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Now that it is September I don’t spend as much time in the garden as I do in the summer.
There are different opinions about whether you should cut your garden back in the fall or leave everything standing till spring. Some people believe we should leave plants standing to provide protection for the pollinators.
I am one of those gardeners who cuts everything back in the fall. I am so busy in the spring I often don’t have time for my own garden, so fall clean-up allows me to be at least one step closer in the spring to getting everything done.
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Also, when I cut back in the fall it makes it easier for me to do any transplanting I want to do. I try and make sure all my transplanting is done before thanksgiving and the heavier frost begins.
I already have begun cutting plants back in my garden, especially any covered in powdery mildew or any other fungus or disease. I want to make sure I clean up all these leaves and dispose of them so that the plant has a better chance next year. I do put them in my compost pile.
This year, instead of cutting everything down with a pair of pruners, I am going to be using my hedge trimer. I can cut a lot more in a shorter period of time and the cleanup takes about the same time to bag it all up.
I have stopped fertilizing my garden, because I want the new growth to get a chance to harden off and be prepared for the winter.
Now is the time to add fall mums, kale, cabbage and other fall plants to m your planters. With the right care they can last till it is time to put out our winter arrangements.
It is still too early to stop cutting your grass. The shorter your grass is in the fall, the less chance there is for mice and moles to damage it in the winter under the snow cover. Keep mowing until mid- to late October.
Now is a good time to assess how each plant in your garden did this year. Are there things you want to take out and are there others you want to move or add. I take photos and make notes about the good, the bad, and the ugly in the garden.
Denise Hodgins is a professional gardening coach in London. Send your questions to coaching@diggendirtdesigns.com
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