Now’s the Time to Plant

 

September is a great time to plant and there are a number of reasons this is so. The daytime temperatures are cooler and the soil temperature is warm, a perfect combination for planting in the garden. There are fewer insects and diseases to contend with. You generally have more time for gardening in the fall. The weather isn't quite as tricky as it is in the spring and you don't have that "spring rush" feeling to get everything done after winter. There is a great selection of perennials to choose from now, including mums and asters, colorful sedums and blanket flowers, as well as ornamental grasses.  Edibles such as raspberries, grapes, blackberries and rhubarb can be planted now, as well as flowering shrubs such as butterfly bushes, Potentilla and Spiraea. 

The key to fall planting, just like every other time of the season, is to prepare the soil.  The advantage this time of year is the soil is warm and drier, making it easier to add amendments. In our typical clay soils, that means adding organic material to the planting site is key. 

We stock locally produced bagged soil amendments such as Sheep, Peat and Compost. Bagged amendments make it easy to take home and place in the garden. Amendments should be incorporated into the planting site at a 50:50 ratio with the existing soil. Prepare a spot twice as large as the container your plant came in and half again as deep. Remove the plant from its container and break up the root ball. Place the plant in the planting hole just below grade, enough to form a slight depression in the soil. 

Soak the soil with Root Stimulator, then fill in the planting hole as needed. Even though the temperatures during the day are generally cooler so there's less moisture loss, it's important to keep your plants watered as fall deepens into winter.  All plants will handle our typical winter weather better, if they are well hydrated. 

When the ground gets cold, usually around Thanksgiving, add a 2" to 3" layer of mulch. This will hold in the moisture, keep the ground cold and stable through the winter helping the plant maintain dormancy and less likely to trigger new growth during any brief warm up periods. Soil Pep is a good choice for winter mulch. Plan to water all of the plants in your landscape every 4-5 weeks during the winter.  In summary, planting in the fall gives perennials, trees and shrubs time to establish and develop strong root systems, thus giving them vigorous head start next spring 

 

Now is the Time to Plant Cool Season Crops

Late August is the ideal time for planting greens and root crops. Warm days encourage good growth, while generally cooler nights bring out the flavor of your fall crops. There is a wide variety of vegetables you can grow now, including beets, kale, chard, radishes, spinach, cabbage and broccoli. Fall crops are available as starts or you can plant from seed. The warm soils of late summer will encourage seeds to germinate quickly. Planting vegetable starts will result in faster harvest times for crops such as Cabbage, Kale, Collards and Broccoli. For a succession of crops well into late fall, plant some starts and seeds next to each other. Cool season vegetable starts can be found in our Annuals House.  

 

If you choose to plant from seed, look at the days to maturity information or days to harvest on the package label. This is roughly the amount of time from planting seeds to picking your crops. The shorter the days to maturity, the faster you’re harvesting. Radishes for example, mature in about 25 days, so if you plant them now, you’ll be picking radishes in less than four weeks.   

 

For best success with your second season planting, begin by cleaning up any lingering weeds or vegetation at the planting site, then dig two inches of compost into the site. Sheep, Peat and Compost is a good choice. It’s produced locally and it works to improve and replenish your soil.   

 

Summer vegetable crops will have depleted most of the nutrition in your soil, so adding a low concentration granular organic fertilizer at this time will keep your cool weather crops going strong. Work the fertilizer into the soil after you've finished amending the planting site.  

Once you've amended the soil and added fertilizer, it's time to transplant your vegetable starts. The best time to transplant leafy greens is in the early morning or on a cloudy day. This will help reduce transplant shock. Water the area thoroughly, remove the starts from the cell packs and plant them in the ground at the same depth they were in the starter container. If you're planting from seed, follow package directions for seed planting depth and spacing and make sure you take time to mark each row as you plant. Don't have room in the garden? Are your potted petunias and other flowering annuals starting to look tired? Replace them with some Asian greens such as Mizuna or Bok Choy. Asian greens add unusual shapes, textures and spicy flavors to salads. For a longer fall harvest, plant seeds or starts  every two weeks and keep a frost cloth handy for those fall nights when cooler temperatures might threaten your crop. This will help extend your "greens" garden well into late fall. There's nothing like a dinner salad picked from your own garden.  It's fresh and you know exactly what's in it.