Beaver Valley Probus Club

Things to do in your garden in June.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

St. George's annual Plant Sale: Don't forget the St. George’s annual plant sale, Saturday June 3, 2023. Donate 15 or more perennials and you will receive an Income Tax receipt for the value your plants sell for. Drop off date, Wednesday May 31—9 am until 3 pm at the church. 

For tips on how to divide and pot up perennials, watch our “Potting Up” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkJ11TUmw9M

Please contact John for more information!

June Garden Tips - It's Summer!

• Summer is really here!Lots of sun and much needed rain. Get your annuals & veggies planted now. Add a little general-purpose fertilizer and water well.
• Fertilize perennials, roses, shrubs and vegetables using a balanced fertilizer, not the one for your lawn, it has too much nitrogen. Pull back the mulch (that should already be there) from the perennials. Dig the fertilizer in lightly around each plant and replace the mulch.
• Start cutting your lawn higher/longer and leave cuttings on the lawn as fertilizer.
• Prune spring blooming shrubs and trees (forsythia, lilac) after they have flowered.
• Prune evergreens and hedges now, not later in the summer.
• Finish removing all daffodil and tulip flower stems. Leave the leaves to mature and feed the bulb for next year’s bloom. Only remove them when brown. Add a little bone meal around bulb clumps to promote bulb growth for next year.
• Stake or cage tomato plants, dahlias, gladiolas, peonies & delphinium plants.
• Thin vegetable seedlings and plant successive crops. (Plant a second crop as the first is maturing e.g., lettuce, spinach, radishes.)
• Seed flowering cabbage/kale into garden rows for later transplanting.
• Plant seeds of fast-growing flowers such as cosmos, marigold, calendula, etc.
• If desired, move houseplants outside to a protected area.
• Deadhead (cut off) faded blooms on plants such as petunia, rose, verbena, etc. This will promote continuous blooms & bushy plants for later in the summer/fall.
• Weed and water garden beds as needed.
• Add mulch to suppress weed growth and hold in moisture. At least 2”.
• Cut back by a third, late bloomers such as mums and asters. This will make the plants bushier and give them a mounded shape and more blooms in the fall.
• Turn compost regularly and check moisture level, not too wet, not too dry, just right, like Goldilocks.
• Take cuttings of perennials, shrubs, roses, etc. for rooting, for next year.
• Watch for local plant sales like the Giant Plant Sale at St. George’s Anglican Church in Clarksburg, Saturday June 3 2023. It starts at 8 am. Entry by car only. Choose from a wide variety of choice perennials for sun or shade, Daylilies, ornamental grasses, unique Hostas and some shrubs at really reasonable prices. 599 Garden Club experts will provide advice. Meet your resident Master Gardener Emeritus at the sale to answer your horticultural questions.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden in May.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

St. George's annual Plant Sale: Don't forget to look over your garden to determine what plants are in the wrong place or should be divided. Dig and pot up any extra plant material to contribute to the St. George’s annual plant sale, Saturday June 3, 2023. Donate 15 or more perennials and you will receive an Income Tax receipt for the value your plants sell for. Drop off date, Wednesday May 31—9 am until 3 pm at the church. 

For tips on how to divide and pot up perennials, watch our “Potting Up” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkJ11TUmw9M

Please contact John for more information!

Lots of things to do in your garden in May, now that Spring is here:

• If not done already, clean up winter debris in the garden as soon as the soil is dry enough to work. Cut off dead plant stocks. Dig in manure or compost around perennials and shrubs and weed well. An extra hour weeding now, will save 3 days later in the summer!!
• Use a line to cut sharp straight edges for your beds. For curved edges, run hot water through a hose to soften it up and lay out a smooth curve. Watch you don’t chop the hose!
• Take coloured pictures of your spring bulbs in each of your gardens so you will know where there are any gaps and where the bulbs are when you plant more bulbs in the fall. Save the pictures in a safe place.
• Plan now to plant early blooming bulbs like snowdrops and crocus in the fall at places close to where you come in and out of the house. It’s nice to be greeted by early signs of spring.
• Add 3” to 4’” of mulch to flowerbeds and shrubs to conserve moisture and discourage weeds. Shredded cedar bark is best, but expensive. Try 13/Forty Landscape Supply who have 3 types of mulch: Cedar, Pine, Black and Utility, the cheaper kind that I use.
• Don’t walk on or roll lawns that are still wet and full of water. If you can see your footprint, stay OFF the lawn. It will compact the soil.
• If your lawn is already compacted, rent an aerator which will dig out small plugs. Let the plugs dry and rake them back into the lawn as a top dressing. Add grass seed to bare patches.
• When dry, rake lawns vigorously to remove dead grass and thatch.
• Spread weed-free topsoil on thin patches in your lawn. Apply grass seed, roll and water. Keep seeded areas moist, but don’t flood.
• If you find moss in your lawn, the soil is too acidic. Apply dolomite lime before a rain. You may need a second application.
• If you have pots or planters that are very big or deep, put some empty plastic water bottles with lids in the bottom of the pot to take up the space the roots will never get to. It makes the planter or pot lighter and easier to move.
• Prepare containers and pots for planting. Fill with a mixture of compost and potting soil. Add peat moss or better still, coconut coir to retain moisture.
• Place pots with culinary herbs close to the kitchen door for easy access.
• Harden-off seedlings for at least a week before planting outside. Google the last frost date for your area (June 1 in the Blue Mountains) and allow at least 1 week more before planting tender transplants such as annuals and tomatoes.
• Walk around your garden and look for perennials that should be divided, are in the wrong place, or you don’t like any more. Pot them up for spring plant sales at least 3 weeks before the sale. Add compost, not garden soil to the pots. To be really fancy, add a little bone meal to the pot before you put in the plant. Add plant labels with the name (Botanical and/or common), colour, sun exposure, height, bloom time, etc. Water well and keep in the shade.
• Pot up and donate 15 or more perennials to the St. George’s annual Plant Sale and get an Income Tax Receipt for the retail value your plants sell for. Bring them to the church Wed May 31 9am to 3pm. It’s a win-win for everyone.
• The giant annual St. George’s Plant Sale is Sat June 3rd this year on the church grounds in Clarksburg. It starts at 8 am.
• Plant beans now directly into the garden as they germinate quickly and will grow as long as the soil is warm. Maybe mid-May this year.
• Install peony rings before the plants start to grow.
• Monitor for the presence of slugs, cutworms, earwigs and tent caterpillars. Pick them off.
• Control weeds in the lawn by hand pulling. Use nematodes to control grubs, which eat the grass roots, leading to brown patches in the lawn in summer.
• Prune roses according to type.
• Deadhead (cut the blooms off) tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs but do not cut or pull out the leaves until they are brown and decayed. They are needed to nourish the bulbs for next year’s bloom.
• If you have any fritillaria or Asian lilies (day lilies are beetle free), now is the time to watch for the red lily beetle (adult, larva and eggs). It seems that removal by hand is the best and only way to reduce this problem. 

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden in April.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

April 2023 Garden Tips:

• Make sure you have done everything you were supposed to do on the March Master Gardener's List
• Do stretch and bend exercises before you start in the garden. I find skiing muscles have nothing to do with gardening muscles. Take it easy. There are a lot of gardening days before the ski season comes again.
• A NEW PROGRAM FOR SPREADING TRIPLE-19 FERTILIZER. I have learned from the Guelph educated Agronomist at the Huron Co-Op in Markdale that you should NOT spread 19-19-19 general purpose fertilizer over the snow on all your flower beds and shrub boarders. You will lose the Nitrogen. After the snow has gone, you should spread it on the damp ground, but before plant leaves appear, so they will not be burned. Triple-19 fertilizer is available now at the Mid-West Co-Op just south of Markdale on HWY 10.
• Organize your compost pile for the new season. Start a new one with the top foot of compost material from last year’s pile as a base.
• As the weather warms and the ground dries, prune back perennials and ornamental grasses to 1” to 2” from the ground. Collect the dead material and put it on your new compost pile. Shred it, if you can.
• Push any plants that the frost has heaved back into place.
• Prepare garden beds for planting. Dig in compost, and/or manure, and/or other organic material around each plant. Remove any weeds that have come through from last fall. When you have cleaned up the beds, ADD 3”TO 4” OF MULCH to control weeds this summer.
• Look over your garden to determine what plants are in the wrong place or should be divided. Dig and pot up any extra plant material to contribute to the St. George’s annual plant sale, Saturday June 3, 2023. Donate 15 or more perennials and you will receive an Income Tax receipt for the value your plants sell for. Drop off date, Wednesday May 31—9 am until 3 pm at the church.
• Remove rose protection. For Hybrid Teas, prune back to 6” or 8”and apply dormant oil spray before the buds break.
• Apply dormant oil spray to shrubs like euonymus that may have suffered from scale last year. Do it before the buds break.
• Prepare your vegetable garden with a good digging. Add compost and manure, if you have it. Mid-month, plant the seeds of cool-weather vegetables like peas, spinach, lettuce, onions, beets. Plant seeds of frost resistant annuals like larkspur, sweet peas and calendulas.
• When dry and you can’t see your foot prints, rake your lawn vigorously to remove any thatch; repair damage with weed-free topsoil. Add grass seed to bare spots. Keep moist.
• Fertilize your lawn with slow-release high nitrogen fertilizer (the first of the 3 numbers on the bag). Slow-release urea costs more, but it’s worth it, as it should last until the fall.
• Apply crabgrass pre-emergence herbicide to your lawn, if required.
• When spring finally comes, plant trees, shrubs, perennials and biennials in your garden. No need to wait until May 24th for perennials, that’s for annuals. It may be the first week in June before you can get frost tender annuals safely into the ground.
• Re-fill your pots and planters with compost. But first, put empty plastic bottles with tops at the bottom of large pots. You will need less soil and they will be lighter to move. Add slow-release plant food to the top 4 inches.
• Then plant frost-resistant pansies NOW for a little spring colour.
• Start mowing your lawn only as needed. Keep it long to crowd out any weeds.
• Save Saturday June 3 for the St. George’s, Anglican Parish of the Blue Mountains, giant annual Plant Sale on the church grounds with over 1,100 perennials and shrubs to choose from, plus free gardening advice from 599 Garden Club experts.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden in March.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

March 2023 Garden Tips:

• Start tuberous begonias & caladiums corms in pots.
• Plant brassicas (the cabbage family) seeds and hardy annuals for late May planting outdoors.
• Start tomatoes, lettuce and other fast growers from seed in late March to early April.
• Make a list of spring chores in the order they should be done, if you haven’t already done so.
• Order summer flowering bulbs. Try www.botanus.com
• Order/buy seeds for summer planting NOW!
• Check, repair and sharpen your gardening tools.
• Apply combination dormant oil spray to fruit trees & pest-prone shrubs when above-freezing weather permits.
• Bring Spring indoors. Start forcing branches of spring-flowering shrubs like Forsythia.
• If you can find them, buy narcissus bulbs and grow them in gravel with water
• Prune summer-flowering shrubs and vines.
• When the snow is gone from your garden beds and they are still wet, but before the new leaves emerge, apply triple-19 agricultural fertilizer liberally. It’s available at the Midwest Co-Op in Markdale at $37.40 a 55 lb bag.
• Plan to plant a few bird-attracting, native berry plants and shrubs, plus pollinator perennials for bees and butterflies.
• When the snow goes, loosen up and dig in packed down winter mulch and press any perennials that have heaved, back into place.
• If there are any students out there who are Interested in garden work after school this spring and this summer, please get in touch now. There are lots of jobs available. Contact John Hethrington john@casacarole.com

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden in February.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

February 2023 Garden Tips:

• Finally, after 3 weeks of warm, no-snow weather, there is lots of snow cover. But, before we get a February thaw and refreeze, mound up all the available snow and any new snow that falls, around tender plants like roses. If you have a few boughs left from your Christmas tree, put them over tender plants to catch the snow. It is the freeze/thaw cycle that kills plants. It’s not just the cold.
• Start planning your garden projects for 2023. Make a list for the Spring, then you will know what you didn’t get done when you check it in June. I have mine done and I am tired already. A garden is never finished!
• Start propagating stem cuttings of geraniums, fuchsias, etc. by the end of the month.
• Plant slow germinating seeds inside, like impatiens, peppers, eggplants, etc.
• As the weather warms, you can start pruning shade trees, fruit trees and shrubs, if you can get to them through the snow. Leave trees that “bleed” like maples and birch until after they have leaves.
• Visit local nursery greenhouses to smell the coming spring. Stop by the Garden Gallery just west of Barrie on Hwy 91 on the way to Angus to just inhale the SPRING.
• You can forget about the big garden shows like Canada Blooms and the Peterborough Garden show this spring, they have all been cancelled. Think Spring 2024.
• IMPORTANT: You should be thinking ahead about spreading heavy duty triple 19 fertilizer on your flower beds. I used to recommend putting the fertilizer on the snow in mid-March. However, having discussed this at length with the Crop Specialist (a graduate of Guelph) at the Mid-West CO-OP, she recommended waiting until the snow is gone, the ground is still wet and new leaves are not yet showing, to sprinkle the triple 19 fertilizer on your beds. She says it should last all summer long. They currently have a limited supply of 19-19-19 fertilizer available at the CO-OP on Hwy 10 just south of Flesherton at $37.40 a 25 KG bag. Sorry for the sharp price increase, it’s the war in Ukraine.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden in January.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

January 2023 Garden Tips:

• Inspect house plants for white flies, spider mites and aphids.
• Apply insecticidal soap and spray with water.
• Inspect spring bulbs you may have stored or forgotten about. Discard soft or mouldy ones.
• Plant left over, not-yet-planted spring bulbs like daffs, tulips etc. in pots with good potting soil and a little bone meal. Water. Put the pots in an unheated garage or garden shed for 6 weeks. Take them inside in February or early March. You should get spring blooms in less than a month.
• There has certainly been lots of snow! If the traditional January thaw comes and the snow melts away, mound any remaining snow over roses and tender perennials.
• Cut the branches off your Christmas tree and place them over tender plants to catch the snow. It’s the freeze/thaw cycle that kills the plants.
• Expand your personal knowledge through on-line courses, plus start looking online for seed and plant catalogues.
• Start planning your garden for next spring. I’m already making lists of plants to divide.
• Make detailed lists; BIG projects, regular maintenance, new plants to buy and plants to divide and donate to the St. George’s Plant Sale, June 3 or 10 2023. Call 519-599-5846 for more info, or if you need a digging crew to help you pot up plants.
• Google “Seed Catalogue Websites” and see hundreds of seed sources.
• Order flower and vegetable seeds. Decide which seeds should be started inside.
• If you can find them, try forcing amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus now for indoor winter bloom that will cheer you up.
• At the end of the month, start the slowest germinating seeds like begonias and geranium, also seeds for early spring bloom e.g., pansy, verbena, alyssum and dianthus.
• The Markdale CO-OP, now Midwest Co-Op (519-986-2031), should have a good supply of Triple-19 fertilizer by the end of February. This is the strong agricultural fertilizer to put on top of the snow, only on your flower beds in March before the snow melts away. It will fertilize your gardens all summer long. It’s worth the drive to Markdale!

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden this month.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

December 2022 Garden Tips:

After the early heavy wet snow in late November and the helpful mild spell that followed, here are a few things you still can do in December. There is no end to garden chores.

• Cut down tall perennials and ornamental grasses bent over by the heavy snow.
• Loosely wrap evergreens and especially rhododendrons with Burlap. It is better to use 3 tomato stakes and make a triangle of burlap, as high as the plant and 6” away from it to break the drying wind and shield it from the winter sun.
• Protect young trees and shrubs from rodents with spiral plastic wraps. I know they look ugly, but they are white to reflect the sun and minimize sun scalding.
• Hill up the soil and/or compost around your hybrid tea roses and other tender plants and shrubs.
• I place loose straw over my potentially tender Phenomenal and Czech lavender to create an igloo of protection.
• Bring in, drain and store all hoses and water related equipment. Blow out garden water lines before they freeze.
• Wash all your garden tools. Wipe the metal parts with a cloth soaked in 3-in-1oil. If you really want to be fancy, wipe the wooden handles with boiled linseed oil.
• Make sure you have stocked up on firewood for the fire place this winter.
• With all the recently arrived and disappeared snow the ground will not yet be frozen, so you can still plant those spring bulbs that you forgot in your garage.
• I once planted tulips on Christmas Day in my garden by the sidewalk in downtown Toronto. An elderly gentleman passed by and asked, “Whatever are you doing?” I told him “It’s an old Hethrington tradition, I always plant tulips and daffs on Christmas Day”. He shuffled off, shaking his head, but there were blooms in April. So, stick any bulbs you can find in the ground before it freezes.
• Inside, check to see that your house humidifier is maintaining the humidity at over 40% to benefit both house plants and your family.
• Put lots of garden tools and garden books on your Christmas list
• Order seed catalogues and start dreaming about SPRING!

Merry Christmas from your Beaver Valley Master Gardener

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden this month.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

November 2022 Garden Tips:

• While we have had some rain in October, I would suggest a little last-minute deep watering to trees and shrubs.
• Buy discounted bulbs on sale and get them into the ground. Your extra efforts will bloom in the spring.
• Remove annual plants from the garden and from pots or other containers. Dump plants and soil onto your compost pile. Clean pots thoroughly and store them.
• There is an annual argument as to whether you should cut back your perennials, grasses etc., in the fall, or leave them long for “winter interest”. Up here, most perennials are covered by 2+ feet of snow, so you can’t see them anyway. With no fall clean-up, spring clean-up can be daunting. It can be delayed by wet weather, a late spring or there can be instant summer. That’s why I am opting for a BIG FALL CLEAN-UP to get a jump on spring 2023. Suit yourself.
• Dig up and bring in dahlia tubers, tuberous begonias and gladiola corms when the leaves turn yellow. Remove the soil and wash the tubers. Remove little cormlets from glad corms for more plants next year. Cure the tubers and corms for 2-3 weeks in warm dry place. Place in trays and cover with dry compost, peat moss, sand or perlite. Store at about 5 C in a cold-cellar, or a slightly heated garage.
• Try potting up some spring bulbs like amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus and force them into bloom for Christmas and/or for late winter indoor colour. Different bulbs will require various lengths of cold to flower, so read the product packaging carefully. Store the bulbs in an area where they will not freeze (about 5°C). A fridge or cold cellar will work well for this.
• Complete winterization procedures for plants, containers, drain hoses and clean all other garden equipment. To be a perfect gardener, sharpen tools and put linseed oil on wood handles. Paint small hand tool handles RED so you won’t lose them next spring.
• Protect young trees from rodents by using wire collars or plastic protectors.
• Hill up your hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses with 10 inches of compost covering the stems, or use a metal or plastic “Rose Collar” and fill it with compost before the ground freezes.
• Create one or more Winter/Christmas urns using a variety of evergreen branches. Find branches with berries and add colour with red dogwood and dried hydrangea blossoms.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden this month.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

October 2022 Garden Tips:

• After a warm dry summer, and some lovely sunny days in September, FALL is definitely here with a nightly risk of FROST.
• There is much talk in the fall about “Putting Your Garden to Bed” I guess they mean preparing your garden for the winter. There is an annual argument among gardeners as to whether you should cut back your perennials, ornamental grasses, etc., in the fall, or leave them tall for “winter interest” with seeds for the birds. However, up here, most perennials are covered by 2 feet of snow, so you can’t see them anyway and there are no seeds for the birds. Clean-Up in the Spring can be daunting. There may be wet weather, or a late spring. For these reasons, I am opting for a BIG FALL CLEAN-UP again this year, to get a jump on spring 2023.
• It’s time to trim back perennials and divide them as needed for your garden, or to give to your neighbors, or to pot them up and put them back in the soil for the St. George’s plant sale in June 2023 (and to get a Tax Receipt!) Make sure it is a cool, cloudy day and add bone meal fertilizer to the pots, and your new plantings.
• Remember—October is a great time to divide and plant perennials you can buy.
• Buy and plant spring flowering bulbs. Add a little bulb fertilizer, like bone meal, to the bottom of the hole and add water to the hole to get the bulb’s roots started. Your efforts NOW will bring big dividends in April and May 2023.
• For a longer bulb bloom season, plant a variety of bulbs, like winter aconite, snow drops and crocus. You can also plant early, middle and late blooming tulips and daffs for a much longer season.
• Place a piece of chicken wire just under the surface of the soil over any tulip bulbs you plant. The squirrels will hate you. Daffs should not need this protection.
• If there is an early frost warning, cover tender annuals overnight with an old bed sheet. They should make it through and keep on blooming.
• Bring in house plants when the evenings start to cool down, or when you get a frost warning. First give them a thorough spray with insecticidal soap, so that there are no unwanted hitchhikers coming into your home.
• Fertilize lawns with a low “first” number and high “middle” number or with a “Fall Formula” fertilizer.
• Start cutting your lawns much lower than in summer to avoid winter matted long grass next spring.
• Water shrubs, evergreens and trees weekly and deeply at least until frost.
• Buy your Triple-19 fertilizer NOW, so you will have it to put on the snow that will be covering your perennial gardens in March. The Co-Op maybe OUT OF STOCK next spring, before the snow disappears. It’s available now at the Markdale CO-OP on Hwy 10, south of town.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden this month.

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

September 2022 Garden Tips:

• Trim back perennials like Daylilies and Iris. My mother always cut the iris fans up one side and down the other into a nice V. But she was picky. Divide them as needed. Make sure it is a cool, cloudy day to divide and replant, or to pot up plants for your neighbours or fall plant exchanges.
• Try out the Grey County Master Gardener’s Annual Fall Plant Sale of interesting perennials on Saturday Sept 10, from 9 am to noon, on the grass at the Heritage Mall in Owen Sound. Lots of nifty stuff!
• Fall is the ideal time to divide and plant Iris, Daylilies, Peonies and many other perennials. Share extra plants with neighbours. To see my YouTube video I prepared for our St. George’s plant sale on dividing and potting up plants click on - https:youtu.be/KmTTyGNoRB4
• Buy and plant spring-flowering bulbs. Your efforts will be handsomely rewarded next spring. Check out Botanus online @ www.botanus.com. After our dry summer, add some water to the bottom of the hole, then some soil, then a little bonemeal fertilizer or special bulb food. Water well after planting to start root growth.
• Take a critical look at your garden. Then fill in any gaps that may have developed with new perennials, shrubs and/or evergreens. They will get a huge head start over plants planted next spring.
• Bring in house plants when the evenings start to cool down. First, give them a thorough spray with insecticidal soap so that there are no unwanted hitchhikers coming into your home.
• With cool nights and hoped for fall rains, it’s the ideal time for lawn repair. Dig out weeds, add clean, weed-free topsoil and re-seed. Keep the planted area moist.
• Fertilize lawns with root-building “Fall Fertilizer” with a low first number (Nitrogen) and high second and third numbers (Phosphorus & Potash).
• Don’t use the lawn fertilizer you have left over from the spring, probably with a high first number (Nitrogen). Save it for early next spring.
• It’s been first, a dry summer, with more recently, lots of rain, but deep down it is probably still dry. Dig a little test hole, say 14”-16” deep. Check the moisture levels at that depth. If the bottom of the hole is dry, water your gardens weekly and deeply until frost. Buy and put a soaker end on your hose and put it in the middle of your relatively flat garden beds and let the water seep in..

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc