September Gardening In The Low Desert

This month begins our lovely fall planting season. Early maturing corn (around 60 days) and beans planted around Labor Day will give you a harvest for Thanksgiving, weather permitting. You can also plant a late crop of summer squash and if you have a warm spot against a wall, you might want to try a late crop of tomatoes and green peppers. Provide transplants and seedlings with a little shade. Remember to prepare your soil well and add some type of soil sulfur, phosphorous and organic matter such as compost or any good commercial product. Sow lettuce and cabbage-family members (such as broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts) in flats now for transplanting into the garden in Oct. We may not particularly look forward to planting while it's hot but this heat can't last forever, can it? It only seems like it!

Now is also the time to plant wildflowers and other annuals and set out perennial plants. The warmth of the soil and the rains we hope to get, will get them growing in a hurry. Don't forget sweet peas, the vining type will grow high and bloom for a long period. Plant on a trellis or even up a palm tree. I like hollyhocks because they are so old fashioned looking, and marigolds for their long blooming period. Research at Texas A & M has shown that fall planted marigolds bloom much more prolifically as days get shorter.

Continue to plant perennials from seed. Start seeds of carnations, columbine, coreopsis, feverfew, gailardia, hardy asters, hollyhocks, lupines, penstemmons, phlox, Shasta daisies, statice, and yarrow. They'll be ready for transplanting in about eight weeks.

Fall is a great time to plant trees and shrubs, giving special attention to the eventual size, and to what care they will need. See July and August 1998 articles for information on landscape styles and plant characteristics. A good general overall plan will be like a road map for plant placement but you can always 'detour' if you find a better route. One of the best things about gardening is that you can always change your mind - pretty important to some of us who always want to be changing things. Just remember, mature shrubs and trees aren't easy to move.

Spring bulbs are in the stores this month. Put them in paper bags in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator for chilling, for about six weeks. Since most of the bulbs must be dug and chilled each year in the low desert, planting in containers is an easier way to do it. There are some bulbs that need less chilling and wouldn't have to be dug and chilled for desert bloom. Some species tulips are in this category and some narcissus.

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