Also, some of the hummingbirds that will be flying down from the north might make a stopover at your feeder. A quarter cup of sugar with a cup of water barely boiled and cooled and set out in a hummingbird feeder will do the trick.
What about my perennials?
You can start thinking about dividing perennials now and even begin to do some digging. I generally donât wait until everything has died back â typically after a hard frost or freeze â because with the warming climate, things may continue to grow well through October and that doesnât leave you enough time.
The key with moving and dividing perennials is to get as much of the root system as you can and then keep your planting area from drying out. The warm soil will allow the roots to become quickly established.
Can I still plant seeds?
If youâre saving seeds of vegetables or flowers, this is a great time to do that. The particular seed variety will determine how you save them. For example, tomatoes like to have their seeds fermented in water for a few days to remove the gel and then dried out before storing them.
Iâve actually been experimenting with just putting seeds on paper towels and letting them dry out on there and then wrapping the paper towel and storing it in a paper bag labeled. When it comes time to plant, I cut little pieces of the towel and directly plant the seed. It seems to work pretty well.
Storing veggies for winter
If you have too much coming out of the garden, canning and lacto-fermenting are great ways to preserve vegetables. There are all sorts of recipes online and itâs very easy and inexpensive.
How about adding fall color?
Mums are already showing up in the garden centers, but I like to hold off until after Labor Day before planting these.
Look for plants with the buds unopened for the longest blooms. If you plant the ones that appear completely in flower, they will be done before October arrives.
Is it time to plant bulbs?
This is also a good time of the year to order your bulbs if you havenât done so already. Many of the more particular varieties would be sold out, but you can still get plenty by mail for planting later. I would hold off on planting bulbs for another month or so because the ground is still too warm.
Eventually, gardening will have to stop for the season, but for the next couple of months at least, there is still time to enjoy lots that the fall has to offer.
