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Prepare for Spring Gardening in the Fall


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Prepare for Spring Gardening in the Fall

Cheryl J. Shenkle

September 10, 2021

Start by cleaning and organizing your shed! Now may be the time to add a small tool shed. The flexible vinyl 1-2 car “garage” is an ideal storage area at a relatively low cost. Clean, replace, repair and sharpen tools. Have one good accessible location to store all of them with their handles down. Oil the wooden handles and metal edges once they are cleaned and sharpened. Have a tarp, leaf rake, rope and bags for leaves. Simply rake leaves onto the tarp, string the rope through all four holes, pull them tight and slide your prize to a wire circle for the winter. By spring you will have a great soil amendment. Empty watering cans and hoses, Clean and store in a dry place.

Collect opaque gallon milk jugs or plastic juice containers for winter sowing. Tie a cord through the handles and hang them somewhere out of your way till you’re ready to use them. Collect white newspaper for spring seedling pots. Find and clean old white venetian blinds for making plant tags. Fill the boring times with garden crafts.

Get your Penn State Soil Test Kits early. Immediately on receipt of analysis, amend soil as recommended. Pick up your grass seed and fertilizers now before they are sold out. Stash a bale of straw under a tarp or in a dry area.

Lay down cardboard for new spring beds. You can use it for composting over the winter by creating layers of organic materials and more cardboard. Also, lay down cardboard in troublesome weedy areas to keep those pesky weeds from emerging in the spring. Plant grass seed and mow first thing in the spring to keep those areas from becoming weedy again. Sow grass seed in thin spots in your lawn by the beginning of October.

Check rain gutters and make sure they are functioning properly. Be sure they empty into containers for water collection but make sure they are empty before winter by diverting downspouts till after the spring thaw. You do not want your water storage containers or pipes to freeze and crack.

Immediately clean plants out of the garden once there is no longer time for them to produce. Compost good vegetation but place diseased or weedy plants into the trash or a bonfire. When beds are empty, weed and rake, then plant Annual Rye which will die out by spring. It’s about 50 cents a pound at local feed stores.

Clean and sanitize bird feeders, waterers and perches but don’t put them out till after the first frost so that migrating birds aren’t induced to leave late or even stay behind. Stock up on good quality bird seed and suet, or make your own. It’s easy, and so nice to reach into a storage area to grab a new cake made with your stale grain products and some cheap lard.

Use an extra trash can for soil recycled from dead plants in pots. It’s surprising how much you may be able to collect for reuse in the spring. Be sure the can has a tight lid.

Prune plants for winter dormancy before bringing them inside. Check for insects on the leaves. Spray if there are any suspicious spots. Before bringing plants into the house, dump them out of their pots to check for insects, mice, snakes. Check the sides and surface also.

Wrap any prized shrubs with burlap for support against heavy snow breakage. Add temporary wraps to small trees to avoid sunscald cracks and small rodent damage. Take cuttings from your favorite shrubs and get them set into a sand pit for winter. You will need the proper rooting hormone also. Rake under shrubs and trees to clear out debris. Leave bare soil out to at least 6 inches from the bark. Then add a donut shaped ring of cardboard and woodchips.

Prepare a place in your basement/house/attic/garage to overwinter plants. Store an extra bag of seed starting soil and potting soil in an easy to access location. Remember those times when you needed it and it was frozen and

unusable? Also a small assortment of plant pots could come in handy. Put your winter blooming houseplants into a dark area before Thanksgiving to prep them for blooming.

Check your seeds and make a list of what needs replacing. If you have a list prepared then Seed Swaps may fill those spaces. Move all seeds to the coolest dry place in your house. Refrigerate those that will need frozen before germination.

Early fall is the perfect time to divide your shrubs. Have a location in which you can plant the extra divisions right in their pots for spring planting. Cover them well with deep straw and add a couple of enclosed Bait traps for mice. Be sure to amend that area well for soft soil. No water should drain into it over winter.

Certified Master Gardeners are local volunteers trained by Penn State to answer Horticulture questions with properly researched information. For a “best practices” answer to your question, call Penn State Jefferson County Extension at 849-7361, Ext 508, e-mail JeffersonMG@psu.edu, or mail your question to 186 Main Street, Suite 3, Brookville, PA 15825. Master Gardeners are available for group presentations. Contact the office for specifics.

Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

revised 9/11/21 1pm

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