The cooler evenings are a reminder that fall is here. There will still be an occasional warmer day, but we can count on two things happening soon, shorter days and an eventual hard freeze. On average the first hard frost in much of Ohio occurs in October.
According to a gardening newsletter I receive from Hudson Seed Company, “October is the garden gate of the season. It’s the dividing line between one year’s bounty and the next. With its arrival comes the end of the planting period for most crops, and the last call for many others. But Octobers also herald harvests of squash, sunflowers, and fall greens. And it offers us the opportunity both to plant seeds to overwinter and to pamper our growing spaces so our gardens will be better than ever come spring. It’s a month of appreciation for what we’ve worked so hard to achieve over the past growing season, and an investment in the year to come.”
It’s time to start putting our gardens to bed for the winter.
The “pre-freeze” check list includes:
1. Take pictures of your accomplishments for 2024.
2. Mulch perennial beds, trees, and shrubs; fall is an excellent time to apply mulch to suppress winter annual weeds.
3. Harvest the last of the tender produce in your garden.
4. Label the tender bulbs and tuber plants that will be dug after the frost.
5. Keep emptying your rain gauge to avoid damage from freezing water.
6. Empty birdbaths and cover or flip them over to prevent rainwater collection.
7. Bring in your house plants. Be sure to check for insects first!
8. Use compressed air to blow out shallow water lines and garden hoses.
9. Disconnect hoses from hydrants.
10. Select flower displays worth prolonging; keep an eye on nighttime low temperatures and be prepared to cover them.
11. Empty your hand-held sprayers.
12. Drain pumps and filter bowls on power sprayers, blow water from boom or wand lines.
13. Properly prepare water gardens for the winter.
My favorite garden blogger, Margaret Roach, reminds gardeners to continue to weed! If you can’t pull the weeds, at least deadhead your weeds now and discard the seeds! Fewer seeds now, fewer weeds next year! I am all for that, aren’t you?
Remember the expression “One year seed, seven years weed.”
Are you interested in becoming a Master Gardener Volunteer?
The next training starts Thursday, March 6, 2025, and ends on Thursday, May 1. Clinton and Fayette County Extensions will be hosting the classes. Orientation and the first four sessions will be held at the Clinton County Extension office. The last four sessions at the Fayette County Extension office. Classes will be held 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The registration deadline is Feb. 28, 2025. The class costs $100 plus the cost of a required background check. Call the Clinton County OSU Extension office for more information at 937-382-0901.
You will learn about botany, soils and fertilizer, entomology, plant pathology, plant propagation, houseplants, lawns, vegetables, herbs, fruit, woody ornamentals, and Herbaceous Ornamentals and lots more! Volunteers are not required to have gardening skills or knowledge; but a passion for learning about gardening and sharing this knowledge with others is a must. Come join us!
