Fall is for Planting

Fall will probably always have a hard time competing with spring when it comes to generating gardening enthusiasm. I guess there is some natural rhythm that encourages us to plant in spring.  But fall planting has many benefits.

ü  Soil is warm... warmer than in the spring. Roots continue to grow in the fall well past the time that leaves are shed.

ü  Moisture is usually plentiful and reliable in fall. And, deciduous plants that we establish in fall lose their leaves, reducing demands for moisture. Fall planted trees and shrubs have a ‘leg-up” on the spring planted ones regarding root growth and are better prepared for the likelihood of summer droughts. 

ü  Plants are cheaper! Every garden center I pass has some incentive for fall tree and shrub sales. Take advantage of it. You have nothing to lose and lots to gain. Do check plant quality before buying.

Fall is a perfect time for lawn care.  As a serious Philadelphia Phillies fan I have been listening to one of the major turf product suppliers telling me to “feed and seed” my lawn in almost every radio broadcast since March. Well, as the old saying goes, “Even a stopped clock is right twice a day." That fellow was on target in late spring… and again now.

September might be the ideal month for new lawn seedings but Penn State guidelines say seeding until October 15 is fine and we can stretch this deadline to late October successfully in Southeastern PA . One of the best reasons to establish new lawns in fall is to avoid the competition of summer annual weeds such as crabgrass. Crabgrass germinates and competes with spring seedings but not in the fall. The warm, moist soil is ideal for germination and root growth. Spring is a poor second choice when it comes to lawn establishment. A word of advice: simply tossing grass seed on the soil surface will not result in germination. That seed needs to be in the soil, not on it.   See this Penn State publication for details on renovation seeding.

Weed control and fertilization are two maintenance tasks that are best done in the fall. Weeds translocate herbicides very well as they approach dormancy. This means good weed control because the root systems of perennial weeds are killed. Controlling weeds is the fall means virtually weed-free lawns in spring.   Clover, dandelion and other broadleaves weeds are pretty easy to control with modern chemistries available in the garden center. October is a great month to go at it. Weed and feed products can kill two birds with one stone. But generally, sprayed on herbicides provide better control of broadleaved weeds.

If you have not applied some nitrogen fertilizer this fall, do it ASAP. You’ll be rewarded with good plant response this fall as well as next spring. Fertilization may be the best weed control practice you can perform. Dense turf competes with weed invaders. How much fertilizer should you apply? Label instructions will get you in the ball park. For a more precise approach, you can get a Penn State soil test kit here and follow the recommendations.  Ever applied lime to your lawn? If not, there's a good chance that this cheap pH adjuster will pay off. Soil tests will advise on this, too. If you are guessing… 50 lbs of ground limestone per 1000 square feet is a starting point.

Plant bulbs now. This is certainly a case of practicing delayed gratification. It will be months before you see the fruits of your labor. But, you can’t have that glorious spring display of daffodils and tulips if you aren’t willing to go to work now! Plants lots for best  effect. Think in terms of 25, 50 and 100. 

Not into flowers? How about garlic? October is garlic planting month. I use Columbus Day as a reminder to plant garlic but there is plenty of leeway on this. A local farmers market is a good place to find locally adapted garlic varieties and you can find one by looking at our Fresh From Bucks County Farms Directory.  Growing garlic is very easy. Check out some highlights here in one of my previous blog posts. 

Odds and ends. What better time to be in the garden than on a cool sunny day in fall? Here’s a list of some other tasks suited to the season:           

            Kill perennial weeds. Canada thistle, bindweed, poison ivy. As long as they have green leaves they are great targets for translocated herbicides such as glyphosate (Roundup, etc).  

            Start a compost pile. Tree leaves, brush, garden clean up stuff.. they all make great ingredients for a compost pile. For the basics check out this publication from Illinois Extension. This cool Cornell University video goes into details and this Cornell publication has even more good composting information.

Winterize garden equipment. Why not put all of that summer garden gear to bed in good condition? Clean and sharpen shovels, hoes and other hand equipment. Rub some linseed oil into wooden handles. Service power equipment. Drain and hang hoses. Empty and store flower pots and other containers. 

Seed cover crops into vacant vegetable garden beds. Rye is probably the best all around winter cover for our area. Find it at farm supply stores. Rye can be seeded until the middle of November and makes a dense, winter hardy ground cover. Spade that overwintered rye into the soil in early spring before it gets too tall. You’ll be amazed at the massive root system it creates.

Getting Dry... Good, Bad and Ugly

OK getting dry might be an understatement. It is DRY in Bucks County, PA. When I see roadside weeds wilting, it’s dry. And today’s newspaper says, “Hot and dry with no rain in sight”. I think that means no rain in the forecast. Sure enough, the 7 day forecast is bone dry.

Let’s start with the good aspects of dry. My farm friends (who have irrigation) tell me that they will take a dry year over a wet one anytime. It is possible to add water but impossible to take it away. Heat and sunshine combined with timely irrigation equals wonderful tomatoes, peaches and other produce. Sure they have the chore of moving pipes and running pumps but they have control of the water. Same thing goes for home gardens.

And that late blight problem we are watching… it's gonna have trouble getting cranked up in these conditions. Notice how the sycamores have leafed out again after the ravages of early season leaf diseases. Thank the dry heat.

The bad…I think most folks underestimate the damage water stress causes to plants. Especially woody plants. It’s pretty obvious when you neglect to water the petunias or tomatoes. They wilt and probably recover when watered; if not, they die and you move on. In any event, they are annuals so you get another chance at minimal expense. With woody plants, the effects of drought are often harder to see and the effects may take awhile to manifest themselves. Often times it is borers, or even disease, that finish off these drought stressed plants. It may take years.

Just for fun, I observe lots of new landscape plantings. New housing developments, commercial sites, even the grounds of our Extension office. Frequently (if not usually) the newly established trees and shrubs are subject to severe drought stress in the first 12 months of planting. When they can least tolerate it. It is good to recall that these plants arrive to the site with a severely diminished root system. A lot of it was left behind in the nursery when the plant was dug. Even containerized plants have an abnormally restricted root system. Believe it or not, sometimes the plants that are established on these job sites arrive already drought stressed. Dormant plants that don’t “ leaf out” normally are suspect in my eyes.

OK. What does this mean? Right now, trees and shrubs that were planted within the last 12 months need water. If you wait until leaves wilt and fall off you have waited too long. Anticipate the watering needs of these plants and give them a good soaking before they wilt. Check back in a week and repeat if necessary. A good soaking is hard to quantify. How about this… 5 – 10 gallons per tree, applied at the base of the plant, slowly so that it soaks into the ground. Repeat weekly as needed. This requires a hose and some time. A watering can won’t cut it. Mother Nature will eventually come to our aid but until them, make a date with your trees and shrubs weekly. That green thing shown above is a "gator"; an irrigator bag. A handy device that allows the bag to drip water into the soil at a nice, slow rate, but you can fill it quickly.

The ugly…of course, complete neglect in a drought results in dead plants. Maybe not dead now but drought stress can show up as “winter injury’, borer damage or even disease in the long run. Going on vacation? How about a good soaking before you head off. The trees, not you.

Finally, although it is hard to imagine in a drought, it is possible to have too much soil moisture. You can over water. Automatic irrigation systems (improperly manage) kill plants.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if it rained an inch a week, every week, preferably between midnight and dawn. There are places in the world where temperatures and rainfall regular and predictable, within the growing season. Pennsylvania isn't one of them.