Category: Fall - Garden.True.North

Grandma's Bowl

11/6/2022

GRANDMA MINNIE'S BOWL: Every year I bring out a wood bowl for the start of the garden season. Looks homemade with a tomato motif on the inside. It's off kilter and well worn. I love to pile up the seasonal garden treats in it. Now is at the absolute end of the season. I had my last BLT. The garden shed has been turned over and is now the snowmobile garage. So the bowl is officially put away until next season.

Time to Bring in the Houseplants

9/20/2019

It is time to bring in your houseplants from their summer vacation outdoors. This includes any tender plants that you plan to overwinter inside. Many of our houseplants and tender perennials are from the tropics and get stressed when nighttime temperatures dip lower than 50°. I used to scramble the night of the first killing frost to bring these plants inside. It was stressful both for me and my plants.

I now start moving houseplants and tender perennials to shadier spots in the garden around the beginning to mid-September. This gives them time to acclimate to the lower light conditions in our homes.

From Fresh to Dry Bouquet

11/13/2018

Oh how I wish all things would be this easy! The picture above left is a fresh flower arrangement that I put together on October 1 just before our first frost. The one on the right is what I have on my kitchen island today. What do they have in common?

Great River Road Trip – October 2018

11/8/2018

The east fork of the Chippewa River in fall.

When my friend Melanie and I decided to take a road trip along the Mississippi River to New Orleans I didn’t even think about where all the water comes from for one of the largest river systems in the world. Then I realized I live on one of the tributaries that feed into the river. In fact, a lot of us do since the Mississippi Valley watershed includes 31 states.

Elevation 1313 Feet. I live at the confluence of the east and west forks that start the Chippewa River. It flows 180 miles to join the Mississippi River at Lake Pepin that is the widest naturally occurring part of the Mississippi River, located about 60 miles south of Saint Paul and on the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Six Lessons from the 2017 Growing Season

10/18/2017

It seems each year there are lessons that nature provides if I’m paying attention and this year was no different. I gained new knowledge in five areas this year.

Bulbs: More than Tulips and Daffodils

10/11/2017

It’s the middle of October and I just checked the soil temperature. In my garden it is 45 degrees. We had our first hard freeze last night. It’s time to plant bulbs!

Many of us plant tulips and daffodils, but there is so much more that you can plant in the fall. These are generally referred to as bulbous plants. They have bulbs, tubers, rhizomes or corms that swell into a food storage organ enabling the plant to survive when it is dormant.

October Calendar

10/1/2017

My fall chore list has become shorter over the years as I have discovered easier methods of dealing with leaves on the lawn with frequent mowing with my mulching lawn mower. Leaves that land in the perennial beds are left there to provide protection over the winter. The only area that I clean up is the vegetable garden by removing dead material after the frost.

Bringing in the Houseplants

9/10/2017

Believe it or not – it is almost time to start bringing in your houseplants from the summer vacation outdoors. Don't wait until the first freeze/frost warnings are posted for the fall. Many of our houseplants are from the tropics and get stressed when nighttime temperatures dip lower than 50°. I start by moving the houseplants to shadier spots in the garden around the beginning of September. This gives them time to acclimate to the lower light conditions in our homes.

September Calendar

9/4/2017

Activities for September

Fertilize lawn around Labor Day- if you only do it once this is the best time to do it. Any later in Zone 3 and the grass doesn't have time to take advantage of the food.
Fertilize Astillbes - these perennials are heavy feeders and I give them a little boost this time of year with a light fertilizer, usually 10-10-10 or less.
Stop fertilizing - Besides Astillbes, the lawn, and any annuals it is best to stop fertilizing. Fertilizing would encourage new growth and instead you want the plants to start getting ready for winter by going dormant.
Deadhead perennials - this is a good time to deadhead those that are self-seeders that you don't want spreading. Also be sure to deadhead phlox if you want them to stay true and not cross-fertilize with other types. I leave the seed heads on most of my perennials as food for the birds during the winter and to create some winter interest.
Clean up the garden - the one place that I clear out is the vegetable garden to keep any diseases and pests from overwintering. I leave my perennials standing during the winter. One exception is that I cut down any perennials that have had a disease or pest problem. There have been aphids on my Heliopsis (common name: False Sunflower) so those will get cut down to the grounds after they die back this year.
Bring in tender plants - for any plants that have spent the summer outside, I start to get them ready to bring inside. First step is to move them to shadier spots to get them used to the lower inside light. I then hose them down and treat with an insecticide soap to prevent them from bringing pests into the house. They are then isolated in the garage for about a week to insure no pests.
Use the mower to chop leaves - As leaves begin to drop I use the mower to mulch them right back into the lawn. Any leaves dropping on the perennial beds are left there until spring (when I use the mower again to mulch them right in the beds.) For areas where the mower can't do the job, I use a mulching lawn vacuum and then dump the leaves in perennial or shrub beds that could use a bit more. This minimizes hauling leaves around and puts them to good use right where they land.
Order fall planted bulbs - if not already done, this is a good time to order those spring bulbs and roots planted in the fall. This includes tulips, daffodils, minor spring bulbs, garlic, rhubarb, peonies, lilies, foxtails, and many more. All these can be planted when the ground temperature reaches 50 degrees or after the first good freeze (usually in October and as late as November.)