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Fall Has Fallen!
Greetings!
Confession: I've been a lazy slob. Somehow, come late August with that horrible wave of heat and humidity, even dashing out for a quick watering of my containers seemed like mild insanity. I did that watering--but left pretty much everything else alone. And the rest of the garden? Well, it has looked great from my window, and in passing as I walked through it to go ride bikes, or get to work, or to come home from work, or to take Will to piano lessons, or have dinner with friends or ... sometimes life just gets in the way of gardening, doesn't it? But now we've had our first frost and it's time to do a big push of work to put the garden to bed. This weekend is out, but next weekend, I'm praying for clear, sunny weather. I need to get out there with my power hedge trimmer and cut back all the perennials to pile high into my multiple compost heaps. Wondering what you need to do in your own garden? Check out our Fall Garden Checklist, specifically for Iowa. Now get out there and start raking! Bonus points to anyone who has enough soul to let their kids bury them in leaves.
Happy Raking!  Veronica Lorson Fowler |
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Basically Bulbs
 It wouldn't be autumn without the ritual of planting spring-blooming bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils.
Click here for a really solid guide on the best way to plant bulbs to make sure they come up next spring. (Helpful hint: Can you believe that bonemeal and blood meal are useless as fertilizers for bulbs? Opt for compost or Bulb Booster fertilizer instead.) And if you want to force bulbs, that is, plant them indoors for late-winter bloom, click here for good directions. |
 Fall Lawn Care
The old saw is true: Beautiful lawns are made in the fall. Click here for our Lawn Care Schedule for Iowa, which tells you what to do for your lawn every month of the growing season. You'll never wonder when to apply fertilizer or which kind of weed killer again! Perfect to tack onto the wall of your garage or to tuck into your garden journal.
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Fall Fun
A couple of weekend ago, I hit a wonderful apple orchard on a visit to my good friend, Kris, and her family in upstate New York. I ate more apples, plums, pears, peaches, and grapes than I could hold. Forget about Five a Day. I qualified for at least 15! Fascinating flavors plus great apple cider, apple doughnuts, a corn maze, and a hayrack ride to take in the early colors. Visiting an orchard or picking pumpkins is such a wholesome way to while away a sunny weekend afternoon with kids, with extended family, with out-of-town visitors, or simply  with a special someone.
 For a listing of Iowa pumpkin patches and more, click here.
For a listing of Iowa apple orchards, click here.
Corn mazes are now at their spooky, rattlely best. Click here for a listing of corn mazes in Iowa.
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Garden Quote:
"Tell me, gentle flowers, teardrops of the stars, standing in the garden, nodding your heads to the bees as they sing of the dews and the sunbeams, are you aware of the fearful doom that awaits you?" -- "The Book of Tea" by Okakura Kakuzo
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Slowing Down
The garden this time of year is slowing down and so are we. The Iowa
Gardener has been coming out every other week during the heaviest part
of the growing season. But in the late summer through winter, we'll knock back to once a month (with two in October, since we get so busy with winter prep!) Still the same great local garden information, just a little
less often.
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Sponsored Link
Saturday, Oct. 9
The Iowa Garden Coach Join The Iowa Garden Coach, Anne Larson, for a fast-paced, hour-long workshop on time-proven ideas for keeping your garden healthy, saving time in the spring, and maximizing your garden's interest for the long-haul of winter ahead. Registration $15 on-site; 3615 Adams Avenue, Des Moines. For details, click here. |
Garden To-Do List
For a printable version of this list for October, click here.
Pull up all annuals, including those in the veggie garden. Pitch on the compost heap.
Cut back perennials damaged by the frost.
After the first frost, dig up and store indoors any tender bulbs, such as gladiolus, cannas, dahlias, and caladiums, that you want to store over the winter.
Empty all pots and store indoors for the winter. In Iowa's harsh winters, even plastic containers will crack and clay pots will definitely shatter.
If you have any newly planted trees, especially fruit trees, wrap them with a protective tree wrap now. It prevents sun scald and also prevents rabbits and rodents from nibbling the tasty bark. Remove in spring.
Perennials and strawberries do best with 1 to 4 inches of a loose, removable mulch over and/or around them. Leaves chopped by running a mower over them are perfect.
Protect roses. Mound all but rugosa roses around the base with 8 to 12 inches of compost or rich, dark soil to protect the bud union (right above the roots) from winter cold.
Hybrid teas, grandiflora, and floribunda roses--the least cold hardy types--are more likely to survive the winter if you also wrap their stems in burlap and twine.
Click here for more into on types of roses for Iowa.
Plant spring-blooming bulbs. Water well after planting.
Plant mums as desired. You can buy them now in full bloom.
Force bulbs now, as desired.
Fertilize cool season lawns, such as Kentucky bluegrass, ryes and fescues, to encourage good root growth.
Also fertilize warm-season grasses, such as zoysia, also to prompt them to green up faster in spring.
Rake leaves as needed. Keep them off the grass--they can suffocate turf.
Do one final mowing after the first frost.
Maintain your mower and sharpen the blade.
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Garden Events
Friday, Oct. 8
Bulb BrouhahaIowa Arboretum, Madrid Learn how bulbs grow and help us plant the Children's Garden for a colorful spring. Take home your own bag of bulbs after the event to plant at home! Come dressed to get dirty. $5 per family.
Friday, Oct. 8 through Saturday, Oct. 9
Post Bulb Mart Sale
Des Moines
Botanical Center
There are still bulbs available from the Fall Bulb Mart now at a discount. Many of the bulbs are deer- and critter-resistant. 10 am-4 pm.
Saturday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct.17
Iowa Bonsai Society Annual Exhibit9 am-4 pm. Come to Reiman Gardens and enjoy a variety of bonsai. Free for CoHort members; otherwise general admission. Click here for further listings of more garden events. |
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