It’s OCTOBER!!!!
Welcome to the most delightful month of the year (at least from some people’s point of view – like mine!!) … and it’s the beginning of the best time of year to do some real garden work. I know, I know – most people are super glad to be taking the gardens down and hanging up their tools, tuning in to the football game of choice and settling in to the slide in to winter. But, if you’re like me and love to work with the land and soil, true fall is THE time to start to solve the problems that the past growing season has brought in to focus…and to work on new planting projects.
Let’s start with that last thought first – all kinds of plants are on sale this time of year. Our trees, shrubs and perennials are on sale (30% off!) but that’s true everywhere. The mechanics of wintering over plants are well known, but do it well will take effort and it is so much better for these plants to find their forever homes! There are about 5-6 weeks of planting still ahead of us. Climate changes mean that we now have long warm falls – with or without water. This year water is the limiting factor, but that’s easy for most of us to add what’s needed to help new roots get going.
The great thing about planting this time of year is that the top growth is hardening off or going dormant, but the roots are wickedly active. It’s much easier for the plants to concentrate on their roots when their shoots are not active. Dr. Alex Shigo is the fantastic arborist/plant pathologist who turned me on to that information. He ran a series of tree workshops called the Portsmouth Lectures that were absolutely fascinating! Ah – the memories of learning at that level! I have almost every book that Dr. Shigo wrote and several are on the shelves at the back of the store if you’re curious about what information he brought to the world. Or, you can check out this website Dr. Shigo is gone, but his information is just as valuable now as it was when he was bringing hundreds of people along for the ride of really learning about trees. He concentrated on trees, but all woody plants follow the same arc and even perennials share some of that rooting pattern.
What does this mean for you? It means that everything you plant now has a MUCH easier time getting acclimated to your garden. Even if you plant later than recommended, there are tricks to making those later plantings successful. That information will be in a later newsletter or you can ask for details at the store…
Now on to the problem-solving part of the season’s charm…and I do realize that not everyone sees that charm!!
We just wrapped up a wild workshop on soil remineralization this past Saturday at the store and I thought it might be helpful to post the worksheet that we used to the store’s website- Click here for Soil Recipes. You’ll see that the mix we made at the store had all kinds of raw stone dusts in it – along with the food sources mixed in to the stone dusts to spark the soil microbes needed to make those raw resources available to your plant’s roots. This takes TIME!!!! That’s why the fall is the perfect time to get this job done. Curious as to where some of this information came from?? Check out these books – I know – books seem so old fashioned in this day of quicky information, but anyone who takes the time to write these kinds of books has had to really think through what they know.
What about a soil test you ask (all right – most of you didn’t but it’s still a GOOD idea!)? A basic test will tell you a lot of interesting details about your yard and let you know if there are glaring gaps or abundances in your soil system. Now is a GREAT time to get a soil test done and best done before you add anything if that’s what you plan to do. UMass does a decent basic test - Click Here and there are other labs as well. If you do get a soil test done and have problems understanding it - bring it in to the store, and we can go over it with you. Personally, I find soil tests fascinating!!!
OK – moving on to the more colorful parts of the fall gardens – mums, asters, grasses, pumpkins and cornstalks are all part of the scene and we can provide all of them. Our most asked question is about whether the mums and asters are “hardy”. That is a complex question!! Genetically – they are hardy and, if planted at the beginning of the season, they’ll be around for years. And therein lies the rub…we plant them when they’re in full color (full reproductive phase) and that lasts deep in to the fall. Then we finally plant them and the stress is too much for the plant and it gives out before it can root. If you really want to try and perennialize them, you’ll have to sacrifice the blooms by mid-October and try and force them back in to juvenile growth (basal rosettes). That’s a lot to ask!!! And it’s really hard to get these plants earlier in the season – just the way the plant industry works!!! So – there you have it – the reason why so many “hardy” mums and asters don’t make it…
One last thought – don’t forget about flowering bulbs, garlic, greens starter plants (lettuce, kale, spinach, lettuces), winter rye and other cover crops. All of them are part of a fall garden program as well, and we have plenty for you to look at and noodle on how to add them to your yard.
So – come on in! It may be October but it’s a great time to be in the garden!
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