To prepare your lawn for cooler temperatures and help it thrive next year, rake large quantities of fallen leaves to keep them from choking grass off from the sun, Better Homes & Gardens says. Seed or sod any bare spots. Aerate high-traffic areas to loosen compacted soil and pull weeds, which can get established as other plants start to die off for the winter. Raise the mower blade to encourage root growth. Finally, this is the best time of year to feed common cool-weather turf grasses, experts say, which can result in earlier earlier greening and an improved appearance in the spring. #FallGardeningTips
Tag: gardening tips
The Benefits of Mulching in the Fall
#Mulching is often a job that #gardeners perform in the #spring to maintain their beds’ moisture, keep weeds at bay and retard erosion. But many landscaping professionals also advise mulching in the #fall for the same purposes, HGTV says. Adding #mulch in the fall insulates the soil to provide a warm environment for earthworms and microbes that improve soil, and it insulates plant roots, which can protect seedlings that are still getting established. Plus, mulching in the fall may save you time during the busy spring planting season — and the weather likely won’t be as hot and sticky when you do it. #FallGardeningTips
Prep Your Garden for Spring in the Fall
With the start of #fall last weekend, many #home #gardeners across the country are starting to see their vegetable harvests slow and their flowers start to fade. That means it’s a good time to clean up and prep the #garden for the next growing season. First, remove any plants that show signs of weakness or disease, says EarthEasy, and any invasive weeds. Then, allow the healthy plants to die and decay naturally to enrich your soil. You may also choose to plant a cover crop such as rye, clover or barley and till those plants under in the spring to return valuable nutrients to the soil for all of your plantings. #FallGardeningTips
Enjoying the Bounty of a Summer Garden
For many people, there’s nothing like growing your own food. It’s healthy, cost-effective, #sustainable and above all, delicious! And if you followed some of The Organizing Blog’s previous #gardening tips, you’re probably drowning in fresh summer produce right now.
What to do with all of those garden-fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, melons, peaches and other delicacies is the question. If you’re anything like us, you planted with abandon eight to 10 weeks ago, and now must do whatever you can to make the most of that fresh produce.
One way is to share some of that bounty with friends, family and neighbors who don’t have the same amount or variety of produce. Whether they have the space or the ambition to grow their own fresh food or not, nobody is going to turn their nose up at a ripe heirloom tomato.
Another way to take advantage of summer’s bounty is to try a new recipe (or several). Base your meal plan on whatever produce you have in abundance, and you may wind up discovering a dish that you can revisit again even in the off-season.
Speaking of the off-season, there are plenty of ways to keep and store some of that produce for cloudier and colder days. Too many tomatoes? Make and freeze some marinara for a lasagna. Got lots of corn? Cut it off the cob and freeze the kernels in bagged portions for anytime use.
Many summer fruits and vegetables can be processed, portioned and frozen quickly for later use including peaches, plums, watermelon and peppers. Got bumper crop of basil? Make pesto ice cubes and pull one out any time you need to flavor a pasta or meat dish.
Freezing summer produce can make it last up to six months, but if you really want to put things up like the pioneers, try your hand at home canning. It’s simpler than it sounds, and you can make tons of sauces, pickles and jams that you can tap into for months — or give as gifts.
Even if you didn’t grow your own fruits and vegetables this year, don’t let summer’s bounty go to waste. Visit a local farmers market to get some of the freshest, healthiest foods you’ll taste all year. (And get enough to share!)
Gardening Season Begins Now
In places with four relatively distinct seasons, most people treat gardening as a warm-weather pastime that creates beauty around the home and abundance on the table. And with Mother’s Day in the rearview mirror, now’s the time to start if you haven’t already.
Avid gardeners have been planning for months, cultivating seeds indoors, prepping their tools and so on. But those who are late to the game can still get plants into the ground and experience satisfaction of growing their own flowers and vegetables.
The first step is to know your location’s plant hardiness zone at USDA’s site. This will help you determine the optimal times to plant, as well as inform any decisions on about which trees, flowers and crops grow best in your area.
Pretty much everything is fair game for planting at this point in the season, though gardeners in the northernmost reaches of the country — Zones 3 and 4 — may need to wait until the end of the month to allow the soil to warm sufficiently and protect against a final frost.
Early-season crops such as radishes, spinach, onions, lettuce, cabbage, beets, peas and carrots can go in immediately. Depending on location, seedling tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, sweet corn, cucumbers, potatoes, and herbs can be transplanted.
Continue planting warm-weather crops such as flowers and vegetables into June. Once seedlings are established, mulch to keep weeds at bay. Have stakes, cages or trellises ready for plants that climb or weigh themselves down with fruit, like tomatoes.
From here on out, maintenance is the name of the game. Keep your plants watered and fed with compost; weed if necessary. Deadhead annual flowers to keep them blooming. When vegetables mature, harvest in the early morning or evening when plants are least stressed.
Any foods you grow yourself will be healthier and more flavorful than what you buy in the store; they may even spur you to try a new recipe. And those flowers and shrubs will beautify your place and enhance your mood. Enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor!