Our community has enjoyed a beautiful, long garden season this year! Gardeners and all of us in the nursery business have been watching the days closely awaiting the First Average Frost and yes,
it has arrived as predicted – in the small hours of October 28th. There are a number of gardening tasks which can still be completed before the ground freezes. Remember, the days are growing shorter; therefore “making hay while the sun shines,” takes on extra meaning over the next couple of weeks. The following is a list of to-do’s specific for this month:
✦ Store harvested pumpkins and winter squash in a cool, dry place at 50 to 55 degrees F
✦ Recycle materials from garden cleanup; do not compost diseased or insect infested materials
✦ Blow out sprinkler system
✦ Incorporate amendments when spading up the vegetable and/or annual flower garden
✦ Finish planting bulbs (and last minute perennials-water in completely and mulch 3″-4″)
✦ Dig up and store summer-blooming bulbs and tubers (cannas, dahlias, and gladiolus) in a cool,
dark and dry place (see first bullet item)
✦ Older pine tree needles turn brown and fall off in late summer through fall. This is a normal
condition
✦ Make final application of nitrogen fertilizer to cool-season lawns such as bluegrass and tall
fescue while grass is still green
✦ Control perennial broadleaf weeds
✦ Spider movements into the home increase with cool weather
