The Almanac
Average temperature: High 90, Low 72
Rainfall: 5’76 inches
Autumn arrives Tuesday, Sept. 22
1. Moon phases
Last quarter: Sept. 4
New moon: Sept. 10
First quarter: Sept. 18
Full moon: Sept. 26
2. Moon sign planting dates
Above-ground crops: 10, 11, 14, 15, 19, 20, 24, 25
Below-ground crops: 1, 2, 5, 6, 28, 29, 30
Control weeds and pests: 3, 4, 21, 22, 23
Prune trees and shrubs: 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 26, 27
Time to plant
3. Vegetables: Early plantings include lima bean, snap bean, corn, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, southern pea, rhubarb, squash and tomato; end-of-month crops include broccoli, cabbage, celery, collard, endive, lettuce, mustard, onion, radish, strawberry and turnip
4. Flowers: Ageratum, angelonia, begonia, blue daze, butterfly weed, cat’s whiskers, celosia, cleome, coleus, coreopsis, cosmos, garden mums, gaura, gazania, gerbera, goldenrod, gomphrena, heliotrope, impatiens, jacobinia, lantana, marigold, melampodium, nicotiana, pentas, periwinkle, ruellia, salvia, sunflower, sweet alyssum, torenia, verbena and zinnia
5. Herbs: Anise, basil, bay laurel, borage, chives, coriander, dill, lemon balm, lavender, Mexican tarragon, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, sweet fennel, sweet marjoram and thyme
6. Bulbs: African iris, agapanthus, amaryllis, blackberry lily, bulbine, calla lily, crinum, crocosmia, day lily, gladiolus, kaffir lily, narcissus, society garlic, spider lily, rain lilies and walking iris
Vegetable and fruit care
7. Hurry to plant the warm season vegetables so they mature before cold weather.
8. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants should be the first crops planted.
9. Leaf miners have been affecting young transplants; control with natural sprays.
10. Improve sandy soils with lots of organic matter.
11. Clear weeds from garden sites and till compacted soils prior to planting.
12. Remove plastic covers from solarization treatments and plant without tilling.
13. Keep new plantings and seedlings moist; water older plantings when the soil begins to dry.
14. Apply a first feeding two weeks after adding transplants or seed germination.
15. Only allow healthy older tomato plants to grow from spring into the fall.
16. Rejuvenate herb gardens in late September and add fresh fall plantings.
17. Harvest sweet potatoes when the ground swells with thick roots at the base of the plants.
18. Provide trellises for tomatoes, cucumbers and similar growing crops.
19. Use mulches to conserve water, control weeds and keep soil off leafy crops.
20. Remove side shoots to root from pineapple plants to increase the planting.
21. Add vegetables and herbs to containers for patio and balcony gardens.
22. Clean containers and start with fresh potting soil each season.
23. Use large containers for the taller-growing crops, including tomatoes.
24. Keep container-grown tomatoes uniformly moist to avoid blossom-end rot.
25. Irrigate citrus trees once or twice a week during dry weather to maintain the fruit.
26. Start seedlings of fall cool-season crops later in the month.
27. Feed vegetable gardens every three to four weeks and container gardens weekly.
28. Begin citrus and avocado tree feedings toward the end of the month.
29. Harvest ripening avocado, banana, papaya, pineapple and persimmon fruits.
30. Continue to give banana, papaya and pineapple plantings a monthly feeding.
Lawn care
31. Most lawns flourished with the help of summer rains; begin fall care at month’s end.
32. Check local ordinances to determine when lawn feedings can begin.
33. Fall lawn feedings begin in late September where permitted.
34. Regreen lawns with a hungry look using an iron or minor nutrient product until feeding time.
35. Patch pest damaged or weedy areas with new sod, plugs or seed.
36. Grassy weeds are hard to control; often it’s best to remove the weeds and add sod.
37. Complete seeding of bahia turf in early September.
38. Begin sodding lightly shady areas when drier weather returns.
39. Sod webworms may continue feeding; treat lawns only when chewing damage is noted.
40. Chinch bugs usually continue into fall; treat at first sign of turf decline.
41. Fire ants are frequently found in lawns; spot treat mounds then treat the entire lawn.
42. Test your soil acidity and adjust as needed.
43. Dry weather can return this month; wait to irrigate turf until leaf blades start to curl.
44. Water turf separately from ornamental plantings.
45. Aerate hard-to-wet or compacted soils.
46. Begin fall weed control treatments at the end of the month.
47. Continue mowings at recommended heights, but periodically change mowing patterns.
48. Sharpen mower blades and change engine oil.
49. Fill declining heavily-shaded turf areas with an ornamental ground cover or mulch.
Landscape care
50. Trees and shrubs may have grown out of bounds; start end-of-summer pruning.
51. Prune declining fronds and flower stems from palms but leave the green.
52. Sterilize pruners between cuts when trimming palms to avoid diseases.
53. Avoid planting palms with prevalent disease problems.
54. Weeds have made good growth too; hand pull or spot treat with herbicides.
55. Edge beds and walkways to keep the landscape attractive.
56. Remove declining annuals and perennials; replant with a warm season selection.
57. Caladiums may start to decline this month; remove declining portions as needed.
58. Scale insects, mealy bugs and aphids have been active; control as needed.
59. Sooty mold grows on the excreta of insects; control both with a horticultural oil spray.
60. Check container plantings for plugged drainage holes; repot as needed.
61. Cool-season flowers may arrive at garden centers; wait at least another month to plant.
62. Groom perennials to remove old flower heads and out of control shoots
63. Reduce root rot and similar problems at planting by adding new soil to container gardens.
64. Till flower beds and add organic matter or garden soils to sandy sites.
65. Consider using more long-lived perennials to reduce landscape costs.
66. Chrysanthemums make attractive fall flowers but they only last a few weeks in the heat.
67. Give poinsettias a final pruning in early September; continue feedings.
68. Renew mulch layers with top-dressings as needed.
69. Divide perennials and replant in the garden.
70. Obtain northern bulbs to chill for forcing.
71. Add new trees, shrubs and palms.
72. Feed palms in October; use a slow- release fertilizer three to four times a year.
73. Many areas of Florida have fertilizer restrictions; plants in containers are usually exempted.
74. Feed hanging baskets and orchids every other week.
75. Remove declining leaves and flowers from water lilies; give a monthly feeding.
Foliage and houseplant care
76. There is still time to revive foliage plants by moving them outdoors to a shady site.
77. Indoor orchids and bromeliads make good outdoor additions when they begin to decline.
78. Groom foliage plants growing outdoors for an improved appearance.
79. Control pests including scale, mealybugs, thrips and mites with natural sprays.
80. Gradually reduce feedings and waterings of Christmas and holiday cactus.
81. Decide which plants to bring indoors for the cooler months.
82. Transplant foliage plants needing new containers before the cooler fall weather.
83. Feed foliage plants monthly or use a slow-release fertilizer according to label.
84. Replace declining plants with new selections for fall.
85. Obtain amaryllis and paper white narcissus bulbs for fall forcing.
Tom MacCubbin is an urban horticulturist emeritus with the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Write him: Orlando Sentinel, P.O. Box 2833, Orlando, FL. 32802. Email: TomMac1996@aol.com.
Comments are closed.