold in 40 different countries worldwide, Bacho AB can rightly feel the pride of continued success and accomplishment. It's easy to see why the Bacho name has become synonymous with fine quality garden tools.
Is an Electric Lawn Mower the Right Choice For You?
It goes without saying that the rotary lawn mower is the most popular style of lawn mower in use today. A design that is just about eighty years old, the rotary lawn mower continues to be one of the more simple designs in use today. Most rotary mowers operate with a two-stroke or four-stroke cycle engine, which run primarily on gasoline.
The Versatile Chainsaw
Chainsaws are one of the most versatile and useful pieces of garden equipment you can own. Whether it be to prune the trees in your garden, gathering firewood or commercially felling trees - a good dependable chainsaw can handle the job. Chainsaws are power tools and despite safety improvements, can be dangerous, and injuries can and do happen from improper use.
Small Engine Vehicles - Should You Overhaul?
Spring and summer are the seasons of the small engine vehicle. It is during these months that the lawn mowers, landscaping equipment, and golf carts get their heaviest use. It is also during this time of year that they get the most attention.
Kubota Tractor Is Environmentally Friendly
Kubota manufacturer's tractors, mowers, utility vehicles and construction equipment however their tractors are what they are known best for in the United States. There is a wide selection of Kubota tractors to choose from. From landscaping to livestock and everything in between the Kubota Tractor Corporation has you covered.
The Grass Is Greener With A John Deere Tractor
The grass is always greener on your side of the fence with a John Deere tractor. John Deere tractors have been around since 1837 when it began as a one-man blacksmith company and grew into a corporation it is today, employing over 52,000 people and growing each year.
How To Find The Right Lawnmower
Anybody who has a lawn needs a lawnmower, but many people who go to buy one really do not know the number of different types of lawnmower that are now available these days, and often will end up buying something simply because they do not know they could've bought a better model. But buying the right to mower can be made very simple by just knowing some of the facts and some of the choices that are available to you, and by understanding these it can be much easier to find the right mower for your needs.
Factors To Consider When Selecting A Landscaping Wilmington DE Designer
When you do choose to work with a custom landscaping Wilmington DE designer or design company then you need to spend time first thinking about what you want. Only can the designer then start coming up with the appropriate landscape design once they know what is it you want your garden to look like.
Why Is It That Antique Garden Tools Keep on Working?
Why do people like antiques? Is it because they remind us of our past and show how far we've come? Or could it be because they're pleasing to the eye? In the case of antique garden tools, it's more than likely people collect them to use. That's because they know that the antique tools that are still working all these years after being made will keep on working. You can't be sure of that with modern garden tools. They're machine made, and even single corner that can be cut has been. Manufacturers are out for the profits rather than pride of craftsmanship.
Jacobsen Greens King Mower - Add Power To Older Engines
Even quality landscaping and golf course mowers can use a power boost over time. This article describes how a repower kit can improve the performance in a good mower, specifically in a Jacobsen Greens King IV mower.
Basic Guidelines to Proper Lawnmower Care
Repair your own lawnmower only if you have the skills required. Remember to use only the replacement pieces in good conditions. Learn how to keep your lawnmower in proper conditions and benefit of its good performance.
Hammock Stands Offer Solid Support
Have you been thinking of having a hammock around? Hammocks are great for relaxing outdoors and just enjoying the weather. However, you may need extra support for your hammock. This is where hammock stands come in.
Sunday Just Got a Whole Lot Lazier
While inventions are intended to make life easier, are they also beginning to make us lazier? One new invention that raises the question is the LawnBott, an advanced robot designed to automatically mow the lawn while a homeowner lays on the couch.
Summerizing Your Snow Blower
You're sick of Winter! But don't let that stand in the way of a good relationship with your snow blower.
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3-Point Hitch Tractor-Mounted Top-Discharge DRŪ Chipper Wood Chipper Shredder
Mounted on the
back of your tractor, the 3-Point Hitch DRŪ
CHIPPER goes wherever you need it to, for
quickly clearing your property of unsightly
brush piles and woody material up to 4-1/2"
thick. With a top-discharge feature, the 3-Point
Hitch model DRŪ CHIPPER can easily expel chips
into a pickup truck bed, a large cart or wagon,
or even into a wooded area or field.
The head of the
chute can be angled down, for filling a truck
bed or for creating a large pile of chips. Angle
the head of the chute up and chips are dispersed
evenly over a large area. It can also be rotated
side to side. Constructed of heavy gauge steel
with a 35-pound flywheel.
Tractor Horsepower:
19 HP to 45 HP
Tractor
Mounting:
Fits category 0 or 1 three-point hitch
PTO Details:
Quick-attach, shielded PTO shaft for 1-3/8"
6-spline PTO with clockwise rotation
PTO RPM:
540
to use the right ingredients for a proper, lovely smelling rotting compost heap.
It's easy to cook up your own pile. At first, layer grass clippings with a dash of leaves and twigs to create a concoction that turns into humus, the best plant food. Added ingredients for the compost comes from everyday waste in the kitchen and yard. But avoid any items that ruin your compost. Use green materials such as fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, and grass and plant clippings; and brown materials, such as leaves, wood and bark chips, shredded newspaper, straw and sawdust from untreated wood. Avoid using any meat, oil, fat, grease, diseased plants, sawdust or chips from pressure-treated wood, dog or cat feces, weeds that go to seed or dairy products. These can befoul, spoil and make smelly and rancid a perfectly good productive compost heap.
There are two types of composting: cold and hot. Cold composting is as simple as piling up your yard waste or taking out the organic materials in your trash such as fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds or egg shells and then piling them in your yard. Over the course of a year or so, the material will decompose. Hot composting is for the more serious gardener; you'll get compost in one to three months during warm weather. Four ingredients are required for fast-cooking hot compost: nitrogen, carbon, air and water. These items feed microorganisms, which speed up the process of decay.
Concentrated Pest Control
Slugs and other pests don't disappear as the weather gets cooler. You'll find them at all life stages in October, from eggs to youngsters and adults. For slugs, use whatever measures you prefer, salt, slug bait or saucers of beer to eliminate them. It's best to catch them at the early stages to stop the reproduction cycle. And keep the ground well-raked and tidied to reduce their natural habitat.
Here's a list of common garden pests and how to control them:
Thrips: Adult thrips are about one-sixteenth-inch long and have dark bodies with four fringed wings. Their size makes them difficult to detect in the garden. They attack young leaves, flower stalks and buds. Spray young foliage, developing buds and the soil around the bush with an insecticide containing acephate.
Cane borer: This insect is the maggot of the eggs laid by sawflies or carpenter bees in the freshly-cut cane of the rose after pruning. One telltale sign is a neatly-punctured hole visible on the top of the cane. To remove the pest, cut several inches down the cane until there are no more signs of the maggot or pith-eaten core. Seal all pruning cuts with pruning sealer.
Japanese beetle, Fuller rose beetle: These will eat parts of the foliage and sometimes the flowers. Pick beetles off the bush by hand. Or spray foliage and flowers with an insecticide containing acepate or malathion.
Leaf miner: This insect can be spotted on foliage by the appearance of irregular white chain-like blisters containing its grub. Remove foliage and discard it to prevent further infestation.
Spittle bug: This small, greenish-yellow insect hides inside a circular mass of white foam on the surface of new stems, usually during the development of the first bloom cycle in early spring. Spray a jet of water to remove the foam and the insect.
Roseslug: When you see new foliage with a skeletonized pattern, indicating that it has been eaten, chances are it's the roseslug. Remove the infected foliage and spray with insecticidal soap or an insecticide that contains acephate.
Leaf cutter bee: As its name implies, this very small yellowish-green insect jumps on the undersides of foliage to feast, often leaving its white skin behind. The damage caused by this insect often results in defoliation. Use an insecticide containing acephate or malathion to prevent it from establishing a strong colony.
Rose scale: This insect hides under gray scales, normally on old canes or stems. It feeds by sucking the sap, weakening the plant. If the infestation is localized, try removing it with a fingernail. Or spray with an insecticide containing acephate.
Weed Whacking Made Easy
Actually, this is a slight exaggeration. There's no rest for the wicked. Keep staying ahead of your nasty weeds all this and next month. They serve as Home Sweet Home for all manner of pests and bugs, and destroying them before they flower and seed will save you much work in the future.
Preparation is the key. All gardeners know what it's like to have their yards invaded by unwelcome plants. Although there's no really easy way to banish weeds, there are a few solid techniques you can use to reclaim your turf. At the very least, you can limit this utmost in hostile takeovers.
Here is a simple outline of effective battle strategies you can use in the fall:
1) Be a mulching maniac. Mulch acts as a suffocating blanket by preventing light from reaching weed seeds. At the same time, it holds moisture for your plants and provides nutrients for your soil as it decomposes. Apply coarse mulch, such as bark or wood chips, directly onto soil. Leaves, grass clippings, or straw work better as a weed deterrent with a separating layer of newspaper, cardboard or fabric between them and the soil.
2) Water those weeds. Pulling weeds is easier and more efficient when the soil is moist. You are more likely to get the whole root system, and your yanking won't disturb surrounding plants as much either. No rain? Turn on the sprinkler or even water individual weeds, leave for a few hours and then get your hands dirty. Just ignore the strange looks from your neighbors as you lovingly water your weeds.
3) Cut weeds down in their prime. Weeds love open soil. But if you till or cultivate and then wait to plant, you can outmaneuver the weeds. Till the ground at least twice before you plant. Your first digging will bring dormant weed seeds to the surface where they can germinate. Watch and wait for a few weeks until they begin to grow. Then slice up the weeds again with a tiller or a hoe, only don't dig as deep. Now it should be safe to put precious plants into the soil.
4) Pass the salt. Try sweeping rock salt into crevices between paths. Although more harsh, borax also works well. Be sure to wear rubber gloves with the latter material. You might need to apply a few doses, but be aware of any surrounding plants because both products kill the good plants along with the bad.
Food for Thought
In addition to performing these autumnal lawn and garden duties, you may want to harvest your fall vegetables such as the perennial squashes. Do a taste test and harvest them when flavor is at its peak. If you'd like to extend the harvest of carrots, turnips and other root vegetables, leave some in the ground to mulch as the weather gets colder. Early next month, before temperatures drop too much, seed cover crops such as clover, peas or vetch to enrich the soil. It will serve as a natural fertilizer, stifle weed growth and help loosen up the soil for next year's crops.
As for your houseplants that you've put outside for the summer, if September was mild enough that your geraniums and other such plants are still outdoors, be sure to make them cozy inside before the first frost takes a bite out of them. Take geranium cuttings of two to four inches to root indoors. If you treat houseplants chemically, be sure to keep them warm and away from direct sunlight. Fertilize houseplants now and they won't need it again until March. And remember to get your poinsettias and your Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti ready for well-timed holiday color. Give them a daily dose of ten hours of bright daylight or four hours of direct sun and fourteen hours of night darkness. Cacti need a cool environment of fifty to sixty degrees, while poinsettias prefer a warmer sixty-five to seventy degrees. Be sure and let your cacti dry out between waterings.
For a true gardenaholic, winter is often considered to be the enemy. But with a few steps toward preparation in the early- to mid-fall, you can take care of your lawn, garden and houseplants in a way that will keep them thriving and surviving until the dawning of yet another most welcome and bountiful springtime.
The information in this article was gleaned from the MSN House and Home website and the Better Homes and Gardens website.
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Executive Director and President of Rainbow Writing, Inc., Karen Cole Peralta writes. I have over thirty years of writing experience and have been published multiple times.
Because I am a ghost writer - and due to our profession's ethics of non disclosure - most of the books I've written do not have my name on the cover. I have, however, helped to write or edit over two hundred books in my career, some of which have become international best sellers.
Rainbow Writing, Inc. is a world renowned inexpensive professional freelance book authors, ghost writers, copy editors, proof readers, coauthors, manuscript rewriters, graphics and CAD, publishing helpers, and website developers international service corporation.
Author's Links
Business URL: http://www.rainbowriting.com/, http://www.bookauthorswriters.com/, http://www.webringshomepage.com/
Blog URL: http://drmartinlutherkingjr2007.blogspot.com/
Personal URL: http://www.peraltafamily.netfirms.com
Recommended Books
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