Mid-Atlantic Gardener's September Checklist
Squash, anyone? Cool-season veggies are suiting up for the garden, while summer's last blooms are winding down
September is a season of abundance and a season of winding down into a new phase in the garden. Enjoy the fruits of your labor and allow yourself to enjoy the days outdoors.
Whether you are harvesting leafy greens again, letting pumpkins ripen or just sitting on the back deck with a glass of tea, September is the month to enjoy your bounty and soak in the last days of summer and the first days of fall. This is the season when those days are not too hot and not too cold, but just right. Don't let them pass you by!
Whether you are harvesting leafy greens again, letting pumpkins ripen or just sitting on the back deck with a glass of tea, September is the month to enjoy your bounty and soak in the last days of summer and the first days of fall. This is the season when those days are not too hot and not too cold, but just right. Don't let them pass you by!
King of the garden right now is chard, ranging in hues from brilliant yellows, reds and pinks to the classic giant white. I keep snipping those leaves of chard for green smoothies and the plants just keep on producing. If spinach gets eaten up by bugs in your garden or goes to seed too quickly, try chard all summer and fall for a great alternative.
Vining Plants Have Their Time in the Sun
If you look closely under those giant leaves of pumpkins and other types of squash, you will see green fruit growing at an unbelievable rate. Some can be eaten green as you would summer squash (try acorn squash this way) while others are best left to ripen on the vine. Jarrahdale pumpkins, the blue-skinned heirlooms, are my favorite hearty pumpkin this time of year.
If you look closely under those giant leaves of pumpkins and other types of squash, you will see green fruit growing at an unbelievable rate. Some can be eaten green as you would summer squash (try acorn squash this way) while others are best left to ripen on the vine. Jarrahdale pumpkins, the blue-skinned heirlooms, are my favorite hearty pumpkin this time of year.
If you have more gourds than you know what to do with, go ahead and let them grow to maturity. Set them aside to dry all winter and you will have the perfect home for birds next spring.
Get Plants Ready for Winter
Hanging ferns, window box plantings and annuals might start to brown by the end of this month. Go ahead and let them stay outdoors until the evening temps start hovering in the low 40s. If frost seems imminent, it is best to get them indoors, but outdoors is best as long as possible if you are going to overwinter your favorites.
Hanging ferns, window box plantings and annuals might start to brown by the end of this month. Go ahead and let them stay outdoors until the evening temps start hovering in the low 40s. If frost seems imminent, it is best to get them indoors, but outdoors is best as long as possible if you are going to overwinter your favorites.
Succulents also need a close eye this time of year. Some can overwinter outdoors, but tropical succulents will need to come indoors at the first hint of frost. These plants can survive a very light frost, but cold temperatures can kill off the top growth. A wilted aloe plant is not a nice sight, so get them inside if temperatures drop.
One Last Hurrah for the Garden
The last of the summer blooms are winding down, including the beautiful fields of echinacea and all those purple-spiked plants. Allow the seed heads to develop to feed the birds or to sow for next year's garden. Alternatively, chop off those heads if you hate the look of drying seed heads. (Just try to hide from the lingering gazes of birds when you do: They want those seeds!)
The last of the summer blooms are winding down, including the beautiful fields of echinacea and all those purple-spiked plants. Allow the seed heads to develop to feed the birds or to sow for next year's garden. Alternatively, chop off those heads if you hate the look of drying seed heads. (Just try to hide from the lingering gazes of birds when you do: They want those seeds!)
Old Plants Refresh the Garden
September is a great time to start bulking up the compost bin. You will have a multitude of spent annuals to toss in the pile, husks and cobs of sweet corn and more leaves than you can shake a stick at. Make sure to use them. If you don't have time to make a proper compost bin, just pile everything in a back corner of the yard and let nature take over. By spring, you will be surprised how the pile has reduced and changed into a crumbly brown soil amendment.
September is a great time to start bulking up the compost bin. You will have a multitude of spent annuals to toss in the pile, husks and cobs of sweet corn and more leaves than you can shake a stick at. Make sure to use them. If you don't have time to make a proper compost bin, just pile everything in a back corner of the yard and let nature take over. By spring, you will be surprised how the pile has reduced and changed into a crumbly brown soil amendment.
If you are lucky, you might be harvesting a second crop of strawberries. Go ahead and enjoy a few, but leave most of them on so the plant will begin its descent into dormancy.
So enjoy those last few blooms of summer and enjoy eating the bounty you have worked for all summer. Start putting the garden to rest and recycle all those plants, for next year will come sooner than you think. Whatever you choose to spend your time doing, do it outdoors and take advantage of these gorgeous early fall days.
With the kids back to school and the temperatures dipping just a bit, it is time to start the fall harvest and count on cool-season crops. Broccoli, kale and a second set of peas are the new kids on the block this month in the garden.