Now desert dwellers, it doesn’t seem like almost time to start planting again but it is. If you get out there early this month and plant early maturing corn (about 60 days), you should have fresh corn for Thanksgiving, weather permitting.
When temperatures drop below 100 consistently, sow cool season crops-beets, carrots, celery, chard, endive, green onions, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, parsley, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, short season snap beans, Swiss chard, and turnips. 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!
Prepare your roses for fall bloom by pruning dead canes, then fertilize and water well to stimulate fall growth. Also lift and divide iris rhizomes.
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 sweet peas on a trellis or even up a palm tree.
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. Newly planted trees and shrubs will require careful attention to watering for the first few weeks.
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. Also, remember to choose any bulbs you want to force into bloom for Christmas, for yourself or for gifts. Tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and narcissus are some of the more common ones and aren’t difficult to force. Begin forcing bulbs of amaryllis and paper white narcissus by month’s end to have indoor bloom for Christmas. Kalanchoes need 12 hours of darkness for 4 to 6 weeks beginning this month to promote flowering by Christmas.
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