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If you think you're seeing things - you are

by Elaine Cerny
| October 7, 2012 9:00 PM

Like it or not, our growing season has about come to an end. When the leaves change colors and the birds head south, it's time to go indoors and take a rest. I'm sure all you gardeners have been busy getting things finished up in the yard.

As for seeing things ... the tiny ash aphids have hatched and are busy swarming around as they decide in which ash tree they'll lay their eggs. Ignore them, they'll be gone soon.

Besides raking leaves, the last remaining vegetables need to be picked or dug. If you are a garlic lover, late September and early October is the recommended time to plant it. Just take the cloves apart and plant each little piece about four inches deep with the pointed side up. Mulch after the ground freezes.

Other things to plant right now are the spring flowering bulbs. Those needing to go in now are: all the tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, etc. Be sure to plant these where they will get sun next spring. You will enjoy them the most if you can plant them where they can be seen from a window.

Bury each bulb about 3 times it's size. All bulbs need good drainage, especially daffodils. It's not crucial when the bulbs are growing, but it is when they're dormant. That's when they will rot and you'll never see them again. A bit of bulb fertilizer placed in the bottom of the hole is a good idea. Then an inch or so of fine gravel or sand placed under the bulb for drainage.

Most perennials can wait until spring to be trimmed back. In fact, many of them make great bird food during the winter as they have nice seed heads.

If you want to save some of your favorite plants, but don't want to pot up the whole thing to bring indoors, take cuttings. Some plants, such as coleus, will freeze easily, so don't wait. Just cut 4 or 5 inches off the top stems and put them in water indoors. They will root in a week or so. As soon as these roots are an inch long, pot them up in small containers of potting soil and put in a nice sunny window.

I save my favorite coleus, Persian shield, streptocarpus and others. These all make great houseplants during the colder months. Cut them back about halfway, then spray them with a product labeled for spider mites. Keep them apart from your other plants for a couple of weeks, just to be sure.

You may want to save the dahlias and tuberous begonia tubers you've been growing. It's not difficult and is one sure way to get the same flowers again next year.

If so, wait until the plants have been hit with a good hard frost, then wait to dig them about ten days later. This gives the plant time to send it's energy down to the tuber. Shake off the dirt (or wash), then lay them out to dry a few days. If the nights are freezing, be sure do to this step in the basement or garage.

There are several methods used to store these over winter. My favorite method is to use a small paper lunch bag for each tuber. Fill half full with hamster cage-type shredded material, put in the tuber and fill the bag with more of it. Fold over the top and write on the bag any pertinent information such as color, bloom type and variety name. These can be stored in the basement or garage. Just be sure they don't freeze. The best storing temperatures are about 40 degrees. Check a few times during the winter to make sure they're not shriveled. If so, mist them a bit.

Remember to save those fall leaves for mulch. Run over them a few times with the lawnmower to shred them and then either put them into the compost heap or large trash bags. Either way works and you're done with the job. I just wish I could say the same for the pine needles!

Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. Since then, she has always kept a garden of some sort, growing everything from fruits and vegetables to flowers and house plants. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is an active member of the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls.