September Ideas, Tips & Guides

Are you interested in learning how to garden more effectively? Would an online gardening class fit more easily into your schedule? Want to garden, but don’t have the time to volunteer? Would you love to become a Master Gardener, but can’t make the in person classes?If any of these questions apply to you, then maybe it’s time to think about taking Master Gardener training in an online environment!

Fall is headed to South Carolina: A walk around Crooked Trail Farm this week.

Mushrooms are beautiful to look at, but never eat a mushroom unless it is positively identified as edible. Mistakes can result in toxic reactions ranging from mild gastric upset to death.

“Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.”

“Even the greatest creations start from small seeds.” ~Anonymous~

Rob Last reports, “Fall cucurbit crops, including cantaloupes and watermelons, are ripening and approaching harvest. Disease pressure from powdery mildew and gummy stem blight has really increased significantly over the last week. Maintaining a tight spray program will be key to managing diseases. As we look forward to strawberry planting, the land is being prepared. If you plan to fumigate, ensure the plant back interval between fumigation application and planting is maintained. A good test can be to plant some lettuce seed in the treated area. When lettuce germinates, the risk of damage from fumigation is reduced. Finally, on any remaining fall plantings, consider using a labeled pre-emergent herbicide to help with weed management. Once the crop and weeds emerge, options are drastically reduced.

“Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, How Beautiful’ and sitting in the shade.”

Zack Snipes reports, “We have had plenty of rain as of late in the Lowcountry. Many growers could not get in the fields due to fields being soggy. We have some beautiful weather coming this week, so I expect a good bit of ground to be prepped and planted. We have plenty of moisture in the soil, so those preemergent herbicides should have great efficacy if put down properly. I am seeing some odd yellowing symptoms of watermelon vines that lead to a collapse in the plant. We sent off samples to the Plant Diagnostic Lab. If you are suspicious of a plant disease, we can identify the disease for you. I also received a few calls this week about greenhouses. Before buying a greenhouse, consider retrofitting a shipping container. Thousands of transplants can be grown in a very small space which saves you money on your heating and cooling bill.”

“All at once, summer collapsed into fall.”

Justin Ballew reports, “We’re getting a little dry here in the midlands, and folks have been running irrigation a lot. Last night (9/6), we got a shower at my house, but it didn’t amount to much. Our fall crops are looking really good right now. The dry weather is holding down disease though we are still seeing some insects, mainly caterpillars. Squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, turnips, and other brassicas are all growing pretty well.”

“Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures.” ~Henry David Thoreau~

Come for a fall stroll at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens.

Zack Snipes reports, “We had a heavy downpour of rain last week, surpassing 2.5 inches in some spots. I am seeing downy mildew in cucumbers and lots of gummy stem blight in winter squash and pumpkins. The worm pressure has lessened in the past few weeks. I am seeing lots and lots of black rot in transplanted brassicas. Inspect your plants before planting them to make sure the disease is not coming from the nursery. Once a brassica is planted in the field, there is not much we can do to slow the spread except hope that environmental conditions (rain, humidity) are not conducive to spread the disease. I am also seeing lots of early weed pressure in fall planted crops on both bare-ground and plastic. We have some very good herbicide options to apply preplant. However, once you plant the crop, we have very few herbicides that can be used over the top of the crop. Right now is the time to get down strawberry herbicides before the season starts. As the old proverb goes: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

An Evening Stroll with Taco the Great at Crooked Trail Farm.         

Rob Last reports, “Fall watermelons are looking good. There is some disease around, so fungicide applications remain crucial. I am finding whiteflies in a few crops too. As we move into Fall, with increasing numbers of misty mornings, scouting for diseases is going to be very important. Mists will increase periods of leaf wetness exacerbating disease pressures in crops. Scouting enables us to make timely applications. Thoughts are turning to planting Fall crops, and I urge everyone to check transplants carefully to minimize the risk of bringing infected plants into the fields, storing problems for the rest of the crop cycle.”

Zack Snipes reports, “It rained every day last week, and we ended up with over 8 inches. Field conditions are really soupy right now, and growers have had problems getting into some fields. Beware of plant diseases. With all the moisture we had last week, things could get ugly.”

Crinum lilies are long-lived, heirloom, classic pass-along plants that shine in Southern gardens.

“We might think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.” ~Jenny Uglow~

Rob Last reports, “Sweet potatoes in the area are coming to harvest along with fall watermelons, squash, and zucchini. Diseases are present in the cucurbits, particularly downy mildew in cucumbers and gummy stem blight in watermelons. Please remember to keep fungicide applications up to date until the last harvest. As our thoughts turn to fall cropping, I am finding imported cabbageworm and diamondback moth on transplants. Remember to rotate the modes of action of insecticides to get good control. Where brassica will be transplanted, carefully consider an application of herbicide. The herbicides will make life easier but choose carefully based on your rotation and expected following crop.”

“September showed up right on schedule and lasted a whole month.”

AS YOU BEGIN to wind down and clean up, take notes of what worked and didn’t. Mark areas that would have been easier to maintain with a workhorse groundcover in place, for instance, or areas where more bulbs might fit. I have already made a walkabout and identified a few shrubs whose days are numbered; just not enough bang for the buck (well, for the space they take up).TREES & SHRUBSBE SURE TO WATER trees and shrubs now through hard frost, so that they enter dormancy in a well-hydrated state. Evergreens (needled ones and broadleaf types like rhododendron, too) are particularly vulnerable to desiccation and winterburn if not well watered before the cold and winds set in.DON’T PANIC IF EVERGREENS start to show some browning or yellowing of needles this month and next. The oldest, innermost needles typically shed after a few years on the tree.HOPEFULLY YOU STOPPED FEEDING woody plants

Let this excerpt from my recent book, “And I Shall Have Some Peace There,” tell the rest of  the story of what happened next as I drove faster and faster north toward my weekend home, the place I now live fulltime, a story of finding some measure of peace and comfort even in unspeakably uncomfortable times:Postscript:BLOODLETTING HAS ALWAYS BEEN n one of Jack’s trademarks. It was many years, at least the first seven or eight together, before he stopped attacking me and drawing blood, seemingly for no reason other than to show who was boss.Then, after a middle-of-the-night injury one year ago this month inflicted by some prey he thought he’d subdued but hadn’t quite—the first nick of his long, violent hunting career—Jack had to stay inside for a month while a shredded paw healed after surgery.  It was the first time he’d ever spent more than a few hours in the house, a bit uncomfortable for both of us.At first.Then he cau

THE FALL IS COMING, the fall is coming. Nothing to worry about, Chicken Little, if the garden’s been planned for enjoyment in all seasons…well, unless you slack off now and let those foxy weeds go to seed and gobble up the whole place. No, no definitive “end” to the season lies ahead, and some of us even feel happy about the coming of slightly quieter, more contemplative times where less obvious garden stars can shine.PEAK PLANTING AND DIVIDING time is upon us; make that work include some focus on the addition of fall and winter plants to the landscape.Maybe something gold?Maybe something full of fruit, like this or this or this?AS YOU BEGIN to wind down and clean up, take notes of what worked and didn’t. Mark areas that would have been easier to maintain with a workhorse groundcover in place, for ins

AS YOU BEGIN to wind down and clean up, take notes of what worked and didn’t. Mark areas that would have been easier to maintain with a workhorse groundcover in place, for instance, or areas where more bulbs might fit. I have already made a walkabout and identified a few shrubs whose days are numbered; just not enough bang for the buck (well, for the space they take up).TREES & SHRUBSBE SURE TO WATER trees and shrubs now through hard frost, so that they enter dormancy in a well-hydrated state–particularly if you have had a dry season as I have. Evergreens (needled ones and broadleaf types like rhododendron, too) are particularly vulnerable to desiccation and winterburn if not well watered before the cold and winds set in.DON’T PANIC IF EVERGREENS start to show some browning or yellowing of needles this month and next. The oldest, innermost needles typically shed after a few years on the tr

TYPICALLY THE SEPTEMBER CHORES come on the heels of the hottest, driest part of my garden year here—and this year has been generally dry, not just lately. If that’s your situation, too, it will be extra-important to be sure to water your trees and shrubs right through when the ground freezes. Weeding is the other big September focus (can you even ID your weeds?).YES, THE FALL IS COMING, the fall is coming. But there is nothing to worry about, Chicken Little, if the garden’s been planned for all seasons…well, unless you slack off now and let those foxy weeds go to seed and gobble up the place. No, no definitive “end” to the season lies ahead–remember my 365-day garden philosophy?–and some of us even feel happy about the coming of more contemplative times where less-obvious garden stars can shine.PEAK PLANTING AND DIVIDING time is upon us; make that include some emphasis on the addition of fall and w

For a Garden Conservancy Open Day here, it was relatively sane and quiet: just 175ish guests, and no lectures or workshops on the agenda, the way there usually are. Just the garden, and the plant sale by Broken Arrow Nursery–our fourth time this season together.Visitors, and many bumblebees and other pollinators looking for a late-season meal, were attracted to easy-to-grow ‘September Charm’ anemone, which has been in bloom for at least six weeks already.My houseplants, including various bromeliads and many large fancy-leaf begonias, will soon head indoors for winter, with colder nights approaching.Even thou

Here in Zone 5B, where frost can come in late September or early October, you’d think I’d be feeling more fatalistic—that the season’s “end” was in sight.Instead I have gradually loaded my garden with things that flower or fruit or form great seedpods late, or take on fall foliage colors, or with good offseason structure or bark.  On the other end of the calendar, I’ve worked hard to layer in extra-early performers. In my region that means things that start up in March, as snow melts–such as minor bulbs or early perennials like hellebores. A 365-day garden, remember?Topic by topic, now, the rest of the September garden chores:weed and pest control and preventionWEED WAR! Now is the time to minimize weed woes for next year. Some weeds are actually easier to thwart in late summer and fall, like these.

Here in Zone 5B, where frost can come as early as late September, you’d think I’d be feeling more as if the season’s “end” was in sight. But I have worked hard (and keep on doing so) to load the landscape with elements of a 365-day garden, remember?—one that colors up extra-early, keeps showing off till hard frosts say “slow down,” and even has strong structure to carry me visually through winter.Take inventory now—walk around, make notes—and plan in detail to extend and enrich your garden’s season. Reviewing some of my recent tip-filled interviews with landscape designers like these may help.weed and pest control and preventionWEED WAR! Now is the time limit next year’s weeds. Some species are actually easier to thwart in late summer and fall, like these (including knot

Rain or no, I’m under way on some key September chores, like putting up harvests, turning the compost, and even saving seed. September is also perhaps the best month of all to really look at the garden critically, taking stock of its strengths, weaknesses…and opportunities–like how manygreat late-blooming perennials do I have (and could I add more)?That I am doing, and that’s why I am always eager for some predictable precipitation come September. I’m revamping more large sections of the garden—some of the oldest beds here are long past prime, and I’m trying to rehab one at a time, including removing large swaths of decades-old groundcovers that now just look like thugs. I’d love to make to easier on all the divisions and transplants I’ll be creating in the process, a

It’s the end of the school summer holidays. Having an allotment is not just about growing food. It’s certainly a place to occupy children during the six-week break. However, if you embrace your plot and the community of people that come together at your allotment site you find they offer so much more.

Have you been wondering What to Do in the Garden in September? Get ready to welcome autumn with some essential gardening chores and decor ideas lined up for you in this article!

AtBalcony Garden Web, we always strive to serve you the best of balcony gardening. So, keeping up with the tradition, we are beginning a new series–where we’re going to curate the top 15#BalconyGardening posts shared each month on Instagram. Here are the 15 best we found for September.

Feast your eyes with the Best Balcony Garden Pictures of September 2021 from Instagram! We have included the top ones from around the globe especially for you!

Flowers have long been a symbol of love, beauty, and hope, and they make the perfect gift for any occasion. But did you know that each birth month has its own special flower with a unique meaning and symbolism? September is no exception, and its birth flowers are truly stunning. So, let’s dive in and discover the fascinating world of September Birth Month Flowers!