(Early
September)
This is a great time to catch up
on the gardening chores once the heat breaks. The leaves are not yet piling up. It is still just a
little early to be planting though the weather sure makes this tempting
sometimes especially near
the coast. I am beating back the weeds and doing a bit of pruning here and there.
I am opening up the roses by taking out the blind shoots and removing
diseased leaves and slow growing canes, making them ready for that "second spring".
I am laying down a thick mat of mulch knowing how all of the weed seeds germinate
with the first rain. The sprinkler system can be reset with shorter times for those
upcoming shorter days. It is a good time to pull the gunk out of the water features
and reduce the amount of decaying material that eats up oxygen. The bamboo has sent
out runners with designs on territories far and wide. Time to chop them back, cut
them down and if you are lucky and persistent starve them out. Many of the summer
blooming salvias will put on a second bloom if the dead flowers are cut off and older
canes removed. Last chance to move Amaryllus and iris if they are to bloom next
year. Canning plums, 4 cups of fruit diced, 3.5 cups of sugar, cook until they start
to thicken and make bigger bubbles, proof for about 5 minutes, makes about 2-2.5 pints.
It
is a good time to finish off some of those hardscape projects. That is the walls, fences and
patios that become the bones of the garden. I created two stone
patios recently. I wanted to have small pockets of plants contained
within the paved area so I have buried drip tubing under the stone so I
can connect to the small plant islands. Plants will be chosen that
can take a fair amount of traffic such as Erodium,
Yarrow and Diamondia.
Sprinkler systems seem to have spring leaks or worse
fail to work. It is a good time to double
check everything to be sure that it is all working properly. The end
of the season has the worst water. Either it has been in the
reservoirs all summer evaporating and collecting salts or it is the last
dregs that can be pulled out of the aquifers. Regardless there is
more salt and hardness to the water than during the rest of the year.
Weeds are
at their low point. The more you get now the easier the next season
will be by a larger factor than at any other time.
I have recently
divided many of my Cymbidiums. Iris, Watsonia and many other bulbs
can be divided at this time also.
Fall is almost here.
I am preparing space
for new plantings with mulch. Many
of the summer perennials are nearly spent but can be brought back for a
last blaze of glory by a hard pruning. The roses are coming back and
will produce in some areas as well as they did in Spring. If
ornamental grasses are flopping they can be cut short and will still
bounce back.
(Mid September)
Hoping for the smell of rain. Now
maybe we can get some drops. More nitrogen falls out of the sky in the form of rain
than we ever put down in the way of fertilizer. It is great to wash the dust and all
of the bodies that live in it off the leaves periodically even if we don't get
any rain soon.
I am trying to keep up with the garden cleanliness and picking up fallen fruit.
This interrupts the insect cycle of many of the pests. The chickens love the
results. I am Starting to plant a few things near the coast if I am
lucky enough to catch a cool spell. It is still a bit too
warm for me and the plants in the inland valleys. 105 degrees cooks me to the point
of being well done. I ingest lots of fluids all night getting ready for the next
day. It is impossible to absorb water as fast as it is lost on a hot day.
I
need to get a head start.
In order to
get plants going with this heat I make sure that they get a wet hole to
start in. I make sure that they get regular water as it can be quite
hot at times. There will be some casualties due to excess heat, and
transplant shock. The vast majority of the plants make it and do
great. I make sure that I plant the crowns of drought tolerant
plants an inch or two higher than the surrounding soil. This is
particularly important in heavy soils as it allows the plants to breath
when they might otherwise be waterlogged. Once the plants are in the
ground I spread drip irrigation to all of the plants and then mulch.
The mulch covers the drip line as well as reducing evaporation and keeping
the weeds down.
Time to plant those Fall
vegetables. I have planted potatoes, beets, garlic and onions, broccoli,
brussels sprouts, and cauliflower, kolrabi, and cabbage. And I have
a large section of the garden freshly planted for a Fall crop of
peas. It is hard to keep salad greens from bolting during the
Summer, but they do great now. My tomatoes were damaged by the heat,
and lots of them split once it cooled off a bit. I make sure those
get out of the garden and into the chicken houses.
(Equinox in
the Garden)
Many plants are sensitive to the day length and others to the cooler
nights of Fall. During the Fall they will use much less water as
they put their energy into root growth instead of flowering. Check
your irrigation system so that plants are not over-watered. Fall is
considered by many Rosarians to be a "second spring". I
have been pruning the roses a little more
aggressively this month to encourage a strong Fall
bloom.
The planting season has returned. I have been preparing gardens
and finally beginning to plant in the last week. New plants will
require regular water to get them established. The advantage to Fall
planting is that the plants are growing roots now and will establish
themselves quite readily. For some native plants this is almost the
only time to plant.
The days are getting shorter and the nights
cooler. I have reduced irrigation timer settings both is the amount
of time on each station and in the frequency that they are set to
run. The roses are coming into their "second spring" and
many are looking fabulous. Planting and designing are stimulating
processes. I enjoy the visualization process of trying to see what a
landscape will look like in my mind's eye as I lay out the
plants. Many annual weeds are starting up in the irrigated
areas. If they can be taken care of now it will be much easier later
in the season.
(Early
September)
This is a great time to catch up
on the gardening chores. The leaves are not yet piling up. It is still just a
little early to be planting though the weather sure makes this tempting
sometimes especially near
the coast. I am beating back the weeds and doing a bit of pruning here and there.
I am opening up the roses by taking out the blind shoots and removing
diseased leaves and slow growing canes, making them ready for that "second spring".
I am laying down a thick mat of mulch knowing how all of the weed seeds germinate
with the first rain. The sprinkler system can be reset with shorter times for those
upcoming shorter days. It is a good time to pull the goo out of the water features
and reduce the amount of decaying material that eats up oxygen. The bamboo has sent
out runners with designs on territories far and wide. Time to chop them back, cut
them down and if you are lucky and persistent starve them out. Many of the summer
blooming salvias will put on a second bloom if the dead flowers are cut off and older
canes removed. Last chance to move Amaryllus and iris if they are to bloom next
year. Canning plums, 4 cups of fruit diced, 3.5 cups of sugar, cook until they start
to thicken and make bigger bubbles, proof for about 5 minutes, makes about 2-2.5 pints.
It
is a good time to finish off some of those hardscape projects. That is the walls, fences and
patios that become the bones of the garden. I created two stone
patios recently. I wanted to have small pockets of plants contained
within the paved area so I have buried drip tubing under the stone so I
can connect to the small plant islands. Plants will be chosen that
can take a fair amount of traffic such as Erodium,
Yarrow and Diamondia.
Sprinkler systems seem to have spring leaks or worse
fail to work. It is a good time to double
check everything to be sure that it is all working properly. The end
of the season has the worst water. Either it has been in the
reservoirs all summer evaporating and collecting salts or it is the last
dregs that can be pulled out of the aquifers. Regardless there is
more salt and hardness to the water than during the rest of the year.
Weeds are
at their low point. The more you get now the easier the next season
will be by a larger factor than at any other time.
I have recently
divided many of my Cymbidiums. Iris, Watsonia and many other bulbs
can be divided at this time also.
Fall is almost here.
I am preparing space
for new plantings with mulch. Many
of the summer perennials are nearly spent but can be brought back for a
last blaze of glory by a hard pruning. The roses are coming back and
will produce in some areas as well as they did in Spring. If
ornamental grasses are flopping they can be cut short and will still
bounce back.
(Mid September)
Got the smell of rain. Now
maybe we can get some drops. More nitrogen falls out of the sky in the form of rain
than we ever put down in the way of fertilizer. It is great to wash the dust and all
of the bodies that live in it off the leaves periodically even if we don't get
any rain soon.
I am trying to keep up with the garden cleanliness and picking up fallen fruit.
This interrupts the insect cycle of many of the pests. The chickens love the
results. I am Starting to plant a few things near the coast if I am
lucky enough to catch a cool spell. It is still a bit too
warm for me and the plants in the inland valleys. 105 degrees cooks me to the point
of being well done. I ingest lots of fluids all night getting ready for the next
day. It is impossible to absorb water as fast as it is lost on a hot day.
I
need to get a head start.
In order to
get plants going with this heat I make sure that they get a wet hole to
start in. I make sure that they get regular water as it can be quite
hot at times. There will be some casualties due to excess heat, and
transplant shock. The vast majority of the plants make it and do
great. I make sure that I plant the crowns of drought tolerant
plants an inch or two higher than the surrounding soil. This is
particularly important in heavy soils as it allows the plants to breath
when they might otherwise be waterlogged. Once the plants are in the
ground I spread drip irrigation to all of the plants and then mulch.
The mulch covers the drip line as well as reducing evaporation and keeping
the weeds down.
(Equinox in
the Garden)
Many plants are sensitive to the day length and others to the cooler
nights of Fall. During the Fall they will use much less water as
they put their energy into root growth instead of flowering. Check
your irrigation system so that plants are not over-watered. Fall is
considered by many Rosarians to be a "second spring". I
have been pruning the roses a little more
aggressively this month to encourage a strong Fall
bloom.
The planting season has returned. I have been preparing gardens
and finally beginning to plant in the last week. New plants will
require regular water to get them established. The advantage to Fall
planting is that the plants are growing roots now and will establish
themselves quite readily. For some native plants this is almost the
only time to plant.
The days are getting shorter and the nights
cooler. I have reduced irrigation timer settings both is the amount
of time on each station and in the frequency that they are set to
run. The roses are coming into their "second spring" and
many are looking fabulous. Planting and designing are stimulating
processes. I enjoy the visualization process of trying to see what a
landscape will look like in my mind's eye as I lay out the
plants. Many annual weeds are starting up in the irrigated
areas. If they can be taken care of now it will be much easier later
in the season.
