Garden chores continue through fall

Gardeners remain in a summer mode as September starts, harvesting tomatoes and deadheading zinnias. By month’s end, we could be scrambling to protect tender vegetation from frost.

The 2 to 4 inches of rain we received last week made a huge difference in lawns and gardens. It gave plants a much-needed watering and softened the soil surface enough to make digging and cultivating possible.

Planting grass seed is at the top of September’s list of garden chores because fescue, bluegrass and ryegrass seeds germinate best at this time of year. There is no better time to plant these cool season grasses, not even in the spring.

This would be the perfect opportunity to plant a new lawn, beef up your existing lawn or repair spots damaged by drought, disease and other stresses. You can rent or buy a plug aerator to prepare the surface when overseeding, and thanks to the recent rainfall, the ground is probably going to be moist enough for the aerator’s tines to penetrate if you do it soon.

Soil conditions are also ideal for planting vegetables. The crops to put in this month are lettuce, turnip, collard, kale, creasy salad, spinach and radish, and the earlier in September you plant them the better.

All of the above vegetables are easy to grow from seeds. While retailers may be selling spinach and collard growing in pots, you can produce these crops quite successfully and economically with seeds.

The houseplants you set out on your porch last spring could be ready to come back indoors later this month. Cold fronts with nights in the 50s are a reminder that it is time to bring in philodendron, dumb cane, palm, weeping fig and other plants of a tropical nature.

Not everything must come indoors this month. Plants such as Christmas cactus and geranium grow very well in cool autumn weather as long as they have a structure overhead to protect them from frost.

Cooler weather and shorter days cause plenty of insect activity around your home. Do not be too surprised if you wake up in the morning to discover your driveway covered with “land shrimp,” the jumbo grubs that are the larval stage of green June beetles.

Also to be expected are chirping, chewing field crickets. Do what you can to keep these pests out of your house or their singing will disturb your sleep and their mandibles will chew holes in fabrics.

Certain homes are also invaded by Asian ladybugs, and they will start showing up in September. Houses with light colored siding seem to be particularly attractive to them.

Asian stinkbugs will also begin moving toward our homes. They appeared in record numbers last fall, so batten down the hatches and get ready for another onslaught if you have had them in the past.

Now is the time to check your window screens and make sure they fit tightly. Also get your vacuum cleaner tuned up because it could be needed soon.

Davis is a retired Lynchburg Extension agent and you can reach him at dodavis2@vt.edu.