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Yes, I know. We just got our first shot of cooler weather so you’re just now ready to get out and garden. Timing is everything when it comes to success with vegetables. The growers are running out of tomatoes and peppers already also. We do still have some 4 inch and 1 gal. available so do not wait. If you plan on growing beans, corn, squash, cucumbers or zucchini from seed or transplants, it is also time to get them into the ground. There is still plenty of time for cool season crops, such as beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kale, lettuce, radish and more. Stop by and pick up our Spring/Fall Planting Guide to help you plan your garden for the season. We want everyone to have a successful harvest this fall so please send us some photos of your bountiful harvests.

-Deanna

Oh my goodness, our nurseries are filling up with beautiful mums & marigolds!

Marigolds come in oranges and yellows and grow to around 10″-15″ tall. They love the sun and do great in pots around your garden or in the ground. If planting in a pot, plant with our MiracleGro potting mix and then fertilize with Hasta-Gro Plant Liquid Fertilizer through the growing season.

Turn your garden from summer to fall with our mums, available in reds and yellows and oranges and purples. They also love the sun! In November when the blooms look tired, take a pair of hedge shears and lightly trim off spent blooms to encourage new growth and blooms. Mums also like the Hasta-Gro Plant Liquid Fertilizer.

-Sally

Remember to rotate your crops from last season if possible. Also do not crowd your plants. Insects and disease love places that are overcrowded with no air circulation. Spacing your plants will limit the areas for the bugs to hide.

There are many organic options to keep insects and disease under control. For insects, use Insecticidal Soap for soft-bodied bugs, Spinosad for beetles, caterpillars, and leafminer. To prevent powdery mildew on curcurbits and cole crops, use Serenade or Neem Oil, when it comes to disease, it is always easier to prevent than to cure. Also, mulching the garden with Hardwood Mulch or Pine Straw will keep fungal spores from splashing up onto the plants.

Fall can be the best season for growing vegetables due to the cooler weather and more rainfall, unlike the spring garden where we are heading into the hottest season. So plant now, space things out, keep the garden weed free, fertilize regularly and be a good bug scout. And remember, only spray insecticides if necessary. We do not want to kill the bees or other pollinators in the garden.

-DeAnna

This beautiful vine is our climbing spinach we planted this past April. It’s not really spinach but the leaves look like and taste a lot like spinach. It is delicious fresh or steamed. Basella rubra aka Malabar spinach is a fast growing edible vine found in temperate climates around the world. It loves spring summer and fall temps but not so much colder weather.

As you can see it’ll climb on anything, maybe even a person if you stand too close too long! Mark it on your calendar to plant some next spring; we’ll be getting it in a 4″ pot!

Anytime between mid-September and mid-October is prime time to fertilize the lawn, trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers. Fertilizing while it is still warm is best because plants are still in their active growing season and taking up the nutrients provided.

Here’s a repost of DeAnna’s fertilizing guide from earlier this year:

“Anytime between mid-September and mid-October is prime time to fertilize the lawn, trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers. Fertilizing while it is still warm is best because plants are still in their active growing season and taking up the nutrients provided. Once the weather starts cooling down plants begin going into dormancy and therefore are not as likely to take up the nutrients needed for the fall and winter. Remember to water in the fertilizer with at least a ½ inch of irrigation. Never depend on the rain to water in your fertilizer, because as you know, it never rains when predicted, and also never gives us that perfect ½ inch. It either rains too much, too little, or not at all. Making sure the timing is right and proper amount of water is applied assures your lawn of getting the full benefit of the nutrients it needs to maintain healthy leaves and roots for the dormant season. We carry our Gill Lawn and Garden and also several organic lawn fertilizers. Never use Weed and Feed if you have any trees or shrubs in the yard. Trees are a broadleaf just like a weed, so it will try to kill them as well. Weed killers and weed preventers can be used in October once our temperatures moderate in the 80’s. We will talk about them more as the season approaches.”

-DeAnna

October is the month to do your fall lawn fertilizing and weed prevention. After that it is getting late to have maximum effect. If weeds are a problem every winter and spring, use a pre-emergent to prevent the weeds from sprouting. Amaze granules or Weed and Grass Stopper with Dimension are the best to use in October to prevent winter weeds and again in January to prevent spring weeds. An organic alternative is Corn Gluten. These chemicals only last one season, so be sure to re-apply in 3 months. If you have any other questions on Lawn care for the fall and winter, come see me at the Airline Store on Saturday October 10^th from 10:00-11:00, for our fall Garden Talk.

-DeAnna

Nothing says Fall like a bed of beautiful orange and yellow marigolds. We try to plant them every fall in front of the Alameda Store for a show- stopping pop of color. By now the grower is usually out of them for the season, but this year we still have them in stock for you to plant. Marigolds also represent a Mexican holiday dating back hundreds of years. Día de los Muertos is also known as “Day of the Dead”. It is a Mexican Holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, particularly the Central and South regions, and acknowledged around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. Traditionally, families honor the deceased by visiting their graves with sugar skulls, marigolds, and their favorite food and beverages. Whether you are honoring your loved ones, or just adding that wonderful look of Fall to the yard, remember marigolds are very easy to grow and love our Fall temperatures. Plant all your Fall annuals now while we still have the day lengths to get them established. They will reward you with beautiful color all Fall and Winter.

-DeAnna

Oh my goodness, James and I just got back from a quick trip to Nova Scotia; what a treat! James did a few days of surfing before I arrived, and then we headed up to Cape Breton (the northern most island of Nova Scotia) to get in on the amazing Celtic Colours International Festival. This festival celebrates Atlantic Canada’s unique heritage of music and culture, and showcases excellence in Celtic music from around the world. Alot of fiddling going on! Our nights were spent enjoying the music scene and our days were spent hiking in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We hiked into deep river canyons with the most amazing stretches of moss and nurse logs and water flowing and then up on open trails looking out over the Atlantic Ocean with wind-swept trees and grasses. And yes, the fall color was amazing. If you’re interested, I took notes of places to stay and highlights; we found it to be nature at its finest!

-Sally

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