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 (mid September) Garden Talks

Hello again,

It is nearly mid September. We have some good gardening tips for you. Check back often as we will add to this post on a regular basis until late September.

Click HERE for early September Garden Talks!


*Pruning Raspberries

Now is the perfect time to prune raspberries and to prepare for next year. Click HERE for a link that illustrates well proper raspberry care.

*Decorating Tip!

Last year Sally in Falmouth placed some pumpkins in the midst of some established plantings at the Falmouth store and it created quite a stir! We will be doing this again when our pumpkins arrive! (Any day now!)

I took these pics and they are not great. This beautiful planting is actually fairly loaded with pumpkins and looks great! Bored with pumpkins on the porch? Place some pumpkins in your plantings--you will be pleased!

Check back soon for more Garden Talks!

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
September 11, 2012

September (early September) Garden Talks

Hello again,

My goodness! Where has August gone? Where has the summer gone? Ah well September in Skillin's Country is always beautiful and always an active time.

 We press on--enjoy your time as much as you can; smile as often as you think of it--isn't it wonderful we are made with the ability to smile and to laugh? Look for life's joys in the smallest of places and in the quietest of times. Joy is here; joy IS there.

It is a great time to Get in the Garden!

*Winds and fast changing early fall weather can leave us with all kinds of fallen leaves and branches. Spend some time with a rake and get the dead material picked up from your lawn and garden. Not only will your area look better so that will help you to feel better but 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.  Extend this thought to your gardening effort 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.

*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!

*I am not the best photographer in the world but I do want to show you quickly and easily how I carry my different garden products around my yard. (See the picture below).

We all need a good quality garden cart. (Yes, we have some at Skillin's!). I love a good garden cart because it features one of the best inventions ever--the wheel--and by using those wheels you can carry some heavy products around. I have over 100 pounds of products in that cart. It is easy to wheel and also the cart gets the products off the ground and allows me much less bending!

I had multiple goals (actually 2 which I will detail in a moment) that I wanted to achieve. The garden cart helps me to  consolidate my products, to easily wheel them around my yard and to not bend down so much while picking up bags.

In the cart, I have tall fescue Grass Seed (we sell Bonide's Heat and Drought mix, Seed Accelerator (compressed paper pellets that once wet gives the seed a nice cover), Espoma's Garden Tone and also Espoma's Holly Tone. So here are my aforementioned two afternoon goals:

  1) Get some grass seed and Seed Accelerator down on some thin spots. Bonide's Heat and Drought grass seed contains 3 very hardy blends of Tall Fescue and has a rich green look. The Tall Fescue roots grow very deep which means your lawn will look great with less water, show more insect and disease resistance, and endure the cold winter temperatures better.

I often overseed parts of my lawn that are getting a little thin. This is easily accomplished by scratching the soil, laying the seed down, scratching the seed in and covering the seed with compressed paper pellets such as Grass Seed Acclerator or Penn Mulch. These pellets expand and provide a nice thin cover to the seed. Water daily and you will have thick grass soon!

  2) My second goal this afternoon was to give my perennials, shrubs and evergreens (like rhododendrons) their second feeding of all natural fertilizers for the season. Some of my gardening peers discourage feeding of flowering plants at this point of the year. I take a different tact. I know I can be accused of trying to sell lots of fertilizer. But I garden naturally and my take for most flowering situations (perennials, shrubs, vegetable gardens) is that we ask a great deal of our plants and soils in a short amount of time. Therefore, my feeling and experience is that most flowering plants perform best with 2 gentle, spaced apart, feedings of all natural fertilizers. This would be something like Pro Gro by North Country Organics or Flower, Plant or Garden Tone by Espoma for most flowering plants and Holly Tone by Espoma for acid loving plants like evergreens, blueberries and blue hydrangeas. Directions should be followed.

My thought is that the feedings should be spaced apart. For example, Spring and late Summer; Early Summer and Fall, etc. I believe that these foods work with the biology of the soil and the plant's roots benefit first. The roots become bigger and stronger with better biology in the soil. Then the plant's performance becomes more vigorous over time. The plant can then better withstand our cold winters, wet springs and dry, hot summers with deeper and stronger roots.

Most of my plants have had their Spring and early summer feeding. Now it is time for the late summer and fall second feeding!

*Great gardening friend Tom Atwell of the Maine Sunday Telegram in 2012 wrote a great article for September gardening. I highly recommend you read this well timed and well written piece.

Some highlights from Tom Atwell's piece:

  **"September is the best time to do lawn work. Lawns grow best in cool, moist weather, and that is fall. If you want to put in a new lawn, get the work done before the end of the month."

  **"Expanding or renovating perennial and shrub gardens in the fall makes sense for a number of reasons, not the least of which is financial. Garden centers generally lower their prices on plants in the fall, so you can get more plants for the money. (We are having a GREAT sale on shrubs, trees and perennials right NOW at Skillin's!)

In addition, the growing season is fresh in your mind. You know the areas where the garden was just a swath of green for a month during the summer. Buy some plants that will bloom during that period to give it a bit more interest.

You can also move plants. Sometimes you discover a shorter plant that is hidden by all of the plants around it. Or a plant that you put in the front of the border has grown taller than the label said it would, and is hiding the plants behind it. This is an ideal time to rearrange the garden to suit your preferences."

  **"Fall is also my favorite time for cutting back roses, especially rugosas. Put on leather gloves, a flannel shirt and a sweat shirt so your arms don't get scratched. Wade right in and really cut them back. And pull out the weedy plants while doing it.

One other hint: If a plant is not doing well or if you just don't like it, it is perfectly acceptable to dig it out and throw it away. Life is too short to put up with a bad plant."

Thanks again to Tom Atwell for the above 3 points and the great article I cited above!

*Good gardener Margaret Roach of A Way to Garden publishes some great gardening chores each month. Her September list of garden tasks is excellent as always and a couple of pointers really caught my eye.

  **From Margaret: "PEAK PLANTING AND DIVIDING time is upon us; make that work include some focus on the addition of fall and winter plants to the landscape.

Maybe something gold? Maybe something full of fruit?

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. Last year at this time I made a walkabout and identified various shrubs whose days were numbered; just not enough bang for the buck (well, for the space they take up), or simply too big to fit where they grew anymore. Down and out they came early this spring."

  **More great Tree and Shrub advice from Margaret: " IF YOU’RE ON THE DRY SIDE, unlike me, 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. (I totally agree with this advice and further recommend an application of all natural Wilt Pruf in mid November to your broad leafed evergreens like rhododendrons. Wilt Pruf really helps to reduce transpiration or moisture loss that high winter winds and dry winter air effect upon vulnerable broadleafed evergreens)

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."

Thanks Margaret for the above 3 points!

*Want to try some Simple Roasted Tomatoes? Click HERE for a great post and recipe by our friends at the Gardener's Journal!

*Seeing many holes in your hosta? And in your broccoli and some of your annuals (my zinnias are getting punished) ? Well that is the work of slugs. The moisture we have received lately has made Skillin's Country a very hospitable environment for slugs and they love to make big holes in our plants. Spread some Slug Magic by Bonide (very safe to use around kids and pets) around your plants and your slugs will disappear rapidly.

*Paul Parent sends out some great email advice and I highly recommend you go to his website to sign up for his weekly emails.

Paul reminded us this past week that now is the best time to eliminate Japanese bamboo if it is plaguing your garden space. The Japanese bamboo is producing beautiful white flowers and soon will produce seed. By spraying the plant now you not only set the plant back BUT you sterilize seeds and that will hold the plant back from producing.

*Paul also has this to say about fall vegetable growing:

"Now is the time to plant your fall vegetable garden, so clean up those spaces where the crops are done producing and plants seeds for fresh vegetables during October. you have time now to plant green and yellow beans, peas, leaf lettuce of all types, radishes, Swiss chard, and spinach. In mid-September, fresh garlic bulbs will be available, so make room for them now and condition the soil before planting them. (I just planted some carrot seeds today in some available space. Also Skillin's has garlic bulbs available right now!)

Prepare the soil just like you do in the spring with compost, animal manure, or seaweed kelp. Your soil is warm and the seed will quickly germinate, so be sure to keep the soil moist at all times to help speed up germination. If you can use a liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks, your plant will mature quickly and before long you will be eating fresh vegetables in early October. Fall vegetables have fewer insect and disease problems than those grown during the summer and cooler weather gives them more flavor. Extend your harvest to October, but you must plant now to give the plants time to grow. Enjoy!"

Thanks Paul!

We have 2013 certified Botanical Interest seeds available here at Skillin's as well as all natural fertlizers like Fish and Seaweed Blend by Neptune's Harvest to get the job done on a great Fall vegetable garden!

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
September 7, 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