By Angela Chandler – The Garden Academy
Fall on the Gulf Coast is sometimes referred to as our “second Spring”. In reality, it is the beginning of our best, and longest gardening season. Rainfall is more frequent, and evaporation is reduced. Temperatures are easier on us, and our plants. In fact, our late fall and early winter temperatures are very similar to spring temperatures in much of the country.
It is a great time to plant just about everything – trees, shrubs, perennials, herbs, veggies, and fruits. Weather conditions are perfect for root development and plants are under less stress than they experience in either the heat of summer or the unpredictability of winter.
Fall is also a great time to do what I call “foundational gardening” – things that will carry your garden through Winter and into Spring. A bit of thought and effort now may even allow you to take a bit of a break from the heat next summer. It’s like setting your garden up to be on “cruise control” except for watering.
Fall Garden Tasks for the whole landscape
- Build new beds – pick a cool, overcast day & roll up those sleeves!
- Cover-crop any bed that will lay fallow for more than 60 days
- Top dress beds with compost
- Renew mulch – a total of 3” of native mulch, native mulch-compost blend, pine straw, fallen tree leaves
- Weed, weed, weed – a good Fall cleanup will start next Spring off right
- Apply corn gluten meal to the lawn & garden in October to prevent germination of fall weed seeds; repeat in 6 weeks (do not apply where you intend to seed veggies or annuals)
- Fertilize the garden using Arbor Gate Organic Food Complete every 4 – 6 weeks; organic fertilizers are used by the plant when they are needed just like nature’s nutrients
- Foliar feed with liquid seaweed or Foliar Plus once a month; spray everything, lawn included. Add EM-1 at the rate of 1 oz/gallon for a biological boost
- Start an indoor composting project – Bokashi and/or vermicompost
- Plant an Insectary
- Put out bird feeders and store your seed in airtight buckets
- Birds love cranberries – buy a few extra bags in November, chop them lightly and add to any open feeder; they will keep a long time in the refrigerator
- Keep hummingbird feeders clean & filled at least through September (add 1 cup of sugar to 4-cups of boiling water and stir until dissolved. Do not add food coloring!)
- Order frost cloth before November 1
- Gardeners on your holiday gift list? Check gift ideas at the garden center (don’t forget to check out Arbor Gate Too)
Fruits
- Apply kelp meal around citrus trees in September at the rate of 1# – 2# per 100 sq ft
- Plant bare root strawberries or plugs in Oct – Nov
- Foliar feed with seaweed extract or Foliar Plus monthly and before every freeze; add EM-1 at the rate of 1 oz/gallon
- Plant containerized fruit trees in the ground (except tropicals)
- Fertilize at planting with Arbor Gate Organic Food Complete – slow release organics work like naturally occurring nutrients; trees will need these nutrients to establish a strong root system throughout fall, winter, and early spring
- Clean up all fallen fruit leaves, they can harbor pests and pathogens
- Make a winter protection plan for citrus & tropicals (see Winter Protection for Citrus (arborgate.com)
- Defoliate any foliage that lingers after the first hard frost by hand
- Apply rock dust or Azomite at the recommended application rate, or ½# per 100 sq ft
Vegetables & Herbs
- Succession plant fall vegetables for a consistent supply
- Plant herbs liberally in the garden – interplant, under-plant, companion plant
- Marjoram and oregano are anti-bacterial and anti-viral; crush a few stems and add to a small jar with ½ cup of organic coconut oil; use a small amount as a hand lotion all winter to aid against colds & flu (smells nice, too)
- Inventory your seed box, make wish lists for next year and buy seeds
- Mustard is a soil fumigant and provides allelopathic weed control – plant this where you intend to plant tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants next Spring
- Many fall veggies are longer than 60-day types; fertilize with Arbor Gate Organic Food Complete at planting and then lightly every 3 – 4 weeks
- Foliar feed the vegetable garden once every 7 – 10 days; add EM-1 at the rate of 1 oz/gallon for a biological boost
- Apply rock dust or Azomite at the recommended application rate, or ½# per 100 sq ft
- See our Fall Vegetable article at The Fall Vegetable Season Begins (arborgate.com)
Ornamentals
- Assess your perennials – replace underperformers
- Start cuttings of favorite tender perennials before the first frost; Arbor Gate Soil Complete is a great rooting media
- Plant cool season annuals from transplants in September through November
- Thin and transplant spring-summer blooming bulbs
- Plant spring-summer blooming bulbs
- Plant roses, shrubs and hardy perennials
- Get camellias in as early as possible – C. sasanqua varieties are late fall bloomers
- Over-seed the lawn with bluebonnets in October, pre-soak any seed that is not pelletized
- Plant wildflower seed in November
- Start Paperwhites for gifts and table settings 4 – 6 weeks before the event; stagger planting to insure bloom timing
- Apply rock dust or Azomite at the recommended application rate, or ½# per 100 sq ft
Products to get & keep on hand for fall garden care
- Slow-release organic fertilizer – Arbor Gate Organic Food Complete
- Compost-based potting soil – Arbor Gate Soil Complete
- Foliar Plus
- Liquid Seaweed
- EM-1
- Rock minerals or Azomite
- Kelp meal
- Anti-Fuego (fire ants will mound in winter and are easy to control)
- Orange Oil
- Horticultural molasses
- Compost – Arbor Gate Compost Complete
- Mulch/Pine straw
- 360 Tree Stabilizers
- Frost cloth
Related article: Could we just turn the calendar around? (arborgate.com)
