September is a busy calendar month for attached edibles gardeners . harvest , cleaning up spent plant , net planting for fall and early winter harvest time and hide crop planting for bed that are fetch up for the time of year are all on the agenda . We ’ll review each area to help you plan your actions .

harvest

Many summer vegetable plantings will be make the ending of their productive lives . It is a sound judgement call on when to stop the harvest and dispatch plant . It count on plant stipulation , pest impact and intentions for that garden blank space ’s next stage . Picking when fruit and vegetables are young can aid keep plant going a bit longer . Items like tomatoes can be pick before full ripe to minimize pest damage , while uphold most “ summer tomato ” qualities . There are a bit of ways toripen green Lycopersicon esculentum off the vine .

This is also the time to debate how to optimize late season herbaceous plant harvest . twinge flowers will help prolong leaf output . Plants can be dig up and pot , cut and settle to be moved inside , cut for immediate use orpreserved by freezing or drying .

Planting

In our local hardiness zona 7a , some produce and vegetables can be found through mid - September . These admit beets , kale , collards , mustard , Brassica oleracea gongylodes , leeks , lettuce , Raphanus sativus longipinnatus , spinach and turnips . The earlier they are planted the better since growth will slow down as day shorten and temperatures drop .

Pests like sugar worms continue to attack brassicas including kale and collard greens until the first frost . Protecting new planting with a row cover can minimize pest hurt while offering a 4 - 5 stage temperature benefit and longer growing catamenia after frost . Check out this Garden Shed article forsimple row cover building ideas .

If you have been struggling with pests and disease this class , a great all - design source for identification and discourse options is theHome Grounds and Animals : 2021 Pest Management Guidefrom the VA Cooperative Extension . assure it out .

Preparing Beds for wintertime

If you are finished mature for the year , this is a good time to gear up your beds for next spring . First task is to thoroughly strip up the garden region . hit worn out flora material is essential to minimize wintering - over gadfly and disease carrying vegetation . It is beneficial to traveling bag and dispose of any plant material that can harbor pests or diseases .

Once cleaned , add constitutional matter in the physical body of compost , mulched leaf litter or constituent plant food , supply decomposition time to make nutrients plant approachable by spring . If you are n’t planting a cover crop , mulch beds with an organic mulch like wheat , chopped up leaves or aged wood chip

good drill is to plant a cover crop and keep lively roots in the soil yr around . Cover crops bring several welfare including building soil bodily structure , reduce erosion and compaction , weed stifling , adding organic topic , and in the case of leguminous plant , deposit atmospheric nitrogen for plant consumption . There are a couple of basic concealment crop choices :

If you are planning a novel garden or garden elaboration for next class , now is a undecomposed metre to begin preparing your soil . till to take away or bury aerofoil vegetation , adding organic matter and mulching or pass over cropping prior to winter will put you in good anatomy next year . The picture above shows a new garden sphere . The airfoil sens in the seam area is turn under to add some poorly needed organic issue to the Henry Clay subsoil . Adding some organic plant food based on soil test recommendations and planting a back crop this calendar month are the next steps .

More information on book binding crops can be found atthis link from the U of Maryland Extension .

General Tips

Garlicis considerably institute during October . Now is a good meter to purchase seed bulbs before local retailers sell out . net suppliers put up more variety for experimenter or glutton . The articleGrowing Garlic – Fall Planting from the Penn State Extension provides a concise sum-up of garlic selection , planting and care .

Give your tomato plantsone last feeding . Compost tea or Pisces emulsion should give them the extra zip they need to make that final pushing at the end of the time of year . pinch off small-scale green tomato plant and any fresh flowerswill channel the works ’s energy into ripening the remaining full - size yield .

If you ’ve been lax in yourgarden documentationthis class , tour your garden and   make promissory note   on this twelvemonth ’s variety , success , challenge and job , so that you’re able to learn for next twelvemonth .   Make a sketch   establish the location of this year ’s plants to be used next spring for rotating your crop , an important pestilence and disease direction practice .

proceed to weedyour garden to prevent the weeds from going to seed and germinating over the wintertime and spring . Keepthestrawberry patchweed free . Every weed you force will help piss weed easier next spring .

Pick pearswhen green and hard advanced . computer storage in a cool , blue seat to ripen .

Check peach tree diagram trunksand just below the soil at their base for stone drill holes . poke into the holes with a conducting wire to kill the borers .

withdraw two - year - sure-enough canesfromraspberry and blackberry plantsat ground story to reduce overwintering of disease . Fertilizers containing atomic number 19 , atomic number 15 and magnesium or atomic number 20 can be applied but do not naturalize or water at this time of the year .

blueberry bush bushes are commonly best dress after the wintertime dormant season . Get right advice for blueberry care from thisPenn State Extension publication .

Fall weed controlaround yield treesis crucial becauseweeds act as host to winter insect .

plant life lavenderseeds in the fall for bounce germination .

Whatever you do or do n’t do , enjoy the fall horticulture season . Cooler conditions , reflecting on the past time of year and making preparation for a better next year can be very satisfying . This yr , mayhap more than usual , our garden have been a wonderful diversion . See you next month at The Garden Shed .

informant :

“ Gardening by Month – September , ”   Missouri Botanical Garden , http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org / gardens - garden / your - garden / assistance - for - the - place - gardener / advice - baksheesh - resources / gardening - by - month / september.aspx

“ Monthly Horticulture Tip Sheets — Herbs , September , ”   Va. Coop . Ext . Albemarle / Charlottesville , https://albemarle.ext.vt.edu / content / dam / albemarle_ext_vt_edu / files / hort - tip - sheets/9 - 14 - herbs.pdf

“ Monthly Horticulture Tip Sheets — Fruit and Nuts , September , ”   Va. Coop . Ext . Albemarle / Charlottesville , https://albemarle.ext.vt.edu / depicted object / decametre / albemarle_ext_vt_edu / files / hort - tip - sheets/9 - 14 - fruits - nuts.pdf

Vegetable Planting Guide : https://resources.ext.vt.edu / contentdetail?contentid=2085&contentname = Virginia%27s%20Home%20Garden%20Vegetable%20Planting%20Guide:%20Recommended%20Planting%20Dates%20and%20Amounts%20to%20Plant

Pruning Blueberries in Home Fruit Plantings , Penn State Extension : https://extension.psu.edu / pruning - blueberries - in - home - fruit - planting

All photos : R Morini