Don't Put Your Lawn to Bed Yet! by Rebecca Anderson

Photo by Donna Duffy

With fall approaching, everyone is looking forward to a break from the hot weather and summer yard chores of mowing and watering.  It's true that the grass isn't getting tall as quickly as it did in June, but that doesn't mean that it has quit growing.  In the fall, grasses are forming tillers: side shoots that thicken the grass and help it recover from losses that occurred in the more stressful times of summer. This side growth still requires some water, so don't roll up the hoses or blow out your sprinklers yet.  Water application of 0.5 to 0.75 inches per week is recommended by CSU for the months of September and October.  This is significantly less than the recommended 2.25 inches per week in the hottest months of summer, but is still more than our rainfall totals for most weeks.

Fall Needle Drop by Mary Small

Fall needle drop on Black Hills spruce, photo by Donna Duffy

Spruce trees often get attention in the fall. Their inner needles turn yellow or brown and drop off. To put your mind at ease, it’s not unusual for these conifers to shed interior needles beginning in late summer and continuing well into fall.  This is normal evergreen behavior. 

Colorful and Curious Gourds Provide Fall Interest by Joyce Agostino

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

Every year when I plan my garden, I try to add a few items such as gourds, pumpkins and ornamental corn that will add some end of the season color and fun. Gourds are easy to grow and can be functional as well as decorative.

Fall Invaders: Insects in the Home by Mary Small

Box Elder Bug Photo clemson.edu

When days shorten and temperatures become chilly, folks often find uninvited guests – insects and their relatives- sharing indoor quarters. Although annoying and even startling, these creatures are just trying to hunker down for winter. They need to find shelter where temperatures hover between 40 and 50 degrees F. The west and south sides of a home can provide warm places to hang out as they search for prime real estate. They don’t need much of an opening on the home exterior to find it, either.  Many can squeeze into quarters using an opening the width of a credit card!

The best way to manage the intruders is to keep them out in the first place.  Look for exterior openings around windows, doors, etc., and caulk them. Examine door sweeps. Can you see light underneath the door? It’s time to replace the sweeps.  These steps will help keep the unwanted critters out and you’ll be increasing energy conservation, too!

The Aster Yellows Blues by Carol King

Echinacea varieties, photo by Donna Duffy

My latest indignity in the garden, (does it never end) is aster yellows in a cone flower, Echinacea purpurea.  A couple of years ago I noticed a Dr. Seussian blossom with funny shaped green things coming out of the flower. My research led me to this condition called aster yellows.

Harvesting Peppers in the Fall by Joyce D'Agostino

Early Jalapeño Pepper, photo by Joyce D'Agostino

If you have grown sweet or hot peppers this season, now is the time to prepare to harvest. Peppers are tender annuals that will not tolerate frost.

Many peppers begin green and then will turn color as they mature or ripen. The taste and heat of the pepper can vary from the green state to when they turn a color. If your peppers are the hot variety, refer to the seed packet information to learn the Scoville units that rates the heat of the pepper. 

PlantTalk: Planting Garlic (Video)

Fall is the best time to plant garlic in Jefferson County. Here are helpful tips from PlantTalk Colorado!

Summer Fruit Season is Here By Joyce D’Agostino

Grapes, photo by Joyce D'Agostino

It’s that time of the summer, when your fruit trees are loaded with fruit that is ripening. Fruit have a number of vitamins, minerals and fiber that are great for your diet, so enjoy them fresh.

But if you have more than you can eat quickly, the bulletins below will give you great tips on how to can, freeze, dehydrate or make jams or jellies from your fruit to extend your enjoyment for later use. When you properly can, freeze and dry your fruit at peak ripeness, then they will retain these beneficial nutrients for months. Jams and jellies can also make great gifts.

Renovating the Lawn in Fall

Photo by Donna Duffy

Does your lawn have dead spots or thinning? Do you have sections that just aren’t thriving? Once you've ruled out irrigation problems, consider renovation of the turf - and fall is the perfect time to do it. Cool weather is optimum for growth of cool season grasses, and lower temperatures slow the drying of seeded areas, leading to better germination.  Following are tips for lawn renovation from Carl Wilson, CSU Horticulturist.

Tips for Saving Seeds By Joyce D’Agostino

Seed saving, photo courtesy modern farmer.org

Many of us enjoy starting our plants from seed. Some of these seeds may have been shared by friends or have been handed down through family members, which give them a special legacy of their own. Now that we are in late summer, there are many garden favorites that are producing and those that you may want to grow again next year.

Fruit Fly Control by Carol King

Fruit flies

This time of the year, when your counter if full of ripening fruit and the compost bin is loaded with peelings, seeds, and all the residue of the wonderful produce available this season, we find a problem pest flying around.  That annoying little creature we call the fruit fly.  

Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Entomology Specialist gives us this information about the fruit fly. 

"Vinegar flies, also known as small fruit flies, commonly develop in overripe or decaying fruit and vegetable matter. They are minute, light brown flies with orange-red eyes and rarely are they found very far from the fruit bowl. Numbers tend to build in late summer. If conditions are suitable and food is present, they may breed indoors.

Although associated with fruit, developing vinegar flies actually feed on yeasts. To eliminate a vinegar fly problem, use up overripe fruit, refrigerate it or discard it. At the same time, give attention to other breeding sites. Vinegar flies may, for example, breed in the moist residue that remains in the bottom of beer bottles or soft drink cans, as well as in other areas where moist organic matter allows for yeast growth. After all such food sources are removed, some residual adults may remain for a week or so, but ultimately will die out."

Also clean sinks and drains, empty indoor compost pails and set out baited traps. Here's and article on how to make your own fruit fly trap: lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/fruitflytrap.shtml

Debunking a Hot Weather Watering Myth by Donna Duffy

Photo courtesy ehow.com

Perhaps you’ve heard it said that “watering plants on a hot sunny day will scorch their leaves”. It’s a myth! The following information, provided by Linda Chalker-Scott, PhD, Extension Horticulturist at Washington State University, debunks that myth once and for all!