October 2009 Garden Tips
1 Once soil temperatures drop below 60*F it’s the perfect time to start planning your first color of spring by planting your spring flowering bulbs. Such bulbs include tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, alliums, anemone, crocus and other minor bulbs. Don’t forget to add bone meal or bulb fertilizer into the holes while planting.
2 Tender summer bulbs such as Dahlia tubers, gladiola corms and canna rhizomes should be dug before the ground freezes and stored in a cool, dark place. Dahlia and canna bulbs should be in a breathable container with moist peat moss while gladiola bulbs should be placed in a paper bag.
3 Prepare your evergreens for winter by supplying them with ample water. Newly planted and established evergreens need supplemental water to help them survive winter, particularly in drought years, which we are in this year. A nice slow trickle from the garden hose for an hour or so per evergreen once a week till the ground freezes or you shut your water off should do the trick. Evergreens include, yews, junipers, spruce, pines, and arborvitae.
4 Collect and save seeds for next year from your favorite direct-sow vegetables such as zucchini, squash, pumpkins, melons and cucumbers.
5 If you’re planning on adding mulch to your flower gardens this fall, use a recycled mulch like red cedar, which is made from post-production timber scraps and not whole trees like cypress mulch.
Resources:
Heidi’s Lifestyle Gardens
612.366.7766
Patio Town/Villa Landscapes
www.patiotown.com
6 ISSUES (1 YEAR)
