What To Get In The Ground Right Now

In every garden across North America, summer crops are over and it’s time to consider what’s next. If your enthusiasm has continued unabated, you should get your fall garden going. If you’re ready to take a break but would like something to look forward to in the spring (and perhaps jump-start your garden fever), this is the perfect time to plant some bulbs. Or you could do both.

Before you plant anything, make sure to give your soil some love. Although this is always the thing to do, it is especially important after a long growing season. All those beautiful summer blooms and vegetables demanded a lot from the soil, it’s only fair to give it something back before asking for more. We have lots of excellent soil amendments and microbial inoculants that can pep up your dirt. And if you want specifics before adding anything, we have soil testing options as well. But really, it’s not all that complicated: get in there and work the soil some, add amendments or inoculants and water well. This short article explains these three steps. Even if you are done gardening for the year, you should still treat your dirt to some Beneficial Nematodes. They will go in and clean out any grubs that are trying to overwinter in your soil.

What you plant in your fall garden is naturally dependent upon your geographical location. However, all but the most northern of climates can still squeeze out some vegetables. In fact, there are many delicious vegetable options whose flavors and colors are heightened by cold weather. If the onset of frost is somewhat fluid in your area and you’re worried about committing to a garden, you may want to plant your veggies in containers that can either be moved into the shelter of a covered area or moved directly inside. You could also plant in raised beds - they are more easily protected from the effects for cold weather than in-ground gardens. Here are some excellent choices for plants that grow quickly and can be grown in-ground, in raised beds, or in containers (for more container ideas, check out this article):

Lettuce – There are too many scrumptious lettuce varieties to list here, and they all grow quickly enough for a fall harvest. Many of these varieties also able to tolerate light frost. Other salad-type vegetables like arugula, kale and mustard greens are also good fall choices.

Spinach – The savoy varieties of this plant are especially fond of cooler weather, but all of them will provide a delicious addition to your fall meals. Since spinach can grow in full sun or partial shade, it should not suffer unduly if you have to move it under some type of shelter part-way through its growing cycle.

 Radishes – These crispy treats are made for fall gardens – they don’t appreciate hot weather and can grow in as little as 20 days. They do well outside, but you can also grow them on a bright windowsill and pluck them out as they become ready.

 Vegetable gardens are not the only kind of fall garden you can plant. If you enjoy flower gardens, there is no reason you can’t have one into the fall. Everything from chrysanthemums to pansies can provide color for you alongside your changing trees. This article from Good Housekeeping highlights 30 different flowers to have in a fall garden.

Now is the time to plant bulbs for spring blossoms. This is the perfect avenue for someone who is doesn’t want to deal with often unpredictable fall weather and would just prefer to plant for the warmer days to come. Planting bulbs is a little like planning a surprise party for yourself – choose which ones you like the best, pick the place you want them to be and wait for them to pop up when the time is right. Here are some of the most beautiful treats you can plant right now:

Hyacinths – These are some of the earliest of spring flowers to peek out. According to this article on the planting of and care for hyacinth bulbs, they appear sometime after crocus and before tulips. Whenever they show up, their lavish pink, purple, red or blueish-purple blooms will be a highlight in any garden.

Tulips – If you are considering flower bulbs and trying to decide which ones, just add “tulips” to your list. Within their vast variety of styles, shapes and colors will be something that will be perfect for your garden. Picking which one will be the hard part, though, as they are all spectacular. Here is a short article on just some of them. 

Alliums – If you want some long-lasting drama in your garden and are ready to expand out of the traditional tulip-daffodil- crocus type of flower, the allium could be just right for you. These plants are part of the onion-garlic family, but their tall stalks and globe-shaped flowers are very different from those underground-growing cousins. Alliums can last many weeks in the garden and are favorites of pollinators. Here’s more on them.

Now I’d like to make a pitch for something that is both a relative of the allium, a vegetable, a bulb and a seed – garlic. If you plant some now, you will be able to harvest delectable, fresh garlic in July. But, you don’t have it plant it as a bulb. You can actually plant individual cloves as seeds – and each one has the potential to grow into a full-sized bulb replete with many cloves. For garlic beginners, it’s probably best to plant bulbs specifically cultivated for this purpose; but you can plant from grocery store garlic. This article will give you some help with this.

Whatever you decide you want to do with your fall garden, just being outside on these cooler days is rewarding in and of itself. Especially here in southern Arizona, where we always eagerly await summer’s end.

Take Care.

Submitted by Pam

Flowers In May And Beyond

It’s May – and that means it’s the time of year when gardeners will delight as their long-planted bulbs bloom, and everyone is awed by nature’s spectacular wildflower displays. May flowers are truly a joy when they appear, but there are ways you can stretch the abundance of blooms through the summer months.

If you are seeing your bulbs bloom now, then you have spring (or hardy) bulbs. Tulips, hyacinth, and daffodils are all spring bulbs. These bulbs are planted in the fall, overwinter in your garden, and need that cold period to complete their growth cycle. But there’s another type of bulb – the summer (or tender) bulb. These bulbs don’t like cold temperatures at all and need to be planted well after a last frost date. Summer bulbs include gladioli, dahlias, and lilies. It is an easy transition from one type of bloom to the other, if you follow these few basic steps at this time of year:

• Deadhead your spring-blooming bulbs but leave the foliage intact.

• While deadheading, examine your plants carefully for insect activity. Pest insects enjoy May flowers as much as we do, and you don’t want to introduce them to your next batch of flowers.

• Separate and remove any bulbs that did not thrive.

• Dig up and store any bulbs that need to be kept cool through the summer.

• Keep an eye out for any soil-dwelling pests as you dig into the dirt.

• Plant your summer bulbs amongst your spring ones.

• Summer bulbs do well in containers and look lovely on a front step or porch when in bloom.

This article is a wealth of information on bulbs and is laid out in a very easy-to-read format.

Nature rewards us in spring with wildflowers. Almost anywhere you go at this time of year, you’ll find some. Here in southern Arizona, we have been tickling summer temperatures for a while now, so our wildflower season is well behind us. But we do have reliable May blooms in the form of saguaro flowers (which is also our state flower). These gorgeous white blooms appear in jaunty clusters on the tops of the saguaros and/or the ends of their arms. Along with the flowery show comes the companion animal of the saguaro, the White-Winged Dove. This pretty little bird migrates to Mexico through the winter and early spring months and then returns to the Sonoran Desert just in time to enjoy the saguaro flowers (and subsequent fruit). This cactus and bird are a perfect example of mutualism in nature, where on species depends on another. I wrote a blog on the dove-saguaro relationship, if you want to know a little more.

Desert ecosystems notwithstanding, some of nature’s greatest flower shows are found deep in the forest. It is there, thriving in undisturbed organic material and undiluted by mankind, that you can find truly authentic wildflowers. Some of these beauties only appear for a short time and are known as “spring ephemerals”. If you are lucky enough to have a forest that you can get to in May, I recommend you do so this month. You won’t be disappointed. Here is more on spring ephemerals and forest wildflowers in the Saranac Lake region of New York, but these types of flowers can be found many other places as well.

Whether you live in the woods, at the beach, or on the prairie, you can find flowers growing around you in May. Even in the biggest of cities, keep an eye out and you’ll see them alongside raucous highways or along a neighbor’s fence line. Granted, some people may call these weeds, but they are also wildflowers. If you don’t want to go looking for wildflowers, or you want specific varieties, you can easily plant your own. There are a great many seeds available commercially that will sprout and bloom quickly so that you can enjoy wildflowers all summer long. According to this article, when planting wildflowers the most important thing is to plant them on prepared, bare ground. If you are unsure as to what will work best for you, here are some glorious suggestions. Of course, it goes without saying that the best choice would be whichever wildflowers are native to your area. 

There is one more flower that comes in May that I’d like to address: Mother’s Day flowers. Millions of women across America will be receiving some form of flower gift this coming weekend. Unfortunately, most will be dead by the next week. This article has some thorough guidelines, including type-specific care, while this floral company gives four simple steps.

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night – 

Rainier Maria Rilke

Happy May!

Submitted by Pam             

A Busy September in the Garden

Now that Labor Day is in the rearview mirror and all the kids are back in school, people everywhere are amping up for the busy fall season. This is especially true for gardeners. This time of year is chock-full of gardening and taking-care-of-outside chores. As most serious gardeners know, September is not the end of the season. In reality, it is the beginning. What you do between September and late November will help determine how heavy your workload is for next spring.

Many gardeners are well on their way to having a fall garden by now. Depending on where they live, the planning and prep has been done and they have already planted or are ready to move on to planting. Those winter greens and vegetables will be very welcome as fall turns to winter. Here is a delicious-sounding salad that features Brussels sprouts, pumpkin seeds – and a surprise touch.

But what if you are not doing a fall garden this year? If you want to plant in the spring or just want a healthy backyard environment for your warm weather enjoyment, there is a lot that can be done now to make that happen. Putting in a little time now can save you time, money and worry as you come out of winter next year.

Plant a tree: If you are not up to going the whole fall garden route but still want to get your hands in some soil, consider planting a tree. Every day is a great day for a tree, but September through November is the ideal time for planting one. This will give their roots time to establish before hard freezes and allows them to concentrate their energy on growing roots before they put out leaves in the spring. The key to success with this schedule is to encourage strong and healthy root growth and to water deeply. We recommend Root Build 240 for the roots. For more information, check out our tree planting blog here.

Apply Beneficial Nematodes: We strongly encourage fall applications of these microscopic organisms to control pests that overwinter in the soil. We have beneficial nematodes that can control a myriad of pests, including various beetles, ticks, fungus gnats and caterpillars. Apply some now and apply again in the spring to knockdown any pests that got away. These fascinating creatures do amazing unseen work in the ground. We have a ton of information on them here. And they are on sale through September!

Move your garden to containers: If you have some plants that you’d like to keep going or some favorites that you like to have around, put them in containers. It will be easier to protect them (and yourself) from the elements. Put them close to the house or on a porch for easy access and raise them off the ground; this will keep them from becoming waterlogged in the wetness of fall and winter. Here is a video with some tips on fall container planting. 

Lawns: Your lawn will enjoy some dethatching, fertilization and aeration at this time of year. And, while you’re at it, you may as well go after those stubborn perennial weeds. Weeds draw up nutrients in the fall to prepare for winter; if you apply herbicide now it will be drawn up as well. Corn Gluten Meal may work well for you; it will fertilize as well as kill weeds. Check out our blog on this versatile corn by-product. We also have many other excellent weed control options here.

Clean out sheds, greenhouses and cold frames: Now that the weather is cooling off (except here in Southern Arizona), get out and clear up the clutter that it was just too darn hot to deal with over the summer. If you are planting again, you will want this clean slate. If you are not, cleaning now will give you a chance to move items that shouldn’t be out in the cold and free you from spending your spring days going through debris from the year before. Be sure to empty and clean out all the compost and decaying plant matter from old pots and containers to keep overwintering pests from finding a home there.

Trim things up: Help your plants by maximizing light sources as we move into the darker months. Remove thick or overhanging vegetation around your garden, greenhouse or patio. To encourage pumpkins to ripen by Halloween, trim up any leaves and/or re-direct vines that may be shadowing them. If you have apple trees – lucky you – run the mower under them so you’ll be able to easily spot any windfalls.


Compost: Not composting? Start now to take advantage of falling leaves and dead plant material. If you are already composting, you probably know already that the bounty of leaves in the fall are an excellent addition to a compost pile. Check out our composting products here.

Plan for beauty: Now that you have a trimmed up and cleaner yard environment, and a plan for all the fallen leaves that someone will have to rake up, it's time to plant bulbs for next year’s enjoyment. Stick them in now and when they start popping out next spring you will be so glad you did.                                                                 
Above all, get out and enjoy this time of beautiful time of year. The sunny, cool days and crisp nights of autumn are something that this Virginia native gets homesick for every year at this time.

Submitted by Pam