Pumpkin Carving

I’ll be carving pumpkins this weekend. Here are a few random tips:

Carve the bottom out first. It’s easier to pull out all the seeds since they are at the bottom of the pumpkin.

It is also easier to light a candle inside. Once the candle is lit, you can set the pumpkin right on top of it.

Dust the inside of your pumpkin with ground cinnamon. When the candle is lit, it will give off a fragrance much like pumpkin pie.

Here are some links to websites that have some great stencils you can use when carving pumpkins.

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/mpatterns.htm

http://www.celebrating-halloween.com/pumpkincarving/index.shtml

Final Yard Cleanup

For me this will be my big final yard cleanup weekend…other then raking leaves and pulling the plants out of planters once it freezes.
My weekend checklist includes:

 · Fertilizing the lawn.

 · Taking the pump out of the water fountain. You should store the pump in your basement in a bucket of water, which prevents the gaskets from drying out.

 · Plant daffodil bulbs. Daffodils should be planted by the end of October. Tulips can be planted well into November.

 · Rake some of the leaves.

 · Put the outdoor furniture in the garage for the winter.

 · Transplant a few perennials. I planted Coral Bells in some container gardens. I need to dig them out and get them into the garden.

 · Add cypress mulch to some gardens so I don’t have to do it in the spring.

Here are some links on planting bulbs:
Spring Bulb Panting Depths

Success with Tulips

Success with Daffodils

Now is the time...

I get lots of questions at this time of year as to what can and cannot be done at this time of the year.

Here are some answers to some of the many questions.

Don’t fertilize anything right now other than your lawn in October. Use a lawn winterizer fertilizer on your lawn in October.

Spray for dandelions now.

Wait until after the first light frost to spray for Creeping Charlie. If you have both dandelions and Creeping Charlie wait for the right time to spray the Creeping Charlie.

Don’t prune anything right now. Pruning stimulates growth and new growth at this time of year may not survive the winter, leading to die back.

If you need to seed your lawn do it soon. It should be seeded by September 20 so as to give it time to grow.

Sod can be laid well into October.

Many perennials can be divided at this time of year. A little bit of online research will tell you if your specific variety can be.

Trees, shrubs, evergreens and perennials can all be planted right now. Evergreens and perennials can be planted until early October. Trees and shrubs can be planted almost until the end of October.

Water, water, water. Trees, shrubs and evergreens should all be watered until the ground freezes. This is even more important for those plants that were planted this year.

Buy your tulips, daffodils and crocus now while the selection is good, but wait until October to plant them. It is too early to plant them right now.

Now is the time to aerate your lawn, but most residential yards don’t need aeration.

Support locally grown

On Sunday, I visited the Minneapolis Farmer’s market. We are in high season for buying locally grown fruits and vegetables. It was amazing to see all the great looking produce. It also smelled so good. In the case of the Minneapolis Farmers Market, not everything is locally grown. This is not the case in other markets. When shopping there, make sure you ask.

Take the time to visit a farmers market, a roadside stand and support those who work so hard to grow locally grown produce.

For information on farmers markets throughout Minnesota, click here.


For information on the Minneapolis Farmers Market click here.


For information on the Mill City Farmers Market in Minneapolis click here.


For information on the St. Paul Farmers Market click here.


For all of the readers in Wisconsin here is a link to farmers markets in Wisconsin.


Make your day a good one.

Lawns

I receive more emails that are lawn related than everything else combined.
A few answers to some of the recent emails.
Lawn seeding – mid-August to about mid-September is the best time of year to seed a lawn. Yes, it’s better than the spring. Why? Both the soil temps and air temps are warmer which leads to better germination.
For more information on lawn seeding, click here.

Creeping Charlie – This time of year, it can look like it is going to take over your yard and it probably is. The best time of year to get rid of creeping Charlie is after the first light frost…which I hope is a long ways away. Don’t spray your lawn with herbicides during these hot days of summer.
For more information on creeping Charlie, click here.

Weeds

It’s a bumper year for weeds…at least in my yard. Last year, I didn’t practice exactly what I preach and that is keeping the weeds in your yard from going to seed. One weed allowed to go to seed this year will produce countless weeds the next year. That is the case in my yard right now. So, if you have weeds in your yard, keep them under control.

Make your day a good one.

Water, Water, Water

Yea, it’s dry. As I have said before trees, shrubs, evergreens and lawn all need about one inch of water per week. That one inch of water should be delivered at one time and not multiple times during the week. One deep watering creates stronger, deeper and healthier root systems. If you have heavy clay soil or very sandy soils, you may have to water more or less. One inch of water per week is what most soils need. Water in the early morning or early evening. Avoid mid-day and late evening watering. If you water during the heat of the day, much of it evaporates. Watering into the evening leaves the plants wet all night. If we have hot and humid weather, leaving the plants wet all night can lead to bacterial and fungal problems.
For more information on watering, click here.

Make your day a good one.