Refreshing Your Garden and Your Curb Appeal

The gardening season is coming to a close, but it’s not entirely over yet. If you’re an avid green thumb, you can still squeeze a little more out of the growing season. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of the end of the year and how to get your garden set up for next year.

Plant Bulbs For Spring Flowers
Fall is the perfect time to plant bulbs like tulips, irises and crocuses, which need a winter freeze to start their growing process. By getting them in the ground now, you will ensure a colorful garden by early spring. For best results, plant bulbs once temperatures are in forties and fifties, but several weeks before the ground completely freezes.

Look for Discounts
Get a jump on next year’s garden by buying gardening equipment, seeds and plants at discounted prices. Many garden centers slash prices in the fall months to move unsold stock. Store seed packets in the freezer to keep them fresh, and keep discount seedlings going indoors until you can replant them next spring.

Repot Overgrown Plants
If a summer’s worth of growth has caused your plants to outgrow their homes, take some time this fall to replant them in larger containers. Dense or compacted soil, poor drainage, or roots creeping out of the bottom of a pot are sure signs that plants are root bound and struggling for more space.

Winter-Loving Plants
Depending on what region you live in, winter doesn’t have to be a dead season. Some hearty plants like kale, lettuce, broccoli and chard thrive in colder temperatures and can even tolerate the occasional frost. As long as snow stays off the ground and the temperatures don’t dip below freezing for too long, these plants will continue to grow, allowing you to garden into the winter months.

Plant Some Quick Growers
September isn’t too late to grow a final crop. Many vegetables can go from seed to table in as little as four to six weeks, giving you vegetables by late October or early November. Radishes can be grown in around 25 days, and some leafy greens like spinach take as little as 40 days to grow, so get in a final few vegetables before the frost sets in.

Plant Shrubs and Saplings
If you plan on adding trees and shrubs to your yard, fall is the best time to do it. By planting these plants in the fall, you’ll give their roots a chance to get established and avoid the withering effects of the summer sun. You’ll want to plant trees and shrubs in the ground a few weeks before the first frost, and if you live in an area with colder temperatures and heavy snows, wrap their  branches and leaves in burlap to protect them from their first winter.

Trim Perennials
Once your garden has gone to seed and perennial plants have run through their life cycle, it’s time to trim them back. Not only will it clean up an overgrown garden, but it will give the plants more energy next year, and limit potential garden problems like powdery mildew or insect infestations.
Fertilize the Lawn

While it might look like your lawn has shut down for the season, a little lawn care in the fall months will guarantee a lush, green garden next spring. Growth slows above the surface in autumn, but beneath the soil, your lawn is still hard at work establishing strong roots. Help it out this fall with a good mix of phosphorus-rich fertilizer, which helps strengthen roots.

Source: Adam Vermymeren (Around the House)

Eco-Friendly Ways to Handle Weeds

If there is one thing gardeners everywhere hate, it’s weeds. However, many times the solution to getting rid of weeds can actually be more of a problem. In fact, it can be downright dangerous because there are growing health concerns about one of the chief ingredients, glyphosate, used to kill weeds. When battling weeds where you live, you can find safer solutions. Not only are the alternatives healthier, they are much easier on your wallet.

In my own garden, I make my daily newspaper do the dirty work. It’s easy and effective. Simply lay out five or six stacked sheets of newspaper in the area where you don’t want weeds. Then, give them a good soak with the hose so they don’t fly away. Once the newspaper is in place, it won’t let the sunshine through and that means the weeds can’t grow. Cover the soaked papers with mulch or grass clippings if you like. Eventually, earthworms will break down the newspaper and the end result will be healthier soil.

Another effective option when it comes to blocking out sunlight is a roll of landscape fabric. A few years ago, finding eco-friendly landscape fabric was a nearly impossible task. Now, you can find landscape fabric made of recycled paper that gets the job done without any plastic or any unwanted chemicals. This recycled fabric can be found at all the major home improvement stores or online.

I also use white vinegar on pesky weeds that sprout in the cracks of my sidewalk and driveway. Be careful though because vinegar can kill most anything you spray it on. For best results spray the weeds during the hottest part of the day. Hot water is also effective when it comes to killing weeds in those same areas.

This summer, don’t poison your lawn and garden. Instead, Get rid of those unwanted weeds in a much safer way.


Source: Terri Bennett, national speaker, eco-expert, and author of “Do Your Part: A practical guide for everyday green living” available at DoYourPart.com