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. 

 

 

Deadheading and other August Chores

 

Keeping your garden looking its best through the season requires regular maintenance. This involves removing fading and spent flowers, before they begin to form seed pods. In gardening terms it’s called deadheading, which simply means pruning off the old flowers. This keeps the garden neat and promotes additional blooms as well. Get in the habit of deadheading while you walk through your garden. It’s easy to carry a pair of light pruners with you as you make your rounds. As you spot a blossom beginning to fade snip it off. 

Working your garden everyday makes it easier to spot other common late summer problems, such as leaf diseases or insect damage. Powdery mildew on  squash, pumpkins and peonies or rust on roses and other ornamentals are often seen this time of the season. To reduce the damage from garden diseases, use an organic fungicide such as Sulfur, Neem or Bee Safe 3-in1. These multipurpose products will also help control Western Flower Thrip and spider mites. If you encounter a problem you're unsure of, bring us a sample. We'll figure out what it is and  come up with a solution that's best for your garden.  

Once the season is over, it’s important to do a thorough cleanup of the garden. Leaving vegetation in place will encourage mildews and other diseases as well as insects such as thrips to winter over and infect your garden next spring.   

Check your roses and continue to remove any spent blossoms. Mid-August is the time to feed your roses. Water each rose bush, then apply the fertilizer and water thoroughly. 

Continue to deadhead blooming perennials such as Hardy Hibiscus, Daylilies and Butterfly Bushes to encourage more blooms. Do the same for your container plants, including hanging baskets. Fertilize your baskets and containers every two weeks with ferti•lome 20-20-20.  

While you’re at it, take a hard look at your tomatoes and vegetables. Removing dead and diseased leaves on your tomato plants will put more energy into fruit production. Recognize common tomato problems such as blossom end rot (use ferti-lome Yield Booster to increase calcium levels) cracking (watch the watering) and yellow shoulders (heat, low Potassium levels, high soil pH). Heat, wind, uneven watering, poor soil, over fertilizing, insect damage can also cause tomato leaves to curl and twist. The best thing to do at this point is to maintain an even watering schedule and use ferti•lome Organic Tomato and Vegetable Food. 

 Tomatoes and peppers are starting to ripen now, so it’s important to keep up with the harvesting, which will encourage your plants to produce more. This is also the time to start planning for a second crop of cool weather vegetables. Beans, radishes, lettuce, kale, spinach and many more cool weather crops can be planted soon, for late season harvest. It’s beneficial to take pictures and keep a journal documenting what went well during the season. This will help when you make plans for the upcoming gardening season.  Time spent deadheading and pruning annuals and perennials will keep the garden colorful and fresh right to the end of the growing season. 

Growing Tomatoes in Hot Weather

 

Mid-summer will often bring problems for tomato plants, which can affect fruit production as well as quality. Some of these problems can be attributed directly to the weather. Tomato plants do best when the daytime temperatures are between 65-degrees and 85-degrees Fahrenheit. When the daytime temperatures are consistently above 90 degrees, growth slows down and fruit set stops. Leaves will begin to curl in response to the stress of high temperatures.  The plant does this to reduce the surface area and slow down loss of moisture. During this time, tomato plants can still be productive if you practice good watering habits, add mulch around the base of the plant and provide some shade. Best practices for watering tomatoes include a regular deep, thorough soaking at the base of the plant. Water slowly, allowing the water to soak in five or six inches. Avoid overhead watering, as this can encourage disease problems. Water in the early morning, before eight.  Adding two to three inches of organic mulch around the base will stabilize the ground and reduce moisture loss. Mulch acts as a moisture regulator and when combined with slow, consistent watering will help reduce instances of blossom end rot; a condition caused an insufficient or inconsistent supply of Calcium. Consistent moisture is critical, whether you’re growing tomatoes in beds or in pots.  Blossom end rot is one of the most common problems with tomatoes.  It appears as a dry, leather-like patch at the base of the fruit.  

Blossom end rot can occur in peppers and eggplant, too. To supplement the calcium supply, apply a liquid calcium directly on the leaves and fruit, using ferti-lome Yield Booster. Concentrated 20% Calcium is also available and can be applied as a foliar spray or a root drench. 

Providing your plants some shade will also help improve yields. When temperatures get above eighty-five to ninety degrees Fahrenheit, tomatoes on the vine won’t ripen. Temperatures this high will retard or prevent the production of the red pigment lycopene. Covering them with shade cloth will reduce the temperature and encourage fruit to set, as well as ripen. 

Other problems encountered this time of year include cat facing, zippering, late blight and insects. When the tops of the tomatoes crack, it’s called cat facing. Zippering appears as a scar resembling a zipper. Cat facing and zippering are disorders that occur early in the fruit formation cycle.  There is no cure so the best thing to do is to remove any fruit that exhibit cracks or zippering. Two major insects to watch for now include tomato horn worm and Western Flower Thrip.

If you notice a sudden defoliation of your plant, accompanied by black droppings on the leaves, most likely there’s a tomato horn worm eating its way through your plants. They’re very well camouflaged, but if you look carefully, you can find them and pick them off. You can also apply organic insecticides containing Bacillus thuringiensis (subspecies kurstaki).  These products can be used safely and effectively to control horn worm. 

If you start seeing leaf curl and the fruit on your plants takes on a blotchy appearance, it’s almost certain your plants have Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, a disease vectored by Western Flower Thrip. Spinosad is a good choice to control thrip. 

When it comes to growing tomatoes, many factors can influence fruit quality and production. If you’re not sure what’s going on in your garden, bring us a sample of the leaves or tomatoes to The Flower Bin Diagnostic Center. We’ll figure out what’s going on and come up with solutions that will ensure you know what to do to get the best from your tomato plants.