Sow seeds of hardy annuals such as Shirley poppies, cornflower and larkspur so they can come up before winter arrives.
The seedlings will live throughout the winter for an earlier bloom next summer.
Gardening Sow Seeds of Hardy Annuals
- Scatter a mixture of equal parts iron sulfate and powdered sulfur around azaleas and rhododendrons to acidify the soil.
- Bring house plants inside before nights get cold.
- Make a list of tender bulbs that have to be dug before heavy frosts.
- To get the last crop of slugs before winter, use a slug bait labeled for the job, follow the label directions exactly, and keep it out of reach of children, pets and wildlife.
Controlling Slugs
Slugs hide by day, so clear away boards, debris and other hiding places, or lay boards on the soil as traps and collect the slugs each morning.
- Sowbugs hide in damp, decaying leaves and mulch, so rake up debris, keep mulch and compost pulled back from plant stems, and water early in the day so the soil surface is drier by evening.
- Plant ground covers right away.
- Try some of the various periwinkle, pachysandra, lilyturf, and English ivy. Try foamflower and strawberry begonia (Saxifraga) in shade.
Order and plant perennials right away so they can get rooted before freezing. Mulch well for winter.
Japanese Boxwood
For a different evergreen shrub, this year try the Japanese boxwood. It is one of the hardest.
Using Compost in The Garden
- Plan where to use your compost.
- All except the very top layer can be used this fall. It does not improve with age as do wine and cheese.
- Try to remake at least one flower bed each year.
- Remove all growth and work in three or four inches of compost.
- At the same time, mix in one of the complete commercial fertilizers.
- Try filling bare spots in your lawn with two-inch plugs of grass instead of reseeding.
Collect Seed for Trees and Shrubs
- Gather ripening fruit from trees and shrubs, remove the pulp and sow seed in a pot of soil.
- Make sure the pot has drainage; leave it outside all winter.
Watch it grow come spring!
44659 by Victor H. Ries