For gardeners, September is potentially a very important month as the late summer heat transitions to the relatively cooler days of autumn. A time to get your garden ready for the coming months, caring for your plants, and transforming with the seasons.
This guide will walk you through those typical September gardening tasks. Learn what you need to do on planting and maintaining your garden, and ensuring that everything stays beautiful into the fall.
General September Gardening Tasks
As we shift from summer into fall, September is that pivotal month to monitor your garden maintenance. Completing these few tasks today will help to ensure your garden stays healthy and alive through the cooler months ahead.
Weeding and Mulching:
Weeding is one of your biggest priorities during September. Weeds steal nutrients, water, and sunlight from your plants; so if you let those weeds grow wild, be prepared to do some weeding. Manually remove them by hand or using a hoe.
Get weeds dead and gone before they can do more harm next year; then apply some mulch around the plants. Among its benefits, mulch retains moisture in the soil, inhibits weed growth, and insulates plant roots as the weather gets progressively cooler.
Pruning and Deadheading:
The most common action taken in your garden to look its best is called pruning and deadheading. Plants such as roses and dahlias benefit from deadheading or the removal of spent flowers, so that they continue to bloom.
If you have perennials that have already bloomed, then cutting back excess growth will not only neaten up your garden but prepare them for their winter nap. Just be careful not to prune too late into the month since that can prompt new growth that may not make it through the first frost.
Lawn Care:
When the temperatures drop your grass will began to grow more vigorously. Mow your lawn regularly, but when mowing, set the blades a little higher than usual! That will help keep the grass warm during those colder nights.
This is also a good time for aerating your lawn (using a lawn aerator), which allows water and nutrients to better reach the roots. Keep a look out for any bare patches and apply a fall fertilizer to these areas. This keeps your lawn condition ahead of schedule before the spring rolls around.
Planting in September
September is an ideal time to plant cool-season crops, spring bulbs, and hardy perennials to keep your garden thriving into fall and beyond.
Vegetables:
Cool-season crops that you can plant in September include lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. For a late fall harvest, root vegetables such as beets, carrots, and radishes can be planted. These crops often have a sweeter taste when harvested during fall itself.
Flowers:
Now is the best time to plant spring flowering bulbs like daffodils, tulips and crocuses. September is the last month to plant bulbs — so leave planting a little longer and your bulbs should be ready to establish roots before the cold of winter, promising wonderful springs.
You can also split and move your perennials if they are too outgrown in their spaces. This encourages the plants to send out new growth, and ultimately it will be better for flowering next year.
Herbs:
The cooler autumn weather can be good for many herbs like parsley, cilantro, and chives: sown outdoors directly in the garden. These herbs grow best in the cool weather and can be harvested long into fall and early winter. Pot them, or plant them out into your herb garden – for fresh herbs months after the summer selections are but a distant memory.
Shrubs and Trees:
In September, plant new shrubs and trees now for the best time to get them established. The soil is still warm, which promotes root growth and the air temperatures are cooler, so there less stress on the plants.
Whether planting evergreens or deciduous trees as well as flowering shrubs, be sure to water them well and deeply, especially before the first frost. This allows them a very vital part which is to create deep roots for winter survival.
Garden Maintenance Tips
September to do list in your garden for fall season: Regular garden maintenance can address soil health, pest control, and conditions necessary to withstand the cooler temperatures.
- Soil Enrichment – Work in plenty of organic matter, such as compost or manure, into your garden beds. Soil fertility is enhanced, structure improves and soil is prepared for future planting. Test your soil pH and correct it if needed to allow for optimal plant growth.
- Pest and Disease Control – Keep a lookout for pests or diseases on your plants. Disease and insect pests can damage plants, fruit, and veggies if left unchecked; so make sure you remove any diseased plant material and treat with appropriate treatments to affected areas promptly. To avoid pest infestations, you will need to clear away fallen leaves perpetually so that your garden is a tidy one.
- Watering Adjustments – Back off on the watering in order to prepare for winter, slowdown, but do not stop completely. Make sure to water in new shrubs, trees, and perennials as they are getting established. Conserve water with drip irrigation or soaker hoses.
- Tool Maintenance – Keeping your gardening tools clean and sharp with rust treatments will improve their performance. It protects metallic parts and makes sure your tools are usable for next season.
The point of the matter is, when you work to keep up on these most important maintenance items, the gardening will thrive at its peak for fall.
Special September Gardening Tasks
There are a few special September gardening tasks that will help wrap up the growing season and get us ready for cold weather. From the final harvesting of late vegetables to beginning compost piles, these chores maintain our gardens producing and thriving.
Harvesting:
September is a time rich in harvest. Harvest: Most late-summer crops — such as tomatoes, peppers and beans— are still producing; harvest them before the first killing frost.
You must keep picking the leaves regularly, which encourages the plants to have more energy for new growth. Even more so, pick herbs to dry or freeze for over the winter. If you have an overabundance of vegetables, this might be the time to can, pickle, or freeze some of them so that your garden goodness will carry you thru the winter as well.
Composting:
If you have not set up a compost pile yet, now is the time to do it. Composting will convert garden waste into valuable soil organic material. Garden waste includes leaves, grass clippings, and garden trimmings.
Remember to mix green materials (such as kitchen scraps) with brown materials (like dried leaves) is the key for a good compost pile. To help moisture and oxygen, turn over your compost regularly; it will attract more bugs during decomposition.
Preparing for Winter
Protecting Sensitive Plants:
As we progress further into fall, it will soon be time to start considering protecting tender plants from the cold. Move tender perennials and tropical plants indoors, or protect them with frost cloths on cold nights. Cold frames to heat soil a few weeks early, and row covers for late season vegetables to go a few weeks longer.
Cleaning and Storing Tools:
As the gardening season begins to wind down during fall, don’t forget to properly clean and store your tools. Make sure to wash off any dirt and sap from the blades of the tools, and then sharpen them up; apply a thin coat of oil to all the metal parts. Tools will last longer if their value is maintained properly, and you can be ready for another spring clean-up next year.
Conclusion
Garden prep during September – by attending to these jobs, you can prepare your garden for the following months. Planting cool-season crops, cleaning up flower beds, and even turning the soil over in your garden have a unique part to play, when it comes to maintaining a healthier and prettier garden. We love the September gardening season and hope you can embrace it too!
