Plant Spring Flowering Bulbs In The Fall!

DID YOU KNOW?

• Bulbs are an underground storage unit that is full of energy
  for the following season.
• The larger the bulb, the earlier it needs to be in the ground.
  
• Bulbs start rooting as soon as they are planted and need time
  to become established before winter.
• Bulbs need 14-16 weeks of temperatures below 40° F in order
  to produce flowers in the spring.

Tips For Planting Your Bulbs

1. It is important to choose your site carefully, full sun with well
   drained soil is best.
2. Mix bone meal or bulb fertilizer into the soil. Bone Meal® or Bulb Tone® promotes vigorous blooming and sturdy stems in the spring.
3. It is critical that you plant your bulbs at the correct depth. Planting bulbs too deep may cause bulbs to bloom too late or not bloom at all. In general, plant each bulb 2-3 times the height of the bulb. Pointy side up.
4. To ensure continuous color in the spring stagger the bloom times of the varieties you choose.

Bulb Bloom Times:

Very Early Spring	Early Spring	Mid Spring	Late Spring	Early Summer
Crocus	Daffodil	Daffodil	Fritillaria	Allium
Snowdrop	Crocus	Fritillaria	Bluebells	Lilies
Lungwort	Hyacinth	Tulip	Lilies	Iris
Scilla	Muscari

It’s Important To Protect Your
Buried Bulbs From Critters.

• Line or cover the holes with chicken wire.
• Repellant products are available.
  We recommend Repels All®.
• Water your freshly planted bulbs thoroughly and continue to water them until the first hard freeze.
• You may mulch bulbs for extra protection
  and moisture retention. Wait to do this until temperatures are consistently lower than 40° F.

 

 

Enjoy A Second Harvest!

If you plan ahead, Fall is a great time to enjoy a
second harvest of veggies. Many varieties of vegetables
tolerate and even thrive in cool temperatures.

Fall Veggie Tip #1:

The flavors of carrots and spinach are
more enhanced by the frost.

Fall Veggie Tip #2:

When cool weather hits, insect life cycles slow down, growth rates taper off, and we have more time to focus on a smaller number of specialized crops.

Fall Veggie Tip #3:

Planting A Fall
Vegetable Garden:

Plant fall vegetable crops in the micro-climates you find in your yard. Timing is important when it comes to planning a fall vegetable garden:

• South facing walls hold the heat
  of the day.
• Low spots are also a good choice, crops will be protected from the elements.
  
• Plants need to reach a good size before day length diminishes.
  
• Start thinking about seeding and transplanting vegetables
  for your fall harvest in August.

Fall Veggie Tip #4:

Add compost and peat moss to prepare your fall vegetable garden to add nutrients, drainage and beneficial organic matter.

Fall Veggie Tip #5:

Cole Crops:

• Cole Crops are those in the Brassicacea Family. Otherwise known as the Mustard Family includes cool season crops such as:

Brussel Sprouts	Cabbage	Collards	Kohlrabi	Broccoli

• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Mustard
• Turnips and
• Watercress

• Cole crops can be reliably hardy down to 0° F.
• Kale retains deep color and a delicious flavor after a good frost (start seed in mid-August).
• Collards are equally hardy and delicious (start seeds in mid-August).
• Broccoli and Cauliflower can last long into the fall as well (start your second crop near the end of July).

Fall Veggie Tip #6:

Salad Greens

• Endive, Escarole, Radicchio, Lettuces, Spinach, Parsley, Sage, and many Asian greens (Mustards, Mizuna, Chrysanthemum Greens) stand up well in the cold.
• Spinach retains a more earthy flavor if it is left to the elements.
• Plant seeds in 1-2 week intervals starting in mid-August to ensure fresh greens for your favorite salads all fall long.

Fall Veggie Tip #7:

Root Crops:

• These include leeks, carrots, parsnips and beets.
• Sow a second crop of these varieties in mid-summer.
• Leave carrots in the ground until it freezes and you will be rewarded with an amazingly sweet taste.

Fall Veggie Tip #8:

There Are Many Ways To Protect Your Fall Crops
From Cool Nights and Unexpected Frosts:

• The simplest way is to throw a sheet or a tarp over your beds.
• For the more advanced gardeners, you can fashion a mini-greenhouse out of house-hold materials.
• Some people cover individual plants with plastic milk jugs.
• Others choose to build cold frames and other sophisticated structures.
• Root crops can be protected by adding a thick layer of mulch or straw to beds.

For more information on scheduling
your second harvest, visit the

website

Fall Is A Great Time To Enhance Your Lawn

Here are some facts, and tips
to get your lawn looking great:

• Aerate and de-thatch your lawn every couple of years.
• Re-seed dead spots.
  
• Spread seeds 45 days before the first hard frost. Seeds will germinate
  more slowly in the cool weather… about 7-12 days.
• Fertilize your lawns late in the fall when the grass has stopped growing,
  but is still green.
• Use a fertilizer high in Nitrogen.
  
• This will encourage sugars to be stored in the roots and crowns and will increase
  winter hardiness and promote quick growth and greening in the spring.
• Rake leaves weekly rather than waiting to the end of the season. This allows your
  lawn to receive as much sunlight as possible, and also deters disease problems. Soggy, wet leaves on the lawn provides a great breeding ground for fungus and bacteria.
• Cut your grass one last time (to about 1 inch) before the snow flies.
  
• Long grass is the perfect environment for fungus such as snow mold.
  
• If the grass is too short, your grass may be susceptible to winter injury.
  

DID YOU KNOW?

Crab Grass and Weeds Become Inactive in the Fall.

Plant, Move, and Divide
By Early October

Perennial plants need time to establish before the first hard frost.

Three Reasons To Divide
Perennials In The Garden:

See our Perennials page for more detailed information
on dividing perennials.

1. Overcrowding
2. Performance and flowering has declined
   
3. Die-back in the middle has occurred
   

Many varieties respond well to fall divisions:

• Asiatic Lilies
• Bearded Iris
• Chrysanthemum
• Daylilies
• Hostas
• Jacob’s Ladder
• Peonies
• Tall Phlox
• Siberian Iris

Steps To Division:

1. Dig-up the entire root ball.
2. Cut or tease roots apart.
3. Discard woody old centers and soft or rotted plant material.
4. Each division should have 2-3 new shoots and
   a solid segment of healthy roots.
5. Plant division at the same depth of the original plant.
6. Water it in well and continue to water heavily for several weeks while new roots emerge.

Keep Watering Until The First Frost

Make sure to water trees, shrubs, and perennials throughout the fall (about 1” per week) and until the first hard frost occurs. Summer drought can create stress for these plants in the dry winter months.

Simple Steps:

1. Start putting your garden to bed when the temperatures consistently
   drop into the low 50’s and 40’s.
2. Evaluate your garden design. Are there areas that are lacking late summer and fall blooms? Add, move and divide perennials at this time to provide color and interest.
3. Remove weeds and unwanted annuals.
   
4. Remove dead and diseased foliage from shrubs and perennials.
   
5. Dig-up non-hardy bulbs such as Cannas, Dahlias, and Glad's,
   let them dry and store them in a cool, dry place.
6. Cut-back unruly perennials:
   
   • Cutting back your perennials in the fall will eliminate clean-up
     in the spring and encourage fresh growth in the spring.
   • You may choose to leave some varieties intact because they provide food for the birds, have winter interest, or gather snow which insulates the garden from extremes temps and the damaging effects of freezing and thawing cycles.

   Great Perennials For Winter Interest and A Food Source For Birds Are:

   • Grasses
   • Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)
   • Sedums
   • Echinacea (Coneflower)
   • Achillea
   • Monarda (Bee Balm)

7. Protect prized or tender evergreens from drying winter winds by setting up a wind break or by wrapping them in burlap.
8. Protect newly planted trees from winter sun-scald. In the winter the trunks are warmed by the warm sun and killed by the frigid night-time temperatures.
9. Bury your tender roses.

The Minnesota Tips

1. Take care of your equipment.
2. Clean and sharpen tools.
3. Drain, coil, and store hoses.
4. Prepare the soil. (see Soil Preparation and Amendments below)
5. Mulch your beds:
   • Winter mulching protects plants from the drastic temperature changes in the soil that arise from freezing and thawing.
   • Insulates plants from extreme cold.
   • Prevents soil erosion.
   • Don’t mulch too early or you may encourage disease and pest problems or even promote your perennials to re-grow.
   • Wait until after the first hard-frost.
   • Mulch your perennial beds with 4-6” of mulch, dried leaves, shredded bark or marsh hay (make sure whatever material you use is weed-free!).

Enrich Your Soil and Build New Beds

1. Soil is a living organism and is constantly changing.
2. Happy soil produces happy plants.
3. It has been proven that healthy, nutrient-rich soil reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers and can also reduce pressure from pests and diseases.

You can do this through the University Extension Service for a small fee.

4. Add Compost and Organic matter.

Organic Matter Includes:

• Mulched Leaves
• Compost
• Manure
• Grain Hulls
• Sawdust
• Grass Clippings

5. Add raw Manure in the fall as it has time to compost through the winter. If you add it to your soil in the spring you risk burning your plants because of the high nitrogen concentration.

A word of CAUTION:

Manure should not be applied to potato beds or areas where you plan to grow fruiting vegetable crops; the high Nitrogen concentration will promote too much vegetative growth and less flowering and fruiting.

6. It is important to create the proper Carbon/Nitrogen ratio
   when adding organic matter.

Make sure that you add a proportionate amount of
Green and Brown materials:

• Leaves are high in Carbon and would be considered Brown material.
• Grass Clipping are high in Nitrogen and would be considered Green material.

Organic matter improves the soil’s structure, increases
water retention, aeration, and water filtration.

NOTE: Before you severely alter your soil, it is advisable to have a soil test and analysis.