September Gardening Tips

For Your Lawn

Now’s the time to seed or reseed your lawn. Keep grass seed moist until germination occurs. Add weed-free straw or salt marsh hay to hold seed in place.
Apply lawn fertilizer and add lime if necessary. A 50-lb. bag of lime will raise lawn pH about 0.5 point per 1,000 square feet.

For Your Vegetable Garden

Feed your compost pile with lawn trimmings and shredded brown leaf, alternating layers. Add an activator to speed up decomposition.

For Your Flower Beds

Plant perennials and spring-flowering bulbs. Fertilize and water in well.

Plant fall pansy and flowering cabbage and kale in window boxes, containers, and garden beds.

Sow pansy and viola seed in garden for bloom next spring.

For Your Trees and Shrubs

Fall is a great time to plant new trees and shrubs.

Mulch spring-planted trees and shrubs and be sure to water them thoroughly and deeply.

Apply an anti-desiccant to broadleaf evergreens and specimen conifers while temperatures are still above 50 degrees.