Get Your Garden Ready for Fall!
A conscientious gardener's checklist

It's hard to imagine, but already Fall is approaching! There's a lot to do in the yard before it arrives. Here's a quick list of things to keep you busy, but first -
Nobody said we have to be obsessed with having a monoculture (only one type of plant) in our yards. Monocultures are unnatural. In nature we find a nearly infinite variety of plants within each cubic foot of land and that is healthy.

We and our plants can learn to tolerate and even profit by a number of insects and weeds. After all, they do serve a purpose in the general scheme of things. However, when we have to take action, we must make sure we correctly identify the culprit and use the least harmful way to stop the injury. Often just disrupting their environment is enough to severely reduce their numbers.

So get rid of the weeds you can't live with, but don't expect to be rid of them all. Just as with insects, we must learn what our personal thresholds are and when their population goes beyond them, we take measures to curb them.
Remember all that water we got? Well, now we have to contend with increased populations of weeds and insects, molds and fungi. The mosquitoes are especially ferocious this year, and we will have to be particularly vigilant at keeping them at bay. Get rid of any standing water, and if not possible, use an environmentally safe product to curb them where they live.

Japanese Beetles! Those lures and traps are great if you want your neighbor*s population or you need immediate gratification. If you really want to be rid of them, stop the cycle. The object of this is to break the cycle of destruction by disrupting the cycle of beetle to grub to mole to beetle. 

This is how the cycle begins; the Japanese Beetle flies to your plants, feeds on your roses, Crepe Myrtles, etc., and in late summer crawls under the soil to create offspring in the form of grubs. They are ghostly white translucent creatures usually found later in the year, under layers of mulch and soil and coiled into a fetal position. Grubs attract moles, which feed on them and leave long convoluted ridges in your yard as they tunnel to their favorite food. In the spring, any surviving grubs tunnel to the surface on a mission to satisfy their hunger. Those that survive bird surveillance and attack mutate into a new wave of beetles. 

A possible remedy is Bacillus Thuringiensis, (or Milky Spore) to kill the soil-born grubs. It is harmless to beneficial insects. If necessary, there are stronger chemicals that will cut down on the grub population before it reaches threshold levels. Killing the moles will only bring in more moles; their favorite food is still dangling in front of their fuzzy noses. (They have noses, right?)   

Clear out unacceptable weeds, especially around your favorite trees, shrubs, and flowers, or the unwanted ones will return later with a vengeance. Toss them in a pile in an out-of-the-way place in your yard. Add some grass clippings and ground up leaves periodically, along with your left-over veggies, and you just created a compost pile!

Harvest flowers to enjoy in a vase or pressed between waxed paper. See if you (and the kids!) can identify the wild flowers you capture and preserve. Look for Queen Anne's Lace, Hemp Dogbane, Lambs' Quarters, Dandelion, Spotted Spurge, Purselane (wild cousin to Portulaca), Carolina Geranium, Yellow Wood Sorrel, and Wild Garlic. See if you can find Wild Violets and strawberries, but beware- the berries often bring on a rash if eaten, though the bunnies don*t seem to mind.

• Plant a handful of crocus bulbs. When they come up through the snow, they*ll remind you that there*s always hope, no matter how bleak life appears.
  In September, after the debris is removed from around your plants, mulch to each of their drip lines. Drip lines are where the water runs down the branches and leaves a circle in the dirt around the bottom of the plants. Keep up with the watering if the heat wave and drought don*t let up. Some plants, like Hibiscus, need daily monitoring for signs of plant stress- they'll look like you feel after a particularly exhausting day.

• Go on periodic mosquito patrol, and take the kids. Hey, it*s a sporting event! Search out and destroy all moist and wet places mosquitoes might call home. Dump out any stagnant water in discarded pots, bird baths, and low spots in the yard; they can be a breeding-ground for the nasty little creatures. Make bird baths uninviting to non-beneficial insects by keeping them clean and free of debris.

• Clean up the garden beds! Yes, every few weeks we need to take a good look at what's really going on down there in the dirt. Get rid of the dead; annuals, branches, and leaves. Add debris not diseased or insect-invaded to your compost pile.

• Plant mums in all your favorite mumly colors. Plant one for each member of the family. Include the pets.

• Don't fertilize or heavily prune anything.

• In October, prune deciduous trees and shrubs, but only cut the live, green wood and dead branches, and any branches that just look funny. Watch for damage done by insects and animals, and cut below the damage, where the tissue is still healthy. If the damage is on the main trunk, other steps will need to be investigated.

• Check mulch levels and add as needed to keep a consistent two inches in all beds. Mulch available at retail stores includes shredded pine bark and pine bark nuggets, cypress and hardwood mulch. Pine needles, free to most of us for the asking, serve as a fine deterrent to weeds. Make sure all mulch is pulled away a bit from the base of all plants or you*ll be creating a home for field mice and overwintering insects.

• Plant fall bulbs to brighten up your future outlook. The variety now is staggering and full of promise of a colorful spring!

• Continue to water as needed, watch for browning tips and limp leaves, indicators of lack of moisture in the soil.

• Clean-up check; get rid of any left over dead plants- it*ll save you time in the long run. Don't run a winter bed and breakfast for your neighborhood insect and disease population.

• Till in some of that compost that's been cooking in the bottom of your pile all summer.

• Plant trees and shrubs while they prepare for dormancy; after the worst of the heat, but before the winter's icy cold.

So there's your 'to do' list for Fall, filled with plenty of activities for those who have a lot of garden space, or those who just have a little place to call their own. Maybe you could vow to plant something new every year, to celebrate the variety and beauty of nature.

For those of you who haven't yet taken the step to start a garden, try planting one perennial this year. Those are the ones that come back each year, usually. Dig up the ground, plant according to directions on the label, topping with two inches of mulch. In the spring, you*ll be ready.

And if digging in the dirt is still foreign territory, planning on paper, surrounded by seed catalogs, hot chocolate and a toasty blanket, can be the most heart-warming activity in the dead of winter.

Sheri Wendeler-Short
East Gate Gardens