Monthly Gardening Calendar
Sharon Morrisey, Consumer Horticulture Agent
University of Wisconsin-Extension in Milwaukee Co.

As the cool, moist summer slips into a cold, wet fall our yards and gardens start their preparations for the winter. Fall color arrived slowly and little later than usual this year.  As always it came first to plants under stress from adverse environments or under assault by bug or pathogen.

Should the rain cease and desist entirely from now until the ground freezes, plants would benefit from a late fall dousing.  If we continue the current trend in precipitation, there’s one less thing to do before winter.

Regardless, leaves will eventually drift into piles on the lawn. Chop them right in place by mowing frequently.  Where they are deep, they may need to go through the mower a couple of times.  Once the pieces are small enough to see the lawn through them, leaving them there will not harm the grass. Chopped with a mower and bagged, this leaf and grass mixture is a great soil conditioner in the vegetable garden so don’t let it go to waste.

Rake and bag some of this “brown” to use in your compost pile next spring and summer to balance out the "green" stuff.  You'll need some to stuff into chicken wire cages around your roses near Thanksgiving, too.

This is an important time of year for your lawn.  The last fertilizer application around Halloween is the most important of the season.  Use a winterizer or any product with a high percentage of organic, slow-release nitrogen.  Then wait until Memorial Day to fertilize again.

Weedkiller used now to kill creeping Charlie and dandelions will be more effective now than at any other time of the year. Spot treat only where it's needed unless weeds are widespread.  Then use a combination weed and feed product early in the month fertilze and control weeds.  This is actually the only time of year when the timing is acceptable for both the weed killer and the fertilizer in these products.

First Week

The vegetable harvest is still coming in.  Donate whatever you can to help the hungry in your community.  Call the Harvest for the Hungry program at Second Harvest 931-7400 for location of a drop-off site near your home.

Buy and plant fall mums in a well-drained, sunny site. Fertilize at planting and then not again until next spring. Be sure the mums you buy are hardy garden mums or they will not survive the winter. 

Collect soil samples now for testing for fall lawn fertilization, vegetable gardens and shrub borders.  Submit separate samples for separate areas.  

If dethatching or core aerating is necessary, it should be done now while the grass is growing vigorously enough to recover.  Dethatching can help envigorate a lawn with one-half inch or more of thatch.  Core aerating can be helpful for lumpy lawns.  Cores should be 3 inches deep and spaced every 4 - 6" inches to provide maximum benefit.  Vertical impact coring type machines may be needed to penetrate heavy clay soil to that depth. DO NOT REMOVE but rather breakup and spread out the plugs deposited on the surface by core aeration.      

Poinsettias need complete darkness from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. every night for their colorful bracts to develop.  Daytime conditions should be bright and warm.  

Thanksgiving and Xmas cacti will set flower buds if kept in a cool place for about a month and allowed to dry out between waterings.  

Cyclamen need cooler temperatures and increased moisture now to set flower buds.  

Second Week

Spring flowering bulbs can be planted all the way up until the soil is frozen. The earlier the better for good root development.
   

Hyacinths and crocus purchased now and held at 38 - 45 degrees for 6 - 8 weeks can be forced into bloom in time for the December holiday season.  Tulips, daffodils and other larger bulbs will require 12 weeks of cooling before bringing out into warmer temperatures to sprout and grow.  

Watch evening weather forecasts for predictions of frost. Protect tender plants by covering them after sundown but be sure to remove the covering when temperatures begin to rise in the morning. Frost will actually improve the flavor of the cabbage family vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, cabbage, collards, turnips, parsnips and Chinese cabbage.  

Annual flowers that can really take the cold include pansies, lobelia, snapdragons, petunias, dusty miller and allysum.  

Dig frost sensitive, shade-loving annuals like impatiens, begonias, and fuschias to bring indoors for winter blooms.  You may also want to take cuttings to root and transplant later into containers.  

Geraniums can be saved for next year by taking 2 - 4" cuttings to root and grow indoors.  Or dig and pot the entire plant. Some people clean all the soil off the roots and hang them upside down in the basement but they must be soaked or misted regularly.

Cut and dry or freeze remaining herbs.  Place a few sprigs in white vinegar for holiday giving.  After cleaning dried leaves off stems, save for burning in a fireplace or the charcoal grill.  Chop cilantro and place in ice cube trays with water.  Cubes can be added to taco meat, salsa and cheese dishes all winter long.  

Dig and pot up a few chive and parsley plants for growing on a sunny window indoors.  

Third Week

The third week of October is the prime time to fertilize established trees and shrubs.  Fertilization is only necessary for plants that showed some signs of stress such as smaller or paler or fewer leaves or early fall coloring.  

Cannas, dahlias, gladiolus, tuberous begonias, and caladiums should be dug after the foliage has been killed back by frost.  Always discard any damaged tubers.  Label colors and varieties carefully. Most need to be cured in warm, dry conditions before storing them in cool, moist soil or peatmoss.  Gladiolus, however, should be stored dry.  

Fertilize your houseplants now for the last time until next March.
      

Fourth Week

Fertilize the lawn now using a fertilizer with a larger proportion of slow release nitrogen (such as Milorganite). (Skip this application if you fertilized or used a weed 'n feed earlier this fall.  

After chrysanthemum flowers have turned brown from hard frost, mound up soil 8" over the bottom of the plant. After the ground has frozen, add an additional 2" of mulch or cover with evergreen boughs.

Many root crops in the vegetable garden can be left in the ground and mulched to insulate them from freezing temperatures this winter.  Do not apply winter mulches until the ground has cooled thoroughly - usually around Thanksgiving.

Don't apply winter mulch over perennial flowers or roses until the ground has frozen sometime around Thanksgiving in southeastern Wisconsin.