It's goodbye time
Well folks, as bad as I hate to say it, we've come to the end of another gardening season in North Idaho. As of this writing, we haven't seen our first frost but we all know that it's lurking just around the corner. We observed our autumn equinox Sept. 22. That's kind of “the beginning of the end.”
The biggest chore I want to mention is about the raspberry bushes. Most of them are probably like mine — about 7 feet tall and in need of a major haircut. If you skip this step, you will have a tough time reaching the berries next summer. I cut mine down to about 4 feet but you may want yours shorter or taller.
It's time to enjoy seeing all that gorgeous fall foliage. We are lucky to have a lot of it in this area. I've read that the color change doesn't come from the cooler temps but instead is triggered by the shorter days. Check it out.
It's a bit early to “winterize” those roses but be ready in a few weeks by having a big container of soil ready to dump over each one. This is a “must-do” step for hybrid tea types. Skipping it will often result in the stem above the graft dying, which, in turn, would cause the plant to bloom differently. Instead of the pretty blooms it had been producing, you would only get some small scraggly dark red ones. These would come from the rootstock.
Don't do any fertilizing now. The growing season is officially over. That stuff just tells any kind of plant to produce new growth and that's not something desirable at this time of year. The exception would be things indoors, such as blooming house plants. Even African Violets are better off waiting until the days begin to lengthen.
Here's another reminder for you veggie gardeners. It's time to “button up” that area. Get out the shovel and dig up those spuds, carrots and others. Hopefully, you have a storage area for them. We used to all have root cellars but those are probably pretty rare these days. Cellars are good and of course, refrigerators.
I have some very pretty frilly pink blooms in my yard right now. These are called Autumn Crocus. They faithfully produce their nice big flowers for me every September. The bulbs should be available now.
It is still early enough to plant tulip bulbs. This can be done right up until the ground freezes.
Water those trees one last time. Remember what a dry summer we had? The water from your sprinklers just isn't enough for them. Then there's the tomatoes. If you still have them growing, you might want to give it up and pick them. If you have room in your garage, yank up the entire plant, hang it upside down and let the tomatoes ripen that way. They will have a better flavor.
And now the thought for the day: “Housework won't kill you but why take a chance?” Most of us gardeners would rather dig in the dirt. I know I would. Any day.
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Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting as a kid 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 different states and is currently an active member of the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls. Her columns have appeared in The Press every other Sunday from March until September for the past 16 years.
