As summer begins to cool off, it's once again a busy time in the garden as we enter prime time for planting trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs, as well as grass seed. I’ve been getting plenty of questions via e-mail as well as on my social media accounts and I thought it would be fun to share some of the more popular enquiries in this weeks column.
When is the best time to plant grass seed to thicken up my lawn? - Steve
September and October are the right months for overseeding existing lawns, sowing seeds for a new lawn, or planting sod. The combination of warm soil, cooler temperatures, and increased levels of moisture make for perfect planting conditions.
To boost success when overseeding, begin by mowing the grass and bagging the clippings. Then, hard rake to remove thatch (the layer of dead grass at the soil surface). If you have large bare patches in your lawn, it’s a good idea to loosen the hard soil and put down a few centimetres of good quality soil before seeding.
Now it’s time to plant! Buy a high quality seed mixture that offers a blend of perennial ryegrass, fescue and bluegrass and seed at the recommended rate. If you have a push or hand spreader, use that to spread the seed evenly on the lawn. If you don’t have a spreader, you can spread seed by hand, but try to spread it consistently.
An organic turf building lawn fertilizer can also be applied at this time. Use a spreader to avoid dropping clumps of fertilizer. Once the seed has been sown, keep the area evenly moist until the grass germinates in one to two weeks.
When can I plant tulips and daffodils? - Julie
While tulips and daffodils won’t bloom until spring, fall is the time to plant the bulbs. By mid-September most garden centres will have a large selection of fall bulbs in stock. I generally don't plant until October when the weather is cooler but you can buy your bulbs earlier and store them in a cool location until you're ready to plant.
Most fall-planted bulbs grow best in a sunny garden with well-drained soil. There are exceptions to this as certain bulbs, generally small flowering bulbs like Glory-of-the-snow and snowdrops, can be planted in partial shade beneath trees. Also, if deer are a problem in your garden, you may wish to plant deer-resistant bulbs like daffodils, fritillaria, alliums, and grape hyacinths.
I just built my first raised bed. Are there any vegetables I can plant now? - Cindy
Congratulations Cindy! I grow almost all my vegetables and herbs in raised beds and find it a low-maintenance way to grow a lot of food in a small space. And late summer is a great time to build a few new raised beds to get a head start on the spring garden.
That said, you can still plant certain crops now. I’m sowing vegetables that will have time to mature before the cold weather arrives. My favourite fall-harvested crops include radishes, turnips, scallions, cilantro, Swiss chard, leaf lettuce, spinach, arugula, and Asian greens like pak choi. Garlic is also planted in October. Find garlic for planting at your garden centre or farmer’s market.
Is it too late to fertilize my trees? I have lilacs, apple trees, and a flowering crabapple. - Sam
Sorry Sam, but yes, it’s too late to fertilize trees, shrubs, and perennials. I generally don’t fertilize any perennial plants like these past the beginning of August. Why? The flush of nutrients encourages fresh growth which is good in the spring but not so late in the year as it likely won’t have time to harden off before the cold weather arrives. So put your fertilizer back in the garden shed until next spring.
Niki Jabbour is the best-selling author of three gardening books, and a two-time winner of the prestigious American Horticultural Society Book Award. Find her on social media and at SavvyGardening.com.
