Well, September is here which means that the school buses are on the roads and fall is on the horizon. The nights are already dropping down to be nice and cool where I live and while the days are actually starting to cool off some, this week has felt more like early summer.
Regardless, September is a busy month for gardening and I thought I’d make a quick list with some projects and tasks that you might want to consider this month. September is all about reaping some of the rewards from all your hard work in the summer and preparing for the next year.
While it will vary greatly depending on your zone, I wanted to share some things that are happening where I live. So here are some things we’re planning on doing this September:
- Harvest – There are a lot of veggies and fruits that are still going strong. Depending on where you live, the plants still giving you produce will change. Be sure to collect them before the frost comes in!
- Canning – Okay, so this is actually an all-summer thing, but I still wanted to include it as there are a lot of veggies and fruits that will finish this month.
- Collect/sow seeds – You’ll want to collect any seed pods you want from plants and store them in a cool place indoors for next year. Depending on where you live and what you’re planting, this is a good time to sow seeds so they have time to germinate before the frost kicks in.
- Move plants indoors – Where I live, we’ll start getting frost towards the middle or end of the month, and the nights will continue to be colder. Move those picky plants indoors so they aren’t harmed by the cool autumn nights.
- Plant late-season veggies – Peas, broccoli, turnips… this varies by your region, but for many, now is the time to get them in the ground for an ongoing fall harvest.
- Compost – In September we usually start clearing out beds and shifting compost around in preparation for those fall leaves that we bother raking up.
- Bulbs – If you have colder winters, then September or October is a good time to lift and store tender bulbs like dahlias so that they aren’t killed by the frost.
Of course, we’re also doing some lawn care (like raking leaves and jumping in the piles, of course) and a few other things, but that’s the basics. What’s on your to-do list for this month?
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