With the passing of Labour Day, another summer has just unofficially passed us by. How did that happen? Time is seriously such a mystery to me. Regardless, it’s back to routines and schedules for most, but still time to be working in the garden too. Early September is typically a time of harvesting with lots of our long cared for plants producing fruits and vegetables. However some things have already finished and it’s time to think about what to do in the garden in September.
If may have already planted some fall crops you may be ready for some other September garden duties. September of course is a big harvest month, and one thing we should keep in mind is the idea that we could have our first frost this month. Some vegetables will tolerate a light frost, but not all. So when it comes to harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peas peppers, zucchini, etc, we want to be sure to have brought in as much as possible before a frost hits our garden.
Another garden activity that can easily get by us as the summer progresses is weeding. If you have weeds in your garden, especially bigger weeds, you want to be sure to pull those and get them out of the garden as best as you can. The bigger weeds in particular will drop seeds and you’ll have more to deal with next spring. When pulling the bigger weeds from your garden, you should consider putting those right in your green bin as opposed to your own compost pile if you have one.
If you have had issues with cucumber beetles or other bugs, be sure to remove all the dead plant material from your garden and get it cleaned up well. The plants can harbour the insect for next year, so again this is material you should be putting in your green bin as opposed to your own compost. Take the extra time to do a really good clean up of any cucumber, squash, zucchini or any other vegetable where you may have had a beetle issue.
Another fall job in the garden is to remove any tomato plants that have had issues with tomato blight. Do another good clean up to be sure none of the infected plant material is left in the garden is a preventive measure for next year. We didn’t hear of as many people being affected by tomato blight this year, but something to consider if you ever do up struggling with it.
One of the more fun jobs to think about for late September or early October is planting bulbs. What fun to plant some fall bulbs and look forward to tulips, crocuses, daffodils after a long winter! Think about colour and placement and then wait for some cooler temperatures and get ready to plant some hardy bulbs.
You can watch our Facebook Live discussion on this topic…and see how my tomatoes did. 🙂
Are you working on any clean up in your garden this September? Still harvesting or mostly done for this year? Let me know how things are looking in your garden! 🙂
Grow with Me and Wile’s Lake Farm Market is sponsored by Wile’s Lake Farm Market located in Wileville, Nova Scotia. Wile’s Lake Farm Market currently carry many different varieties of fall bulbs grown in Holland, in their market. Their knowledgeable staff is also available to answer any questions you may have.
