Gardening Tips for September 2024

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• Spring Flowering Bulbs - Alliums, Daffodils, Crocus, Muscari (Grape Hyacinth).
• Annuals- Lobelia, Calendula, Pansies and Iceland Poppies (Sonoma County - plant 4 inch plants last week of Sept-First 2 weeks of October).
• Perennials - Lavender, Fuchsias, Bulbine, Asters.
• Veggies- Fava Beans, Spinach, Radish, Beets, Onions.
• Extras- Insecticidal Soap, Bonemeal (used at bottom of bulb planting hole), Frost cloth, Compost.

• BLOG: Preparing for Winter Vegetables.
• Bulbs - Shop local for bulbs and also online for more unusual selections (they ship when it's time to plant the bulbs in your planting zone). Mary uses Brent and Becky's Bulbs. 
• Veggies - Labor Day is a good target date to plant many of our winter veggies by seed or plant, such as Cauliflower, Swiss Chard, some Lettuce Varieties, Spinach and More. Six pack plants of winter veggies can be planted all month. Young plants may need shading on hot days.
• Containers - Check moisture levels in containers to make sure water is getting into the rootzone. For long lived plants in containers apply a layer of compost as mulch being careful to keep the mulch layer thinner near the trunk or stem.  
• Pruning – If you missed pruning in August there is still time. Read Mary’s Blog: So Many Plants Can Be Pruned in August. Coleus will keep making beautiful leaves when they are not allowed to bloom. Remove blooms as soon as you see them. Remove or cut back some of the unwanted growth from Persimmon and Fig . Continue to remove spent flowers from Fuchsia and Tuberous Begonias. Salvias can be deadheaded and lightly pruned to encourage more flowers for fall. 
• Pest Management –Continue to harvest fruit from trees and also keep dropped fruit pickup right away as leaving dropped fruit attracts critters and pest insects. If fig fruit is opening up on the blossom end before it is ripe, remove the fruit immediately. Check container plants for pests and fungal infestations. Whitefly can be managed by using yellow sticky traps. Whitefly like dry situations so changing the growing environment to one with more regular water on the soil surface in addition the yellow sticky traps will help manage the infestation. Containers that have dried out attract ants. Apply water slowly to re-wet the soil. Manage ants with bait. Scale insects can be removed with gloved hands or plastic scraper. Let them fall into a bucket of hot, soapy water if possible, to kill them. Some plants may be able to be cut back at this time of year to help remove heavy infestation of Scale. Contact Mary for your Consultation/Tutoring appointment today.
• Prepare for winter blooming plants - Pull any container plants that are not thriving, clean pots and buy potting mix to be ready for planting winter color. In zone 9 it's almost time to plant Pansies and Iceland Poppies!  
• Compost - Prepare planting beds by amending with compost for veggies and winter blooming Pansies and Iceland Poppies, planted later this month. Add layer of compost as mulch to garden beds as needed. Be careful if you plan to plant seeds or small veggie plants, like beets, right away after amending with fresh compost as this can result in all leaves and no beets (hmmm, how would I know this, ha!). In this case it may be best to loosen the soil and plant the beets or seeds, then apply compost as mulch instead of amending. Compost that is fresh and not aged has a lot of nitrogen in it which can encourage the leaves to grow and not the root veggie.
• When you're ready to learn more about gardening and how to care for your plants  Contact The Gardening Tutor

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ALL CONTENT by Mary Frost (no AI).