Stratification and Vernalization of Seeds for Fall Planting By Joyce D’Agostino

With the arrival of fall, typically most gardeners feel that their work is done, other than possibly pulling vegetable plants that are finished and raking leaves. 

But if you would like to get a head start on planting some great flowers for next season, fall is a good time. There are actually some plants whose seeds need to have a certain amount of cold and darkness in order to germinate and establish. We are all familiar with planting flowers and vegetables in the spring, but all plants have different preferences for reseeding and growing. For example, some perennials and biennial plants are best sown in the fall to allow them to develop a strong root system. This method is called Stratification and Vernalization.

Fertilize Bluegrass in the Fall for a Green Spring Lawn by Carol King

Photo Carol King

Did you know that fall is the best time of year to fertilize Colorado's bluegrass lawns and you still have lots of time to do this?  If you fertilize now, you won't have to do anything in the spring but watch your lawn turn green.

Planttalk Colorado give us the advice to "simply fertilize with nitrogen sometime during late September to early November at lower altitudes, and earlier in the mountains." 

The benefits of fall fertilizing include a healthier turf before winter, a healthier root system, and stimulating a turf that greens up earlier in the spring without excessive top growth. 

Fall fertilization produces dense, green spring lawns and should be a part of every good lawn care program.

For more information including how much nitrogen to put on your lawn see this fact sheet: http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/lawn-care-7-202/

and this Planttalk script http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1523.html

Go Hug a Tree by Carrie Garczynski

Photo by Carrie Garczynski

Trees around Colorado are abundant, and we love them! We love them for their beauty, their shade, and their ability hold that wooden swing with the long rope handles that we adore in the summer. Trees are necessary for life, and not just ours. Animals rely on trees for food, shelter from predators, and as a jungle gym; the soil depends on them to reduce erosion, hold it in place and to pass nutrients; plants use trees as a food source, shade from the sun, protection from the wind, and a trellis to climb upon. And this is just to name a few benefits.

Fall is the Time to Manage Dandelions by Rebecca Anderson

 

Everyone recognizes a dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) by its bright yellow flower that transitions to a white puff ball in a matter of days. Most homeowners consider the dandelion an enemy of the perfect lawn.   A single plant can produce 15,000 seeds and those seeds can travel 100 miles with the proper gust of wind.  The plant is a perennial, meaning it will come back year after year once it is established.  This can make controlling dandelions a difficult task.

Become a Colorado Master Gardener in Jefferson County Colorado by Bruce Ide

Colorado Master Gardeners at Farmers' Market

Colorado State University and Jefferson County CSU Extension will be offering Colorado Master Gardener and Colorado Gardener Certificate classes starting January 2018.

If you have an interest in increasing your gardening knowledge and in helping your friends and neighbors become better gardeners and in protecting the environment, one of these programs might be for you.

The Colorado Master Gardener Program is for people who have the interest and time available to provide research based information to the community through volunteer service with the Jefferson County Extension. 

The Colorado Gardener Certificate is for people who want to learn to be better gardeners, protect the environment and share information with their friends and neighbors without the volunteer requirement of the Colorado Master Gardener^sm  program.

Jefferson County CSU Extension is taking applications for the Colorado Master Gardener^sm or Colorado Gardener Certificate programs.  More information and applications can be found at: http://jeffco.extension.colostate.edu/horticulture/

Deadline for applying to the Colorado Master Gardener program is Gardener Applications October 27, 2017. Deadline for Garden Certificates is December 8, 2017.  For additional information please call 303-271-6620.

Spiders in the House by Donna Duffy

Photo courtesy notyourhomepage.com

You’ve probably noticed an increase in spiders in the house. I know I have – I’m greeted most mornings by a spider trapped on the shower floor or in the sink. Spiders start wandering indoors in the early fall when cooler outdoor temperatures force them to find shelter. Before you panic, remember that most Colorado spiders are harmless.

Five Tips for Fall Lawn Care by Donna Duffy

Autumn is definitely in the air and you know what that means – winter is just around the corner. Here are five actions you can take to get your lawn in top shape for spring.

Love Birds and Pollinators? Don't Clean the Fall Garden by Carol King

lowes.com

Most gardeners love having birds and pollinators visit their gardens. Many of us are actively planting pollinator habitats, while feeding the birds just goes with the territority! As the garden season ends, most of us think fall is the time to tidy the garden. Recent science tells us this is not the case if we want to promote both pollinators and bird habitat.  Here are several things you don’t need to do in the fall:

Don’t Rake the leaves.

• Leaves rot and enrich the soil and they can act as mulch in your perennial beds. Mulch helps to protect the roots and maintains much needed moisture for winter survival.
• Birds forage for food in leaves because they harbor insects and their eggs and larvae. A healthy layer of undisturbed soil and leaf litter means more moths which in their caterpillar phase are a crucial food source for birds. Birds feed their young almost exclusively on caterpillars regardless of the bird species. They consume thousands of caterpillars and other pest insects as they raise their young every gardening season. Did you know the more insect-nurturing habitat you have, the greater the bird population will be?
• Leaves provide home for praying mantises, spiders, ladybugs, many butterfly species, and countless species of beneficial insects. Cleaning up causes casualties in these insects who eat the bad guys.
• Using a mulching mower on leaves and leaving them on the lawn will nourish your grass providing free fertilizer.

Harvesting and Storing Vegetables by Donna Duffy

The seasons are certainly changing in Jefferson County, Colorado. It's time to harvest the  vegetables still growing in your garden.  Following are several tips to prolong your harvest of root crops, squash, pumpkins, cabbage, celery, kale and collard greens.

Harvesting

• Root Crops can remain where they are grown until there is a danger of soil freezing. Postpone harvesting by hilling the soil over the shoulders of carrots and beets to protect from freezing. If straw and soil are piled over the row as insulation, harvest may be delayed even longer.

• Harvest onions soon after the tops fall over. Pull the onions, remove the tops, and cure the onions in mesh bags or crates where they have good air circulation until the necks dry down. When they rustle upon handling, they are ready to move to a cool, dry storage area.

• Do not harvest winter squash and pumpkins until the vines are frost-killed and the skin is hard to the thumbnail. Leave stems on the fruit to protect against disease invasion.

• Celery and late cabbage may be harvested after the frost has stopped their growth. Pull celery with its roots attached. Cut cabbage and remove the loose outer leaves.

• Kale and collards can be left in the garden long after the first fall frost. Harvest as needed until the foliage finally succumbs to cold weather.

Fall Vegetable Garden Cleanup by Audrey Stokes

Photo by Audrey Stokes

You and your fall garden benefit when you give your plants the same TLC in fall as you do in spring and summer. A vegetable garden left unattended through winter provides a cover for pests and disease. 

Plant disease agents such as bacteria, fungi and viruses all remain alive, though dormant, during the winter months. By recognizing the places where these organisms hide, gardeners can often destroy them and prevent disease outbreaks the following spring. Many fungi spend the winter on or in old leaves, fruit and other garden refuse. These fungi often form spores or other reproductive structures that remain alive even after the host plant has died. Cucumber and squash vines, cabbages, and the dried remains of tomato and bean plants are all likely to harbor fungi if left in the garden over the winter.

Insects, too, survive quite nicely over the winter months. Cucumber beetle, Colorado potato beetle and Mexican bean beetle all overwinter as adults. In spring they migrate to young plants where they feed and lay eggs for a new generation. Insects and plant pathogens survive on weeds as well as on garden plants. Many weeds serve as alternate hosts for insects and fungi, helping them to complete their life cycle. Destruction of these weeds removes a source of future troubles.

Planting and Growing Fall Bulbs by Carol King

owtdoor.com

The gardening season is winding down but remember how beautiful those tulips and daffodils were in April and May? Fall bulb planting is an easy way to jump-start the spring gardening season. September and October are the best months for planting those spring blooming bulbs. Planting now will allow ample time for the bulbs to become well rooted before the ground freezes.

Here are a few simple tips for successful bulb planting:

• Plant the bulbs at a depth consistent with the level indicated on the planting chart. As a general rule, this depth is four times the height of the bulb between the soil surface and the tip of the bulb. 
• Plant the bulbs with the growing tip up.
• After the ground freezes, cover the bed with a 3-inch mulch to prevent alternate freezing and thawing that breaks roots and damages bulbs
• Purchase bulbs in early for best selection and variety. Choose bulbs that are large and free from disease or decay. To ensure higher quality, pick out bulbs individually.
• Select a variety of bulbs that will provide a long-lasting show in spring. Many suppliers will indicate the bloom time (early, mid or late) and mature height. Choose bulbs of varying heights for each bloom time to prolong color and add interest to the spring garden.

Planting now will ensure your  spring garden is beautiful!  Here is further information:

http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/fall-planted-bulbs-and-corms-7-410/ 

A Visit from the Painted Ladies By Joyce D’Agostino

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

Recently I noticed a large group of colorful butterflies on my fall aster plants. These butterflies are Vanessa cardui more commonly known as the Painted Ladies.

Due to favorable spring conditions in California, which helped these butterflies find the right host plants to lay their eggs, and then favorable weather and host plant conditions during the summer to aid in their nutrition, these colorful insects are numerous this year.