Fall is the perfect time to evaluate the garden for improvement to your home’s curb appeal, and it is also the perfect time for planting. The cooler crisp days of October make it a great time to care for your yard and garden with the following tips:

•         YOUR CURB APPEAL can be enhanced by decorating with pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, mums, pansies, kale, and the great selection of Fall plants that are available.

•         Lawn seeding should be finished by October 15th this month to insure growth yet this fall. Choose a seed mix for your specific lawn area; sun, shade, sun/shade, play, drought, etc.

•         Winterize lawn mowers before storage, by draining gasoline from the tank and the gas line.

•         Apply a Winterizer fertilizer on lawns anytime from mid October through November to promote green growth in early spring, the BEST of the neighborhood.

•         The average first frost usually arrives sometime between October 15th and October 20th.

•         You can gain a few degrees of frost protection by covering tender plants with sheets or lightweight fabric row covers. DO NOT USE PLASTIC; this tends to “draw in” the cold temperatures.

•         Dig up Cannas, Dahlias, and Elephant Ears after frost nips their foliage. Before storing them, allow the plants to dry under cover in an airy frost-free place. Store in a cool, dry area, such as a basement, in paper sacks with peat moss.

•         Plant flower bulbs (Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus, etc.) for spring bloom. Plant them into groupings for a massed effect of spring color. To fertilize them, use bone meal or a complete bulb fertilizer at planting time.

•         October is an excellent month to plant trees, shrubs and perennials. This gives the plants a great start in the warm soil and cool weather of fall, with plenty of moisture in the spring to become established before the harsh summer heat and drought arrives.

•         Continue to water all your plants, especially evergreens, when soils are dry. Until the ground freezes, the plants need moisture for root growth even if they are going dormant.

•         After beds have been cleaned and raked, refresh them with bark mulch for the winter months.

•         Towards the end of October, trees should be fertilized with tree spikes at their drip line. Use one tree spike per one inch of tree trunk diameter. This will make for beautiful foliage next spring!

•         Harvest gourds when their shells become hard or when their color changes from green to brown.

•         DO NOT take hummingbird feeders down before mid October. The bird’s biological clock tells them when to migrate south. IT IS NOT dependent on how long we leave our feeders up. Stragglers migrating from areas that are more northern may also find your feeders for some needed nourishment.

            Enjoy your yard and garden in every season!

Time to go… See you in the Garden…
Sandi Hillermann McDonald