During gardening season, my philosophy on housecleaning is this: it can wait until just before company comes. Many gardening chores are not as forgiving as dirty floors and dust bunnies, however.
For example, when a plant starts getting too tall or top heavy and needs staking, don’t wait to do the job. A day’s more growth or a little bit of wind could have your plant falling over and breaking off.
Watering is another chore that often can’t wait, especially if plants look wilted and a hot day is ahead. If rain is forecast, you can possibly wait a day, but if rain doesn’t come as promised, don’t delay any longer. Never wait to water container plants. Unless the container is very large, most need watering every day.
Some vegetables must be harvested as soon as they hit their peak. Beans and peas can get big and tough overnight. As for sweet corn, if you don’t harvest it the day it’s ready, the raccoons will do it for you. Other vegetables like zucchini and tomatoes can wait. Watermelon-sized zucchini can be grated or sliced and frozen. Carrots can actually wait to be harvested until spring if you place a thick layer of mulch over them for the winter.
Other gardening chores don’t have the same urgency. There is a long window of time for planting, even longer than what is listed on the back of seed packets. Weeding can wait until just before they go to seed. If you lack ambition to divide a perennial that needs it, you can delay until next year, but it may not grow as prolifically as you would like.
Sometimes seed gathering can wait. Unless the plant has a seedpod that is about to burst and throw seeds far and wide, you can usually delay the job for several days.
Timely tips:
- Fall is prime time to rid your lawn of Creeping Charlie. Mix one cup 20 Mule Team borax per gallon of warm water in your sprinkling can. Walking very quickly, use a 2 ½ gallon can (with 2 ½ cups of borax) to cover 1,000 square feet. Do not do this if the grass is drought-stressed, or if rain is in the near forecast.
- To get last year’s poinsettia to rebloom for Christmas, it needs complete uninterrupted darkness from sunset to sunrise starting in late September. Allow even a few seconds of light just once, for example from a streetlight or if someone opens the closet door where you’ve stowed the plant, and you won’t get the bloom. It’s best to cover the plant with an upside down cardboard box and put a blanket over the box – every night. During the day, place the plant in a bright sunny area and keep the soil evenly moist.
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