Winding down from summer, gearing up for fall. These garden tips and tasks will get you outdoors to enjoy Middle Tennessee’s October weather.
• Leaf-raking is about to begin (or in some cases, may already have begun). Shred leaves with the mower and place them in the compost, or shovel them directly onto garden beds as mulch.
• Continue to provide water if the weather is dry. Herb beds, especially herbs that last through winter, benefit from regular moisture as the weather cools.
• Fall is a good time to plant trees and shrubs. Be sure to provide enough water now and throughout the plants’ first year. A layer of mulch helps keep the soil moist.
• Cheery pots of mums brighten porches and gardens, but remember to provide water to keep them fresh as long as possible.
• Keep your herb garden going. New plantings of parsley, cilantro and sorrel can stand up to cooler weather.
• The Nashville African Violet Club will meet at 2 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Green Hill Women’s Center, 10905 Lebanon Road, in Mt. Juliet. And the Tennessee Gesneriad Society will meet in Cheekwood’s Botanic Hall at 2 p.m. Oct. 13. For more information about both events, call 615-364-8459.
• Perennial Plant Society of Middle Tennessee will meet Oct. 15 at Cheekwood’s Botanic Hall. Speaker is Ron Daniels, and the topic is roses. Refreshments at 6:30 p.m.; meeting at 7 p.m. Meetings are open to the public.
• Plant summer herbs in a pot to grow in a sunny window — or under lights — through the winter.
• Bring your houseplants back inside before nights begin to turn crisp. Clean the pots before you bring them in, and check the containers and the soil for hitchhiking insects.
• Harvest that second planting of bush and pole beans, cucumbers and summer squash, along with any tender herbs, before frost threatens. Frost is possible around the end of the month in many areas of Middle Tennessee.
• Perennials that need to be divided can be dug and replanted now. Prepare the new planting bed by removing weeds and amending the soil. Do this before you dig the plants to be divided so that perennials can be replanted immediately. Keep newly transplanted roots and foliage watered.
• Bring any tender perennials — potted citrus trees, tropical hibiscus, bougainvillea, etc. — indoors and set them in a sunny spot to spend the winter. Provide regular water throughout fall and winter.
• Clean up spent flowers, rotting foliage and other debris from perennial and annual beds to prevent harmful insects and diseases from overwintering.
• As leaves continue to fall, rake or blow them from newly seeded lawns to keep them from shading the new grass.
• Plant spring-flowering bulbs. Some garden wildlife consider bulbs a tasty treat, so you may need to protect your plantings by laying hardware cloth across the planting bed and covering it with soil. The foliage will grow through it next spring. Garden critters won’t bother daffodils, which are poisonous to chipmunks and other rodents, but tulips are often in danger of becoming a rodent’s dinner.
• Say goodbye to summer gardening by cleaning mowers, trimmers and other power tools, emptying hoses and storing them indoors, and cleaning dirt and mud from garden tools before putting them away for the winter.
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