Gardening Basics September 2012
Lawn & Garden
September is a great time to apply weed killer, feed, and seed your lawn.
Tips for killing weeds:
- Don’t apply to newly seeded areas.
- Don’t apply on windy days or days when temperatures are above 85 degrees F.
- Don’t allow children or pets to play on the lawn until liquid weed control has dried. For granular weed control, wait at least one week.
Feeding your lawn:
- This is the best time to feed your lawn with a slow-release lawn food. Make sure to provide at least 2 feedings between September and December.
- When seeding or sodding the lawn, use a 12-24-12 fertilizer weighting. The high phosphorous content will aid in seedling germination and encourages root development.
- If you are not seeding or sodding, use a 16-6-10 weighting. The high nitrogen content will continue feeding the lawn, and it keeps your lawn looking thick and healthy.
Gardens:
- Now is a great time to plant a variety of vegetable seeds, such as leaf lettuce, turnips, radishes and beets.
- Or you can use ready to plant cabbage, broccoli, collards, and lettuce.
House Plants
Now is the time to bring your houseplants back indoors. However, you may need to dust the soil with insecticide to prevent unwanted pests, like ants and wire worms from entering your home. Now would also be a good time to re-pot with a potting mix, and fertilize with a slow-release fertilizer like Osmocote.
Plan Ahead
It’s time to think about spring flowering bulbs. For the best flowering, store bulbs in a paper bag in the crisper section of your fridge for at least six weeks before planting.
Keep in mind:
- Small caliper are a great, inexpensive way to brighten nooks & crannies in your yard.
- Mass planting one flower type & color will produce a better effect than mixtures of flowers and colors.
- Flowers stand out more if displayed against a contrasting background.
- Don’t pull out ornamental plants until you are ready to replace them. It’s best to gradually convert your landscape. You may want to add manure, compost, and leaves to increase the organic content of your flower beds.