Well, gardening season is pretty much over for me. The perennials have a couple of months left of looking good (or at least decent, for the most part), but my gardening usually happens in the mornings for a half-hour here and there on the days I manage to get up before the kids. This time of year, it's too dark and cold that early in the morning!!
Anyway, here's my list for this month, for what it's worth, modified from the Calgary Horticultural Society's to-do list:
- Keep harvesting raspberries, peas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots. Yum!
- Water pumpkin plant every day - those suckers need lots of water!
- Move and divide perennials – now is a great time as they are full size so you are less likely to plant things too close together.
- Keep up with weeding - ya right...
- Deadhead annuals and some perennials to encourage more bloom; leave some seedheads for decoration or to collect seeds.
- Stop fertilizing trees, shrubs, and roses – any surge of fresh new growth now will just weaken the plant before winter.
- Stop deadheading hardy roses for the same reason.
- Plant spring bulbs as soon as possible - I went overboard buying bulbs this year as usual.
- There’s a whole slew of advice on how to keep your containers and plantings going as long as possible, but by this point in the year, I’m getting tired and frost is welcome!! There will be no trucking pots in/out of the garage every night/morning at our house!
- Cut flowers that preserve well and save them for indoor arrangements or winter containers (e.g. globe thistle).
- Think about what worked or didn’t work this year, while it’s still fresh in memory, and start planning for next year!!
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