September (Late September) Garden Talks

Hello again,

I cannot believe we are approaching late September. The saying that time just keeps going faster is indeed so true!

Pumpkins Galore at Skillin's! Along with Corn Stalks, Mums and Pansies!!

Click HERE for mid September Garden Talks!


Now much more Garden Talks for you. We Know gardens:

*Fall to an avid gardener with grass and dirt stained knees and dirty hands can be difficult to adjust to. However, fall is a great time of year to actually improve your garden. One of the first steps you should take is to apply lime to your lawn and gardens. Generally at the end of the growing season the production effort leaves a garden with a pH of 5.5 to 6.0, so we advise adding lime at a rate of about 5 pound per 100 square feet to eventually raise the pH to about 6.5 to 7.0. This higher pH level will allow your plants to receive a wider range of nutrients. Generally, we should only lime our areas one time per year. Also your garden may well not need lime every year. If you have limed for 2 to 3 consecutive years pick up a simple pH tester at Skillin's. Check out that pH. If your soil registers at about 6.5 to 7.0, do not apply lime that year. The lime I recommend is either Fast Acting Lime by Encap—it is a calcium based lime that is better than most limes for at least two reasons: 1) Calcium is an excellent organic additive to your soil. It benefits your plants tremendously by helping to “keep free” the flow of beneficial nutrients to your plants roots. 2) Magnesium based lime can actually aid weeds as magnesium adds a natural soil compactor. Many of the plants we prefer don’t like growing in compact soils but unfavorable weeds like plantain, dandelions, crabgrass and ajuga don’t mind compact soils a bit!

*Gardening friend Margaret of A Way to Garden writes: "DON’T PANIC IF EVERGREENS start to show some browning or yellowing of needles this month and next. The oldest, innermost needles typically shed after a few years on the tree." Late September and October can often bring some yellowing on the inside of the trees. This is not a huge concern for older trees; however, 2012 planted pines should receive good deep waterings once weekly between now and when the ground freezes. These waterings will make the pines healthier for next year and beyond. Also a light feeding of Hollytone by Espoma (sold right here at Skillin's) is not a bad idea for your evergreen trees if they have not been fed for awhile.

*More great tips from Margaret of A Way to Garden:  "PARSLEY AND CHIVES can be potted up and brought indoors for offseason use, or freeze some (or give the plants some extra protection and keep harvesting from the garden). A few garlic cloves in a pot will yield a supply of chive-like (but spicier) garlic greens all winter for garnish." I think parsley makes an attractive house plant too! Nice and green!

DAYLILIES can be dug and divided as they complete their bloom cycle, right into fall, if needed.

PEONIES are best divided and transplanted in late August through September, if they need it. Remember with these fussy guys that “eyes” must not be buried more than an inch or two beneath the soil surface. Great advice--now is the time to re set those peonies!

MANY POPULAR ANNUALS can be overwintered as young plants if you take and root cuttings now rather than try to nurse along leggy older specimens. Geraniums, coleus, wax begonias, even impatiens (to name just a few common ones), if grown in good light indoors and kept pinched and bushy, will yield another generation of cuttings for next spring’s transplants. Probably best to expend this effort and space on things you really treasure—an unusual form of something, not the garden variety. Again great advice here. I love keeping geraniums through the winter. Margaret writes about keeping your annuals "pinched and bushy" and I agree totally!

REST AMARYLLIS BULBS by putting them in a dry, dark place where they will have no water at all for a couple of months. I put mine in a little-used closet.

Thanks Margaret and I highly recommend her Garden Website, A Way to Garden!

*Too many plants and too little space in your vegetable garden? Plan next years garden now and note how many plants you really should have in your plot. Make sure there is walkable space between rows of small plants and walkable space between each tomato plant and vine crop plant! Let us know if you have any questions about vegetable gardening! We Know vegetable gardening!!

*It is vital to thoroughly CLEAN your yard in the fall. However, just don't admire those newly cleaned wide open spaces in your garden. Fall is a great time for soil preparation! Get some Pro Gro by North Country Organics or Plant Tone by Espoma worked into the soil (especially if your soil has only had one natural feeding this year. Miracle Gro does not qualify as a natural feeding!)  As I often write, these fertilizers are the best and most long-term way to bring nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium naturally to your soil.

Then lay some compost as a top dressing in those open spaces and around your plants. If you have no compost, my favorite bagged compost for this job is Fundy Mix by Coast of Maine. Fundy mix is an excellent product to "top dress" around plant material as great organic matter and as a nice mulch or cover. For VERY wide open spaces that is a future home to more plants, actually work some of your compost material OR a great garden compost like Little River Blend Compost or Quoddy Blend by Coast of Maine. (Composted Manure by Jolly Gardener would also work well!)

*It is just a great time to plant trees and shrubs. We have new plants arriving all the time as well freshly dug Skillin grown pines and spruce. And all on sale: Deciduous trees are 40% off, freshly dug Skillin grown evergreens are 30% off and shrubs are buy 1 get 10%, buy 3 get 20%, and buy 5 get 30%, !!

Why is it a great time to plant? The soil is still warm, rains are more frequent and the cooler air temps make for great acclimation conditions for your plants. Plus with a great selection AND sale prices that means Fall is for Planting. WE KNOW shrubs and trees here at Skillin's!

*Continue to prune out and clean out dead growth in your perennial and annual gardens. By removing dead and brown growth you are preventing problems for next year. As good gardening friend Paul Parent reminds us, "Insects and disease know that cooler weather means the end of their life cycle, and to continue their future they must lay eggs on that dying foliage. Diseases make spores for next year also. If you clean the garden this fall, you will have fewer problems next year..."

*Store your harvest properly. Potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, cabbage and celery should be kept in a humid atmosphere at about 35-40 degrees. Squash and pumpkins should be stored in a dry area at 40-60 degrees. Onions and dry beans should be kept at 33 degrees in a dry area." Good storage habits make great tasting natural food.

*Begin placing your poinsettias in darkness for 16 hours each day. The reduction in light will cause the bracts to "bloom" in time for the holidays.” The best way to do this is to place a large bag over your poinsettias at about 5 or 6 PM and then remove the bag the next morning. Keep this routine going daily until the end of October.

*Your Christmas cactus should rest in a cool, dim room with little water. Bring it back out Nov. 15 for holiday bloom. One of the most gorgeous flowering plants around! We will have some young Christmas cactus available in November; these plants can grow to be quite old!

*Plant fall and winter crops. Lettuce, radish, swiss chard and spinach can all be planted now in a hoop house or cold frame for fresh produce in the colder months. Many gardeners have cold frames that they use in the Spring to grow tender plants. These cold frames can be used now for vegetables!

Red Sails and other Lettuces Can Still be Seeded in a Cold Frame!

*Bulb planning and planting time is upon us and we have an awesome Bulb Planning and Planting class scheduled for Saturday, October 6 in Brunswick, Cumberland or Falmouth. We still have openings at Brunswick and Cumberland. The class is FREE and We Know bulbs! Contact us at skillins@maine.rr.com and just specify the location to sign up.

Here are 2 links to our Skillin's Garden Log that talk about popular bulbs for you to consider and plant: Hyacinths and Daffodils, Narcissus and Jonquils.

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
September 18, 2012

September: A Time of Change in the Garden

 Hello again,

Good gardening friend Paul Parent of the Paul Parent Garden Club sends out a great newsletter every week with pertinent gardening topics. I encourage you to go to his website to sign up for his newsletter. Paul can also be heard every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 10 AM at his website or at WBACH (104.7 FM) every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 9 AM.

Paul recently sent out some great material relating to September Garden Tasks!

"We have now lost over 2 hours of daylight every day, and the way we garden must change in the days to come. If we are going to solve problems around our yard we must act fast, and some of the traditional ways we have been gardening need to change also. The fall season is a wonderful time to get back into the garden after all of the heat of summer. This is a season of planting fall flowers; our shrubs and trees will soon be changing the color of their foliage, changing the landscape around us, and we will be planning for next spring by planting Dutch flower bulbs. This is also the best time of the year to repair or even plant a new lawn from seed around the house. So here is a check list of things for you to do in your yard during my favorite time of the year, the season known as fall.

Let's start with the lawn, because we want our lawn to be "the best on the street" and fall is the best time to make it happen. Begin by walking on your lawn and examining it closely so you know what you have to do. Do you have broad leaf weeds, crabgrass, or insect problems? If so, here is what you have to do. Broadleaf weeds can now be controlled with a product like Weed Beater by Bonide now that the 85 degree days are behind us. If you're still experiencing hot weather, wait or the products could hurt your good grass. 

Remember not to cut your lawn for at least 3 to 4 days before applying the product and the same after you have applied it, so the product has a large leaf surface from the weed to absorb the product for better results. Tough weeds like clover, creeping Charley, and ajuga should get a second application 7 to 10 days later to destroy these very strong lawn weeds. Keep the kids and pets off the grass until it has dried completely. No rain or irrigation for 24 hours after you apply the product so it has time to get into the plant and kill it.

Crabgrass is a big problem right now and no weed killer will kill the plant as it is mature and making seed for next year. What you HAVE to do is let the grass grow a bit taller than normal so the crabgrass plant can develop long stems that hold the seed heads. Each crabgrass plant can make 500 plus seeds and when you mow the grass consider bagging the grass clippings as they are full of seeds for next year. If you do not have a mower with a bag attachment borrow your neighbor's lawn mower or you will spread the seed all over your lawn making it a worse problem for next spring. If you're beginning to notice a red coloration in your lawn, you have crabgrass growing in it and it is making seeds, so bag it up and dispose of the clippings with the trash; do not put your clippings in your compost pile, as composting will not kill these seeds.

Insects are still active in your lawn and if you're beginning to notice birds digging in your lawn, or irregular shaped dead patches in the lawn, it could be Japanese beetle grubs damage. This will soon be followed by skunks or raccoons digging up your lawn in large patches--just like a farmer tills his fields. It is too late for the traditional products like Season Long Grub Control or Grub-X, because the season is coming to an end and they will not work with the cooler weather ahead of us now. (At Skillin’s we recommend applying the all natural Milky Spore bacteria for best long-term grub control).

This is the best time of the year and MOST EFFECTIVE time to kill Japanese bamboo--while it is in flower. The plant is now full of upright broom-like white flower clusters. When this happens all the reserve energy normally stored in the roots is on the top of the plant making flowers that will in the weeks to come become new seeds for even more Japanese bamboo plants for your yard. Because all the energy is out of the roots, the weed killers you apply can travel from the foliage directly to the roots and can kill 75% or more of the existing plant. Use Kleen Up by Bonide now; repeat in a week to 10 days and watch the plant slowly turn brown and DIE! Applying these products during the growing season is not effective--only now! This spraying of the plant will also make the seeds sterile and they will not germinate, so if you're going to do only one thing in the garden this week let it be this. Do not cut it down until late October or in the spring.

In the rose garden I want you to STOP fertilizing your plants for the year! This will cause the plant to prepare itself for the winter months and build strong and thick tissue instead of new succulent growth. Your plants will continue to flower if you water regularly with 3 to 5 gallons of water per week and cut back the faded flowers to just above the third set of leaf that has 5 segments to it. By October build a mound of bark mulch 12 to 15 inches high and just as wide to insulate the graft on all your grafted roses for added winter protection. The only roses you do not have to do this to are your Rosa Rugosa or beach roses.

What your roses will need is a good spraying now--and again in 2 to 3 weeks--to control insect and disease with products like Bayer Advanced Insect, Disease and Mite control or Bonide Rose RX 3 in 1 spray. Once the foliage drops from the plant, be sure to remove it and keep your rose bed clean of infected foliage to prevent problem next year. Your rose bush will continue to flower as long as the weather stays mild; it is not uncommon to have roses in bloom well into November if cared for properly.

Fall is also the best time to kill moss growing in your lawn and garden. Most garden centers have moss killers that you can apply now and the grass growing around it will fill in the space in the weeks to come. Now that the moss is dead you should still add limestone, wood ash from your stoves, fire pits, or Fast Acting Lime to reduce the acidity level in your soil, which will help prevent future growth of new moss plants where you just killed them. As you clean up your garden, be sure to add lime, wood ash, or Magic-Cal to keep the soil sweet and productive. Your vegetable garden will become more productive; lilacs love a sweet soil and the plant can make more fragrant flowers. Also clematis vines love lime for the same reason--so start creating a better environment for your plants to grow.

Newly planted shrubs and trees should also be fertilized with an organic plant food for slow feeding of the plant until the ground freezes. Chemical fertilizers like 10.10.10 could force new growth if we have a mild and moist fall, while organic fertilizers feed slowly and most of this fertilizer is stored in the roots of the plant to help keep it strong during the winter and a give a quick start-up when spring weather arrives. Use Plant-Tone for deciduous plants and Holly-Tone for all evergreens. After you cut back your perennials for the season, you can also apply organic plant foods to help keep them strong for the cold weather ahead, do not use the stronger chemicals for the same reason.

Any tree you planted this year that is over 6 feet tall should also be staked with a tree support kit to prevent wind damage during the winter months. If you planted fruit frees, be sure to wrap the trunk of the plant from the ground up to the first branch with Hardware cloth to prevent mouse, rabbit and other animal damage during the winter. Push the wire into the ground a couple of inches and leave an inch of space between the wire and the trunk of the tree to prevent animals from eating the bark of the plant when the snow gets deep."

Thanks Paul Parent!

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
September 6, 2012

September Garden Talks 2010

The purpose of this post is to relay a few "quick hit" garden tips to you through the month of September. Some of these tips will be garden tasks I am doing myself, some of these tips will be quick pieces of advice we are giving to customers, some will be quick links to good gardening advice we encounter on the internet.

Check back to this post often as we will update it often until we roll through September 2010!

Here are our August Garden Talks 2010.

September 29--According to the official Rain Gauge of Skillin's Country, we received almost an inch of rain in the past couple of days. It was an excellent rain because of it's On Again, Off Again nature. This allows for some good soaking, a reprieve from runoff and then more good soaking. We are thankful for this deep rain and this should take care of most watering needs for the next few days!

September 28--Good friend Hammon Buck of Plants Unlimited in Rockport ME just sent out some great gardening tips. One tip that caught my eye was Hammon's write up about Planting Garlic in the Fall. We sell the California Soft Neck variety here at Skillin's. Here is Hammon:

"There are hundreds of named varieties of garlic, but all of them can be categorized into two major types: soft-necked and hard-necked.

The stalk that grows up from a garlic bulb is called a “neck.”

The stalk of soft-necked garlic is pliable and soft at maturity. The stalk of hard-necked garlic is stiff at maturity.

Soft-necked garlic is strong flavored and stores well because it has several protective outer layers of papery skin.

The two most common varieties are California Early and California Late. About eighty percent of all grocery store garlic is now grown in China. These garlics have many cloves, up to 20 per bulb. The outside cloves are medium in size while the inside cloves are a pain to peel and are many times just discarded!

Softneck garlic has the classic garlic taste; ranging from mild to hot and spicy; depending upon the growing conditions. (In Eastern Europe and Asia Hardneck garlics are the standard; with the same range in taste and heat.) Some Softnecks can be eaten raw in salsa and salads; others are too strong and need to be cooked.

Hard-necked garlic is mild tasting and best used soon after harvest since it has only a few layers of papery skin and thus keeps poorly."

September 27--Gardening friend Margaret of Away to Garden writes: "DON’T PANIC IF EVERGREENS start to show some browning or yellowing of needles this month and next. The oldest, innermost needles typically shed after a few years on the tree." I am noticing that pines especially are showing some yellowing on the inside of the trees. This is not a huge concern for older trees; however, 2010 planted pines should receive good deep waterings once weekly between now and when the ground freezes. These waterings will make the pines healthier for next year and beyond. Also a light feeding of Hollytone by Espoma is not a bad idea for your evergreen trees if they have not been fed for awhile.
September 26--Two years ago it was very apparent that my once mostly sunny backyard with several small gardens had become quite shady due to many of the surrounding trees getting so tall and other trees and growth :creeping in". It was time to cut some trees and clean out some growth to let some sun in! We did that and this increased light really helped my gardening efforts in 2009 and 2010. More light is needed and so yesterday my dad, wife and I spent much time cutting and cleaning out some more shade trees and growth. IF your garden has become too shady, we can give you the names of some very reasonable professionals who can cut wayward trees, limb others out--all to let the light in!!

September 24--Fall to an avid gardener with grass and dirt stained knees and dirty hands can be difficult to adjust to. However, fall is a great time of year to actually improve your garden. One of the first steps you should take is to apply lime to your lawn and gardens. Generally at the end of the growing season the production effort leaves a garden with a pH of 5.5 to 6.0, so we advise adding lime at a rate of about 5 pound per 100 square feet to eventually raise the pH to about 6.5 to 7.0. This higher pH level will allow your plants to receive a wider range of nutrients. Generally, we should only lime our areas one time per year. Also your garden may well not need lime every year. If you have limed for 2 to 3 consecutive years pick up a simple pH tester at Skillin's. Check out that pH. If your soil registers at about 6.5 to 7.0, do not apply lime that year. The lime I recommend is Mira Cal by Jonathan Green—it is a calcium based lime that is better than most limes for at least two reasons: 1) Calcium is an excellent organic additive to your soil. It benefits your plants tremendously by helping to “keep free” the flow of beneficial nutrients to your plants roots. 2) Magnesium based lime can actually aid weeds as magnesium adds a natural soil compactor. Many of the plants we prefer don’t like growing in compact soils but unfavorable weeds like plantain, dandelions, crabgrass and ajuga don’t mind compact soils a bit!

September 17--Skillin's Country received a nice inch of rain last night. This will really help our lawns, annuals and perennials. Remember though any 2010 planted shrubs and trees could probably use a good deep watering sometime this weekend or next week. Don't let the cooling weather fool you on that! Also while any flowering containers you may have got a nice soaking last night, any containers are so full of roots they will dry quickly--particularly in breezy weather!
If you have recently re seeded some lawn area be sure to keep that area moist as well! Water, water, water!

September 9--Gardening friend Margaret of A Way to Garden has posted just an excellent article about how to "grow, harvest and enjoy a year of garlic". We do have the soft neck garlic available here at Skillin's--she writes about both soft neck and hard neck garlic. Here is the beginning of the post: " MY HOMEGROWN CROP OF GARLIC GETS ME TO ALMOST FEBRUARY, and then it’s just not what it used to be. You know how it goes—you’ve bought late-winter cloves that start to sprout and just don’t feel as firm or weigh what they did before time took its toll. I don’t have a perfect storage spot; considering that I do quite well. But this year I’m laying in a supply in the freezer, too, following safe, sane methods—no, you cannot just pack it in oil and refrigerate! My tactics for growing, harvesting and enjoying a year of garlic. Both softneck and hardneck types are welcome here, by the way—dare I ask which camp you’re in?" [Read more...]

September 8--Hey we got a little rain in some parts of Skillin's Country last night and early this morning. About a .25" in the official Skillin's Country Rain Gauge. This is not a great deal of rain but I felt okay about not doing my daily watering of some annual beds that I have in the hot sun. That .25" should serve those plants well today! I still watered my Earth Boxes and will be watering a couple of shrubs deeply that I had planned on watering. That .25" of rain won't do the shrubs too much good.

September 7--It will soon be time to bring your houseplants back inside from the outside. NOW is a great time to treat these outdoor houseplants with Systemic Houseplant Granules by Bonide. These granules are easy to apply and provide plant protection for up to 8 weeks. Bonide changed their formula a few years back and we think this product is great at nipping all kinds of harmful little critters that can spread from plant to plant. The active ingredient in the granules works systemically within the plant and is very effective when a plant or leaf biting insect comes into touch with this product in the plant's system. At this point, the soomer you apply this product the more time it has to work to clean up any insects on your plant! Got houseplant questions? Come to our Thriving Houseplants class. See details on our classes HERE!

September 5--Paul Parent of the Paul Parent Garden Club (listen to his Garden Radio Show every Sunday morning) had several great tips this morning. One great tip has to do with garden cleanup. Over the course of the next month or two as we pull any annuals or trim any perennials from our garden, a complete cleanup of leaves and branches that we cut or that are lying on the ground is important. Dead leaves and stems serve as a great "harbor" or host for insects, mildews and other diseases. Clean up the mess and put this plant matter into your composter or compost heap.

September 4--Earl has come and gone from the edges of Skillin's Country and left us very little wind damage (a great thing) and a good dosage of rain (also a great thing!). The Official Skillin's Country Rain Gauge measured about 1.25" of rain that fell from about 10 PM last night to about 6 AM this morning. This will really help our dry, dry plants. I have rolled up the hoses today (except for an early morning watering of my Earth Boxes--water those Earth Boxes!). I may do a little deep watering of some mature shrubs and perennials that were showing the effects of being quite dry before Earl. 1.25" of rain is good for them BUT no rain is forecast over the next few days and they will be stressed again soon I do believe.

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
September 2010

September Garden Chores

Hello again,

I found these helpful garden tips at http://awaytogarden.com/my-september-garden-chores when I was noodling around BloominKrazy one of the sites we follow at www.twitter.com/skillins. The advice given is based on a zone 5B situation in very northeastern NY state and western MA so the gardening info given is quite appropriate to our conditions in Skillin's Country which probably averages zone 5A. I like a lot of the information they present. So I am listing some of what they have to say (their advice is in quotes) and I comment briefly (in italics) as to how we hardy gardeners in Skillin's Country can follow this gardening advice to our benefit.

"THE FALL IS COMING, the fall is coming. Nothing to worry about, Chicken Little, if the garden’s been planned for enjoyment in all seasons…well, unless you slack off now and let those foxy weeds go to seed and gobble up the whole place. No, no definitive “end” to the season lies ahead, and some of us even feel happy about the coming of slightly quieter, more contemplative times where less obvious garden stars can shine. Peak planting and dividing time is coming up now; make that work include some focus on the addition of fall and winter plants to the landscape. " Very appropriate to slide in advice to keep weeding. Weeds left unattended for the summer in many cases have or will be forming seed pods. When those pods let go, we don't hear the hundreds and thousands of tiny little seeds that crash to the ground BUT we sure the effects of those seeds by mid Spring next year. Weeds galore. So pull, scrape, turn over--however you do it; get those weeds under control!

"AS YOU BEGIN to wind down and clean up, take notes of what worked and didn’t. Mark areas that would have been easier to maintain with a workhorse groundcover in place, for instance, or areas where more bulbs might fit. I have already made a walkabout and identified a few shrubs whose days are numbered; just not enough bang for the buck (well, for the space they take up). " Garden journaling is something I do not do well enough; me and you probably; but any sort of recording can be immeasurable help! Try quick digital pictures with some quick notes in Microsoft Word or a notebook of some type.

TREES & SHRUBS

"BE SURE TO WATER trees and shrubs now through hard frost, so that they enter dormancy in a well-hydrated state. Evergreens (needled ones and broadleaf types like rhododendron, too) are particularly vulnerable to desiccation and winterburn if not well watered before the cold and winds set in." This certainly applies to all 2009 planted material; I could not agree more. Trees and shrubs that are prospering and have been planted for awhile may not need any such waterings unless we do start to go many days without water. I have several plants that have been in the ground for awhile but I know that they do begin to look poorly after a couple of weeks without water. I am thinking about some Pee Gee Hydrangeas that I have as well as some rhodys and azaleas and some perennials. These plants have dense compact root systems and it only takes a couple of weeks without water before they can start looking droopy. Large deciduous and evergreens really spread their roots out so I have never really watered those once established. Finally speaking of desiccation (browning of leaves through moisture loss) and winterburn we STRONGLY recommend the application of all natural Wilt Pruf to all broad leafed evergreens in mid to late November before winter truly sets in. We will write a lot more about Wilt Pruf when we get to that time period.

"DON’T PANIC IF EVERGREENS start to show some browning or yellowing of needles this month and next. The oldest, innermost needles typically shed after a few years on the tree.

HOPEFULLY YOU STOPPED FEEDING woody plants in July or August. Promoting more soft growth after July-ish isn’t good; time for them to start moving toward the hardening-off phase of their cycle. No more eats till earliest spring." I agree with this advice IF the fertilizer is a liquied fertilizer like Miracle Gro. I do not agree with this advice if the fertilizer for your woody plants is an organic granular food like Holly Tone by Espoma for your evergreens or Plant Booster Plus by Organica or Plant or Tree Tone by Espoma for your deciduous material. We usually recommend twice yearly feedings of these organic granular products--Spring, Summer; Spring, Fall; Summer, Fall. These products are devoted to improving the structure of your soil. They work slowly daily to make the soil a better place for deeper roots; Deeper healthier roots mean more hardy, healthy, happy, heavenly plants! To keep the benefits of these products working more consistently in the challenging environment that Maine (aka Skillin's Country) represents the twice per year application year in and year out seems to make the most sense.

"ALWAYS BE on the lookout for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and prune them out as discovered. Ditto with suckers and water sprouts. No hard pruning now, though; too late to risk encouraging regrowth. " I agree because such "regrowth" will be soft growth that the coming cold will damage.


VEGETABLE, FRUIT & HERBS

"AS VEGETABLE PLANTS (and annual flowers) fade, pull them to get a start on garden cleanup. Before composting the remains, cut them up a bit with a pruning shears or shred, to speed decomposition. That said, my earliest crop of lettuce each spring comes from a ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ plant I just let flower and self-sow in a corner of the garden year after year. Untidy to some eyes, but it always makes me smile. " Speaking of lettuce we still have lettuce and other cold loving vegetable crops available that will be just great to harvest this fall. So don't clean out all areas of the garden just yet.

"PARSLEY AND CHIVES can be potted up and brought indoors for offseason use, or freeze some (or give the plants some extra protection and keep harvesting from the garden). A few garlic cloves in a pot will yield a supply of chive-like (but spicier) garlic greens all winter for garnish. Sow seeds of bush basil in a pot, too, and grow on a very sunny windowsill if you are a really determined type." Great herb advice. We also keep on hand a good supply of herbs all winter long for you. We also have 2010 certified seeds in stock from Botanical Interests that could lead to all kinds of fun edible plant growing in a sunny indoor spot--think herbs, greens, etc.

"IF NEXT YEAR’S GARDEN plans include a patch of strawberries or asparagus, do the tilling and soil preparation now so the bare-root plants ordered over the winter can be planted extra early come spring." We also have strawberries and asparagus early in the season if you want to save mail order costs. A great compost to use for soil preparation is Quoddy Blend by Coast of Maine Organics if you need some compost.

"AS AREAS COME EMPTY from harvest, build vegetable-garden soil by sowing cover crops: medium red clover if you get right to it, or perhaps winter rye if you don’t do some areas till mid-fall. These “green manures” will be turned under to improve soil tilth and fertility." Age old good advice here. Great gardening friend David Kuchta (check out his gardening blog at http://gardenmaine.blogspot.com/) uses left over legume seeds (think peas and beans). Plant your seeds in the fall and they will germinate. Then turn these plants over once nice and green!

"IF YOU HARVESTED YOUR own garlic, save the best heads with the biggest cloves for replanting later this month or next (about a month before frost is in the ground). Otherwise, order bulbs now. Prepare a sunny spot, and plant each clove 1-2 inches deep and 6 inches apart in the row, with about 12 inches between rows. Green growth will happen this fall, which is great; don’t panic. It’s a hardy thing." We do have garlic cloves available for sale now at Skillin's but they do sell fast. I love garlic but I am going to confess something now. I have never planted it. There! I wrote it now I need to pick some up and plant some!

FLOWER GARDEN

"DON’T DEADHEAD FADED perennials, biennials and annuals if you want to collect seed (non-hybrids only) or plan to let some self-sow. Nicotiana, annual poppies, larkspur, clary sage and many others fall into this leave-alone group. So do plants with showy or bird-friendly seedheads, like coneflowers, some sedums, clematis and grasses." I love the coneflower; the seedheads are brilliant in the garden AND the birds love them.

"DAYLILIES can be dug and divided as they complete their bloom cycle, right into fall, if needed." We still have a great selection of daylillies and they are ON SALE along with all our perennials and shrubs and trees! The Time is NOW!!!! Big Sale at Skillin's!!

"PEONIES are best divided and transplanted in late August through September, if they need it. Remember with these fussy guys that “eyes” must not be buried more than an inch or two beneath the soil surface. " Great advice. And next year is bound to be a better year to enjoy peonies. So many nice peony blooms got battered by all that June rain.

"MANY POPULAR ANNUALS can be overwintered as young plants if you take and root cuttings now rather than try to nurse along leggy older specimens. Geraniums, coleus, wax begonias, even impatiens (to name just a few common ones), if grown in good light indoors and kept pinched and bushy, will yield another generation of cuttings for next spring’s transplants. Probably best to expend this effort and space on things you really treasure—an unusual form of something, not the garden variety." I agree with the latter piece of advice. Probably more accomplished gardeners than I can get better results from the cutting effort; my efforts have been mixed. However just growing something can be pretty fun in the winter if you have sun, space and time. Not many of us have all 3.

"IF TUBEROUS BEGONIAS are starting to go slack, let them dry off and rest early, or they will rot. This ultra-wet season was too much for mine, which have been under cover in the garage drying for weeks now. " Good 2009 advice here; this has been a strange season.

"PREPARE NEW beds for fall planting by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top." Skillin's Garden Log star KCB is a real advocate of this method! This does work well to vanquish grassy weeds that are in the way of a new planting bed!

"RE-EDGE BEDS to make a clean line and define them. Don’t let them get overrun just because summer’s wound down. A clean edge makes a big difference." I have spent some recent time doing this. Grass from the lawn is invasive and can blur the lines between lawn and flower bed quickly.

HOUSEPLANTS

"REST AMARYLLIS BULBS by putting them in a dry, dark place where they will have no water at all for a couple of months. I put mine in a little-used closet." Good advice and check out this link for a very concise rundown on how to get amaryllis to rebloom: How Can I Get My Amaryllis to Rebloom?

"IF HOUSEPLANTS NEED repotting, do it before they come inside later this month (less messy than in the house!). Don’t step up more than an inch (on small pots) or a couple (on large ones). Most plants don’t like to swim in their containers." Also check your plants carefully for any pests. IF you suspect the presence of little creatures then come see us for some very effective and safe to use Systemic Houseplant Granules by Bonide.

LAWNS

"MID-AUGUST TO MID-SEPTEMBER is prime lawn-renovation and planting time in the North. Have you reseeded yet?" Last year at this time I did a lot of re seeding and over seeding using Black Beauty Grass Seed by Jonathan Green. (http://www.jonathangreen.com/blackbeauty.php) I HIGHLY recommend it as I am very pleased with the results. I team the seed up with a product called Grass Seed Accelerator (compressed paper pellets) AND daily waterings and before long I have a rich deeply rooted grass. This fall will bring a little more reseeding in some areas as the cold of Skillin's Country will always mean some re seeding but the Black Beauty holds up best through the cold and wet that we have here.

"DON’T BAG OR RAKE clippings; let them lie on the lawn to return Nitrogen to the soil, right through the last mowing in late autumn." Absolutely true and furthermore the use of all natural lawn products like the All Natural Four Step Lawn Program by Organica (http://organicatechnologies.com/consumer4stepnaturallawn.asp) will make best and fastest use of those leaves.

COMPOST HEAP & MULCH

"ORDER A SUPPLY of bulk mulch, which is cheaper than the packaged kind and also eliminates the waste of all those heavyweight plastic bags. Many local nurseries deliver. Top up mulch in all garden beds as they get cleaned up gradually in fall." I actually prefer using composts for most of my garden beds and we do sell bulk compost that can be easily delivered.

"DON’T LET THE HEAP dry out completely, or it will not “cook.” Turning it to aerate will also hasten decomposition, but things will rot eventually even if not turned. I extract more finished material and screen it each fall, to work into the gardens (and make more room for incoming fresh debris). " I have a compost heap and turning it IS important. We also sell natural enzymes called Compost Booster that hastens healthy decompostion. AND use your compost as your beds open up this fall; great for your soil and also great to keep that compost heap cycling with newer material.

Drop us a comment below with any questions or email us at info@skillins.com! We look forward to seeing you soon at Skillin's!

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
September 1, 2009