It’s almost Labor Day and time to enjoy all the traditions that come along with it. We like to stay home for the long weekend and take care of last minute Back-to-School preparations, relax and enjoy our last Monday of sleeping in for a while. This is also the perfect time to start getting the garden ready for fall so it’s not a mad scramble to get it all done before first frost (been there, done that, got the t-shirt). I know it sounds odd to be thinking of frost when it’s almost 100° out, but when you’re busy with work, school and everything else it sneaks up on you quick. By no means do I try to do it all in one weekend, but I’m a planner so I make a plan. This is what my Fall Schedule will look like, I hope I can get it all done before the snow flies.
First, I will start by dead heading and pulling up any annuals that have not done well over the hot summer. I collect all the seeds that I can while doing this. I am going to have tons of hollyhock and petunia seeds!
Next, I try to tackle the weeding, which seems to be never ending. As my potted annuals start to die off, I clean out the pots that I won’t be re-potting with fall flowers and get them ready for storage in the barn.
Soon it will be time to pick the last of the vegetables, clean out all the raised beds and add a layer of much for next year. Trim back the peonies and lilies when they start to whither, keep an eye on all the other perennials, cut back and mulch them when they are ready. Cut back the rose bushes and any broken or damaged tree branches.
Do I want to plant more tulips and daffodils? Yes! Get them in the ground now. Yay Spring!
By the time I get to this point of my Fall Schedule, leaves will be falling (lots of raking) and the weather will have cooled considerably. Once we’ve had a few cold nights it will be apple picking time. Be sure to wait for cooler weather to bring the sugar up in the apples to give them a lot of flavor.
Lastly, clean out and store the rest of the flower pots. Put away all of the lawn decorations and furniture and finish mulching the flower beds and rose bushes. Clean and oil my gardening tools before storing them.
It sounds like a lot of work and can be daunting to look at it all at once. But if you break it down to a few tasks once a week or so you will be amazed at how easy it is to get it all done. Then you can put on a pot of stew, fix a cup of hot apple cider and look out at all you have accomplished. It’s a very satisfying feeling to know that you have taken care of things the way you should.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ~ Galatians 6:9 (ESV)
